Outlaw Heart by Samantha James

Author:Samantha James
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: romance, historical, historical romance, western, cowboy, romance novel
Publisher: Samantha James

Chapter 15

He lay on his side. Somehow she was on her knees next to him. Blood welled through the fabric of his shirt, thick and oozing. Alarm erupted inside her. She pressed her hands against his chest. Her fingertips came away crimson. "He's bleeding," she cried, feeling as if she were flying apart inside. She began to sob. "Oh, God, help him! He's bleeding!"

Suddenly Dillon was there, shouldering her aside. He ripped Kane's shirt apart, revealing a blackened hole in the flesh of his left shoulder, perilously near his heart. Bile rose to Abby's throat. She pressed ice-cold fingers to her mouth to keep from vomiting.

Dillon's expression was hard and intent. "Jesus," he breathed. "We've got to stop this bleeding." He cursed. "Damn! There's no exit wound. The bullet's still in there."

Abby began to shake. Kane's eyes were closed, his lashes a dark crescent against skin that was white as a sheet. All she could think was that he looked just like Pa, in the very instant the Lord had taken him away.

"He's going to die," she moaned. "Oh, God, he's going to die and it's all my fault."

"Abby, there's a clean shirt in my saddlebag. Get it—and hurry!" When Abby didn't move, he turned on her. Grabbing her shoulder, he shook her hard. "The nearest town is a four-hour ride from here," he told her sharply. "He'll be dead by the time we get him there. If he's going to live, you're going to have to help me!"

Somehow that penetrated Abby's daze. She listened intently to Dillon's low instructions, then scurried to obey. When she knelt down once more beside Dillon, Kane stirred at last. His lashes fluttered but didn't open. Abby laid her hand against his unshaven cheek. "Kane," she whispered. "It's okay. You'll be all right."

He gave a low moan. A spasm of pain twisted his lips.

Dillon uncapped the whiskey bottle she'd brought from his belongings. In his other hand was a small, vicious-looking knife with a curved tip. The blade gleamed silver in the sunlight.

'The bullet has to come out," Dillon said tersely.

Abby's jaw went slack. "Don't tell me you're going to take it out!"

"It's you or me," he said grimly, ripping the shirt into strips. "And I don't think you're in any shape to do it."

"But you're not a doctor!" she cried. "Dillon, how—"

"Abby, didn't you hear me?" He wound a swath of cloth into a small pad as he spoke. "We don't have any choice. There's no time to get him to a doctor. If there's any chance at all for him to make it, we have to do it now. I've seen it done a dozen times before—I'll just have to do the best I can."

Her stomach pitched violently as he began to wipe away the blood, then held the pad firm in an attempt to staunch the bleeding. She had helped out at the ranch a hundred times for different injuries. Normally she wasn't so squeamish. She fought the wild panic that surged within her, struggling for calm.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.