face contorted, smile now a grimace. Her makeshift bandage—her undershirt—had worked loose under his pant's leg, exposing his calf. All her experience with animals didn't prepare her for the fiery red and mottled skin swollen with infection. Cole was a strong man; he couldn't be this vulnerable. The realization stole her breath.
Gulping, she asked, “What happened to you?"
“Mike was murdered,” he grunted, closing his dark eyes against pain.
“Murdered?” It lanced a shiver up and down her spine. Or was this one of his acts?
He opened one eye against the relentless sunshine, and she couldn't mistake the tortured look. “I buried Mike, Laurel. My brother is gone.” She watched him torturing a hand into a fist. “Now I'm the prey."
His eyes took on the soulful, instinctual desperation she'd seen in the yellow-tinged eyes of a live wolf caught in a trap, a powerful animal rendered helpless. Needy. She believed him, but that didn't help her nerves. They turned to ice with fear.
She felt herself being sucked in here, too. Her heart flailed against him as if she were thrashing to save herself from drowning in the lake. “You? The prey? How do you know?"
“The killer's my boss."
“What?!"
“Unique downsizing concept. Instead of firing me, he decided to fire at me."
When she glowered at him, he added, “Help me, Laurel Lee."
A hitch in her heartbeat gave her pause.
Nobody had called her that since he had, long ago. Laurel Lee . In the meadow. Their meadow. The shrine to so much. Too much.
Against her better judgment, she lowered a plank across the moat of their history. “Let me see that leg. And then I want you to get the hell out of here and never come back."
----
Chapter 4
AFTER LAUREL finished ripping away the T-shirt bandage, she split the seam of Cole's pant's leg up to his knee to gain easier access to the raw flesh of his calf. A huge, festering wound threaded from the front to the back, threatening her with nausea.
“Cole, you need hospital treatment."
A hand snaked up and gripped her upper arm. “I can't risk being found out. I mean it, Laurel. Some bum with a ripped up leg with a bullet in it sounds like local front-page news to me."
Her pulse quickened under his grip. “Then I'll bring a doctor here."
“All it takes is one slip, and I'm dead. My son will never see me again. You hear me?"
Like talons his fingers dug into her, frightening her more. A shudder thundered through her. His son. How could he be involved in such danger?
“Don't, Cole. You're scaring me."
“I mean to. The man after me doesn't care who gets in his way. Listen to me or you'll get hurt."
“I don't take orders from the likes of you.” All she wanted, was to run from him. Staring him down, she attempted to quell her ragged breathing, to no avail.
But something in his dark eyes twitched, and he let go of her to lay back in the grass, groaning. “Just take out the damn bullet. Now."
“I told you, I don't know if I can. You need to be in a hospital."
“You told me you doctor animals."
“All I have in the kit is a short scalpel and a tweezers. I can lance it, but I can't go digging around for a bullet—"
“You're stalling, Laurel Lee. Give me the thing."
Laurel Lee . Her heartbeat pulsated wildly. How dare he call her the endearment that used to make her giggle when he shouted silly limericks and rhymes. Laurel Lee, come with me . How dare he use it to attempt to get his way now, to make her stay by him.
He lunged for the first-aid kit, terrifying her. Shoving it out of his reach, she suffered the threat of his narrowing eyes, and snapped, “Don't force your danger on me, not after all these years of nothing between us."
He didn't flinch. “I have no choice."
Their gazes locked, nerves fraying, the breeze rattling the tops of the brown, dried grass against his shoulders. A crow cawed, as if to warn her to send him away. Soon. Before his gaze saw what lay in the bottom of the well inside her
Gulping, she asked, “What happened to you?"
“Mike was murdered,” he grunted, closing his dark eyes against pain.
“Murdered?” It lanced a shiver up and down her spine. Or was this one of his acts?
He opened one eye against the relentless sunshine, and she couldn't mistake the tortured look. “I buried Mike, Laurel. My brother is gone.” She watched him torturing a hand into a fist. “Now I'm the prey."
His eyes took on the soulful, instinctual desperation she'd seen in the yellow-tinged eyes of a live wolf caught in a trap, a powerful animal rendered helpless. Needy. She believed him, but that didn't help her nerves. They turned to ice with fear.
She felt herself being sucked in here, too. Her heart flailed against him as if she were thrashing to save herself from drowning in the lake. “You? The prey? How do you know?"
“The killer's my boss."
“What?!"
“Unique downsizing concept. Instead of firing me, he decided to fire at me."
When she glowered at him, he added, “Help me, Laurel Lee."
A hitch in her heartbeat gave her pause.
Nobody had called her that since he had, long ago. Laurel Lee . In the meadow. Their meadow. The shrine to so much. Too much.
Against her better judgment, she lowered a plank across the moat of their history. “Let me see that leg. And then I want you to get the hell out of here and never come back."
----
Chapter 4
AFTER LAUREL finished ripping away the T-shirt bandage, she split the seam of Cole's pant's leg up to his knee to gain easier access to the raw flesh of his calf. A huge, festering wound threaded from the front to the back, threatening her with nausea.
“Cole, you need hospital treatment."
A hand snaked up and gripped her upper arm. “I can't risk being found out. I mean it, Laurel. Some bum with a ripped up leg with a bullet in it sounds like local front-page news to me."
Her pulse quickened under his grip. “Then I'll bring a doctor here."
“All it takes is one slip, and I'm dead. My son will never see me again. You hear me?"
Like talons his fingers dug into her, frightening her more. A shudder thundered through her. His son. How could he be involved in such danger?
“Don't, Cole. You're scaring me."
“I mean to. The man after me doesn't care who gets in his way. Listen to me or you'll get hurt."
“I don't take orders from the likes of you.” All she wanted, was to run from him. Staring him down, she attempted to quell her ragged breathing, to no avail.
But something in his dark eyes twitched, and he let go of her to lay back in the grass, groaning. “Just take out the damn bullet. Now."
“I told you, I don't know if I can. You need to be in a hospital."
“You told me you doctor animals."
“All I have in the kit is a short scalpel and a tweezers. I can lance it, but I can't go digging around for a bullet—"
“You're stalling, Laurel Lee. Give me the thing."
Laurel Lee . Her heartbeat pulsated wildly. How dare he call her the endearment that used to make her giggle when he shouted silly limericks and rhymes. Laurel Lee, come with me . How dare he use it to attempt to get his way now, to make her stay by him.
He lunged for the first-aid kit, terrifying her. Shoving it out of his reach, she suffered the threat of his narrowing eyes, and snapped, “Don't force your danger on me, not after all these years of nothing between us."
He didn't flinch. “I have no choice."
Their gazes locked, nerves fraying, the breeze rattling the tops of the brown, dried grass against his shoulders. A crow cawed, as if to warn her to send him away. Soon. Before his gaze saw what lay in the bottom of the well inside her
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