Page 86 of One Night Years Ago

“You protected her,” Aaron Bowmann said.

Hunter’s laugh was cut short by the groan that escaped his lips.

“Your daughter didn’t need protecting, sir. I’m glad I was there to help her rescue both of us.”

The older man’s face broke into a proud smile. “That’s my daughter. Are you sure that bastard is dead, Natalie?”

Natalie moved closer to Hunter and once again put her arm behind him. It was clear she was crashing, though, so he made sure to keep his weight off her.

“Dad? Could you do me a favor?”

“Anything, Nat.”

“Could you drive to my place and check on Rob and Susan? They should be there already.”

“Of course.” The older man straightened his shoulders. “You sure you’ll be okay? Shouldn’t I stay until a doctor sees you?”

“I’ll be fine, Dad. I just … I need to know.”

“I can do that.”

“And be careful, Dad. If he’s not dead, he’s really dangerous.”

Hunter concentrated hard on the doorway in front of him, visualizing the Emergency Room that lay beyond. He clamped his jaw tighter and felt two loose teeth move in his mouth.

“Just a couple more steps, Natalie,” he encouraged. Three figures came running out. The first one, wearing a doctor’s outfit over bright neon yellow and pink trainers, was Barbara Leroy. Behind her, two nurses pushed two wheelchairs. Hunter sighed, relieved. They were waiting for them.

“Sheriff, Hunter. Please sit down.”

“Do we have to?” Natalie said.

“Don’t fight me on this, Sheriff. Your deputy called me. We have minutes to get you inside before the press gets here.”

Hunter tightened his arm around Natalie, guiding her towards the first wheelchair.

“I don’t want to be alone,” she whispered.

“I’ll stay with you,” he promised. He looked at Dr. Leroy, daring her to disagree with him, but the doctor seemed pensive, lost in her own thoughts.

Dr. Leroy wheeled him in, following right behind Natalie’s wheelchair.

“Was it really him? Stephen?” she whispered so only he could hear.

Hunter nodded, watching her pale face grow even paler.

Once inside, everything sped up. They were both poked and prodded. Dr. Leroy took care of Natalie herself, not letting anybody else approach her, and for that Hunter was grateful. His own wounds were tended to, first by a nurse who wiped away most of the blood and then by Dr. Boyle, who came back to the hospital to see him even though his shift was long over.

“I can pop the shoulder back in again, Hunter,” Dr. Boyle began, “but chances are you’ll need surgery to hold it back together after this. We’ll know more when the swelling goes down. You’ve also broken two ribs. If you look here,” he said, pointing at the X-Ray, “the displaced rib is close to your lungs. You’re lucky the lung wasn’t punctured, but we’re going to need to tape those and keep you in observation tonight. I’m also going to need you to see an ophthalmologist as I’m worried about the eye injury.”

Hunter knew better than to shrug, but he wasn’t that upset about any of the news. A dislocated shoulder, some broken ribs, even the possible damage to his eye was a small price to pay for Natalie’s life. He would gladly have paid a higher price.

“Are you sure nothing else happened, Natalie?” Dr. Leroy asked.

Natalie’s voice shook. “You’re asking if I was raped?”

Dr. Leroy nodded.

“No, he didn’t get to it.”