Laying Down The Law

Possibly. She didn’t have a fractured skull, as Cord had told her attacker, but she was dizzy and in pain. Still, this might be their only shot at catching the man. After all, he’d have to come out of his hiding place to get to her.

“He doesn’t want to shoot me,” she whispered to Cord. “If he did, he would have done that in the barn.”

Cord’s eyes narrowed. “A bullet isn’t the only way to kill you.”

She was well aware of it and touched her fingers to her neck to let him know that. “If you’re carrying me, he won’t shoot. And once you’re close enough to him, you can drop me and grab him.”

Cord cursed. “There are about a dozen things that could go wrong with a stupid plan like that—including he could kill us both and then come after the paramedics to kill them, too. Is that what you want?”

Karina didn’t get a chance to answer that because her attacker ducked out of sight behind the tree.

“Too late,” the man shouted.

“Get down!” Cord warned them, and he moved back to the gurney to cover her body with his.

Not a second too soon.

The blast tore through the ambulance, tossing it and shaking the ground beneath them.

It was deafening.

And then everything happened much too fast for Karina to process a lot of it. They were moving, tumbling. Crashing into things.

Debris, flying everywhere.

Somehow, Cord managed to keep hold of her, and since the gurney was anchored to the floor, he was toppled around with her. No way to brace herself, no way to do anything but wait for this nightmare to end and pray they stayed alive.

There was the sound of metal screeching against the pavement, and the ambulance finally stopped with a jolting thud.

What had happened now?

And was everyone okay?

The ambulance was a jumbled mess, and it took her a moment to realize it was on its side. That was likely where the impact had landed him.

“He set off the explosives,” she said. Though Cord had obviously already figured that out.

There was a cut on his forehead and some blood in his light brown hair. Heaven knew where else he was hurt, but at least he wasn’t moaning in pain like the bald paramedic crumpled next to them.

“Are you all right?” Cord asked her.

No. Not by a long shot. But Karina didn’t think she’d gotten any other injuries, probably because she’d been held in place on the gurney. And because of Cord.

“I’m not hurt,” she responded. Maybe that was true, but everything inside her felt bruised and raw.

Cord pulled the straps off her and eased her sideways off the gurney and onto the floor. “Help him,” Cord told her.

That’s when she saw the angry gash on the bald paramedic’s head. Not a simple cut like the one on Cord’s, either. This one was deep, and he was losing a lot of blood.

It was hard to find anything in the debris, so she used the cotton blanket that’d been covering her and pressed it to his wound. While she did that, Cord checked on the paramedic in the front seat. It didn’t help her nerves any when he pressed his fingers to the guy’s neck.

“Is he dead?” she asked hesitantly.

Cord shook his head. “Just unconscious.” He used the radio in the front to call for assistance. “Stay put,” he warned her.

Despite the debris and clutter everywhere, Cord managed to make his way to the back of the ambulance. He had his gun ready when he tried the door handle. It took several pushes, but he finally got it open.

Karina couldn’t see anything outside because Cord was blocking the way. He didn’t go outside. He stayed there, his gaze firing around and his head raised. Listening.

She heard the moan coming from the front seat, and several moments later, the paramedic in the front lifted his head. “What the heck happened?” he grumbled.

“An explosion.” Cord didn’t even glance back at the guy. He kept his focus outside. No doubt in case the killer came after them again.

That gave her a fresh jolt of adrenaline.

They were stuck here. Right where the killer could get them. And this time, he just might succeed.

This nightmare wasn’t over. It was just beginning.

“Try to level your breathing,” Cord told her. “I don’t want you to hyperventilate.”

Since she was very close to doing just that, Karina tried to slow down her breathing. Tried to steady her heartbeat, too. She wasn’t very successful at doing either.

“Jericho should be here any minute,” Cord assured her.

She wasn’t sure if that was wishful thinking or if he’d gotten confirmation of that when he’d used the ambulance’s radio. Karina certainly didn’t hear any sirens.

But then she also didn’t hear their attacker taunting them.

“Is he still out there?” she asked, and wasn’t aware she was holding her breath until her lungs started to ache.

Cord didn’t jump to answer her. He continued to look around. “I don’t see him. That doesn’t mean he’s not there.”

True. “You’ll have to warn Jericho.” She didn’t want the sheriff driving into a trap.

“He knows,” Cord assured her. He shifted his position, lifting his head.

And then he cursed.

He drew in several more breaths and cursed again.

“Can you walk?” Cord looked at her first for an answer, then at the bleeding paramedic.

“Yes,” Karina answered at the same time the paramedic mumbled a not so convincing “yeah.”

“Why?” she asked.

But it wasn’t necessary for Cord to answer her because she smelled two things that she didn’t want to smell.