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“I think he might be dead,” she whispered.
“Give me that rock,” he said, pointing at the makeshift weapon in her hand. He tossed it onto the feet of the man on the ground. It bounced off one of his shoes, but he didn’t move, or react. Dale got gingerly down on his hands and knees and poked the man in the shoulder. Nothing. Not even a groan.
Daisy couldn’t help the thought that bubbled to the surface. How ironic, if Sally had killed her own accomplice.
“I’m going to tie him up anyway, as a precaution,” Dale said.
“Good idea,” she agreed.
“I’m hoping he still has that sat phone on him, so I can call the cops.”
That was an even better idea, but Daisy left him to it. She had something much more important on her mind.
River.
Ignoring Sally, who was still yelling at the top of her voice, Daisy raced over to where he lay, his back toward her. So still and unmoving. Daisy held her hands against her chest, suddenly terribly afraid to touch him. Because when she did, she’d find out for sure whether he was still alive.
“River,” she sobbed. “Please be alive.” Reaching out a tentative hand, she touched his arm. It was warm. She ran a hand down his rib cage. There was a slight rise and fall under her fingertips. He was breathing. She let out another sob, this one of relief.
She rolled him on his back so she could examine him. There was a lot of blood. It was everywhere, all over the front of his T-shirt. She located where are all the blood seemed to be coming from, a large wound on the right-hand side of his chest. Without a second’s thought, she stripped off her own T-shirt and used it to cover the wound, applying pressure.
River groaned faintly.
Good. That was good. It meant he was still alive. But judging by all the blood on the ground, he might not stay that way very long.
“You need to call in a rescue helicopter,” she shouted, lifting her gaze from River’s prone body. “He’s still alive. Dale?” Where was he?
It was almost comical, the way his head popped up above the grass when she called his name.
“I’m on it,” Dale replied, waving the magical sat phone above his head. He got to his feet and came to her.
As soon as he saw she was wearing only a bra, Dale removed his own shirt and handed it to her. At any other time, she would’ve enjoyed the view of all those rippling abs, but not tonight. Daisy blinked, then realized it was actually almost morning. The sky on the horizon was lightening imperceptibly.
“How is he?” Dale asked, at the same time his fingers were tapping out the emergency number for the police and ambulance.
“Not good,” she admitted. “It looks like he’s lost a lot of blood. We need an air ambulance ASAP.”
Dale’s handsome face caved into a grimace of worry. Then he began talking rapidly into the phone. She vaguely heard him request an immediate rescue helicopter from Cairns, then he gave directions to the old gold mine. Her attention was fixed on River, willing him to keep breathing.
Daisy had no idea how much time had passed before Dale returned and knelt beside her. “Robinson and King are on their way,” he reported. “But Dimbulah is an hour away, so…” He didn’t need to finish; Daisy knew that was one of the cons of remote living. “Steve and Skylar are coming, too,” he said. “They should be here in fifteen minutes. The helicopter will take a little longer, probably thirty minutes, they’re scrambling it from Cairns right now.”
Daisy groaned. That was too long. Would River live that long?
“I know,” he said, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “But if River is anything like his sister, he’s a survivor. He’ll make it through. He’s tough, and he’s got you in his corner fighting for him.”
Daisy wasn’t so sure, but she nodded because there was nothing else to say.
Dale stayed by her side, a steady presence for her to cling to, and she willed her brother to keep breathing, while continuing to apply pressure to stop the blood loss.
She felt Dale’s sudden absence and looked up, blinking in the glare of the lights from Steve’s truck. Steve and Skylar were here. She hadn’t even heard a vehicle arrive. Dale gave them a highly abbreviated version of events. Skylar threw her arms around Dale and hugged him tight. She heard Steve say something about taking one of the ATVs to light up a clearing nearby, where the helicopter could land. Then Skylar was at her side, asking what she could do to help.
Daisy didn’t know how to answer, so Skylar leaned an arm around Daisy, the same way she had with Dale, the physical presence lending Daisy some much-needed moral support.
The loud thwack of helicopter rotor blades announced that help was finally on the way. Soon, things began to happen at warp speed, everything blurring into a whirl of movement and snatches of conversation, as Daisy handed her brother over to the paramedics. She and Skylar stood back, with arms wrapped around each other, watching the paramedics work on River. Daisy was so grateful to the other woman for her support. Skylar hardly knew Daisy, and the other woman had never met her brother, but here she was holding her like she was one of the family.
One paramedic left her brother and went over to where Johnny lay on the ground. She wanted to scream at him to come back and help River. That man lying on the ground didn’t deserve their help. But she managed to keep her thoughts to herself, and the paramedic was soon back by River’s side. The grim turn of his mouth told Daisy all she needed to know about Johnny.
It seemed to take forever, but was probably less than fifteen minutes before air rescue loaded River into the helicopter. She wanted to go with him to hospital, but they shook their heads when she asked; there wasn’t enough room.
Dale came up and wrapped her in his arms, and they watched from afar as the helicopter took off into the early-morning sky. Steve must’ve found Dale a spare shirt, because he was no longer naked from the waist up. Daisy was astounded when she realized the world around her was slowly coming to life. She could now see without the aid of the ATV’s headlights. She leaned into Dale’s chest and drew in a deep breath. It was the first time she’d felt completely safe since they’d left the lodge. All the adrenaline flooding around her body had slowed to a trickle. Without that hormone keeping her muscles working, she felt limp, like she might collapse at any second.
How was she ever going to explain all of this to the cops when they arrived? There were only two things she truly cared about right now. The fact that she and Dale had survived; that Dale still had his strong arms wrapped around her. And whether River would pull through.
