CoyoteWhispers (17 page)

Gordie stared at Marcus’ lifeless body, the sea of red
spreading out around him and began to tremble. Tears streamed down her cheeks
as she curled into a ball and brought her hands up to cover her face. Sobs
racked her chest, the heaving gasps compressing her ribs and stomach with pain.
Wetness soaked into her clothes and she uncovered her eyes to see nothing but
the blood she’d spilled surrounding her.

A cry of anguish echoed in the room, the sound vibrating in
her ears as her scream of agony went on and on.

* * * * *

Steve walked into the café with Dale. They’d spent the
morning combing the clinic and then the roof cavity at Doc’s place but other
than a few broken shingles they hadn’t found any more clues. He headed for the
counter, searching the room for Doc as he went, but he couldn’t see her
anywhere. Kat was serving a customer so he slid onto a stool and waited for her
to finish.

“Do you want to check the roof at the clinic again before
you head home?” Dale asked.

“No. We’ll do that before she opens up again though. I want
it checked before she goes back there.”

Kat put a couple of mugs down and filled them with coffee.
“Can I get you something to eat?”

“No thanks, coffee’s fine. Where’s Doc?” he asked.

“She and Tatum walked over to the clinic to get something
for Tatum.”

Steve jumped from his seat. “Alone? You let them go alone?”
He headed for the door at a run, dodging tables and chairs on the way.

“What’s wrong? She said you’d checked it this morning. That
it was safe,” Kat protested behind him.

“We did,” he yelled as he yanked the door open. “But I don’t
want her going there alone.”

Dale was right behind him when he hit the sidewalk. They ran
across the empty street and skidded to a stop at the front door. Steve tried
the handle and finding it locked, began thumping on the door and calling out to
Doc.

“Wait.” Dale grabbed Steve’s arm. “Listen.”

He turned his head and held his breath. The murmured cry for
help was barely audible through the thick timber panel. “That doesn’t sound
like Doc.”

Dale put his ear to the door but he didn’t need to, the next
cry came through loud and clear. “What the fuck? Tatum!” Dale banged on the
door.

Steve started down the sidewalk at a flat-out run as his
stomach cramped with the fear that threatened to take him to his knees.
Where
the hell was Gordie?

“Where are you going?” Dale yelled behind him.

“Around the back.” He breathed hard but kept running, Dale’s
footsteps pounding behind him. “We’ll never break down the front door but
there’s a window above the back one.”

Steve would smash through the timber wall if he had to. He
ran past the clothing store, the small bookshop and slid sideways in the snow
as he rounded the corner of the building. The alley was unplowed and he could
see footprints where Doc and Tatum had walked. As he got closer to the back of
the clinic he was hit by déjà vu. The back door stood ajar and his blood ran
cold.

“Let me go in first.” Dale had caught up to him and pulled
his gun from its holster.

“Fine, but I’m right behind you.”

They entered the building at a slower pace. Dale took the
lead but Steve stayed right on his heels. No sounds came from the interior and
he thought maybe they’d imagined the cry from Tatum. The sight that met them in
the morgue almost crippled him. Doc lay curled on her side, covered in blood. A
huge pool of the stuff lay between her and Marcus. Neither of them appeared to
be breathing.

Steve dropped to the floor next to Doc and felt for a pulse.
The hard, fast beat he found in her neck produced a gust of breath from his
lungs. He tried to find her injuries but the blood was everywhere, he couldn’t
tell where any of it was coming from. “I can’t find where she’s bleeding.”

Dale checked Marcus. “I’m not sure it’s her blood. He’s
dead, looks like she slashed his throat.”

“Jesus. What the fuck happened?” He tapped Doc’s cheek.
“Doc? Come on, Gordie, talk to me.”

“I’ll be back. I need to find Tatum.” Dale left the room
with his gun drawn.

“Come on, Gordie, don’t do this to me. Not again.” He turned
to the doorway as people started pouring into the room. “Stay back,” he yelled.

“Dad’s here,” Kat said as Doctor Monroe pushed past the
cluster of bodies.

“Hey, Steve.” The older man kneeled beside him. “What you
got?”

“Don’t know. She was out when we found her.”

Doctor Monroe ignored the lifeless body not six feet away
and went to work on his daughter. “Jackie, get over here and help me with our
girl.”

“I’ll do it. What do you want?” Steve asked.

“Let’s get her checked over for broken bones first then
we’ll get her up on one of those tables.”

“Can we move her into another room?” Jackie asked as she
crouched beside them.

“Yes, love, that might be a better idea.” Doctor Monroe
turned to yell over his shoulder. “Kat, go get one of the rooms ready.”

“Okay, Dad.”

“And the rest of you can get out,” the older man said with
an authoritative voice Steve remembered from his youth.

“Doctor Monroe?” Dale came in carrying an unconscious Tatum.

“Jesus, Mary and Joseph. What went on here?” He turned to
his wife, his hands never leaving Gordie. “Jackie, go with Dale and see about
that one for me. I’ll bring Gordana in a minute.”

The older man spent what felt like hours checking Doc over
before speaking again.

“Young man, I’m gonna ask you to carry Gordie for me. These
old bones aren’t as strong as they used to be.”

“Yes sir.”

Steve waited for Doc’s father to get up before pulling her
limp body into his arms. He stepped across the wet floor with care and ignored
the way his boots stuck to the tiles as he walked down the hall behind Doctor
Monroe. They passed the first room where Dale and Jackie were talking to a now-awake
Tatum and entered the next one. Kat waited for them, closing the door behind
him as he cleared the threshold.

“Get her out of those clothes so I can clean her up,” Doctor
Monroe ordered as he went to the sink in the corner and scrubbed his hands.

Steve laid Doc on the table and helped Kat remove her soiled
clothes. They threw them in the trash. Even if they were salvageable he was
sure she wouldn’t want them. He was relieved to find no visible wounds other
than some bruising and the angry red ringing her neck. The thought of what
those red marks meant boiled his blood and if Marcus wasn’t already lying dead
in the other room Steve would be out committing murder right now.

“Steve?” Doc’s voice was a raw, gravelly whisper that hurt
his ears, he could only imagine how it felt to her.

He finished tucking the blanket around her and leaned
closer. “I’m here, Doc.”

“Tatum?”

“She’s in the next room. Your mother is looking after her.”

“Mom’s here?”

“Me too, sweet girl.” Doctor Monroe stepped up beside the bed.

“Daddy?”

“Hey, sweetie, wanna tell me what hurts?”

“Everything.” A slight smile curled her lips. “Nothing’s
broken. Took a kick in the back and hip, he bashed my head into the floor and
tried to choke me.” Her hand came up and brushed against her throat.

“I see that. You don’t look so bad, considering.” Doctor
Monroe took the wet cloth Kat handed him. “We’re just gonna clean you up a bit,
you can take a shower back at the house later.”

“What happened to Marcus?” she asked.

“He’s dead.” Doctor Monroe wiped the cloth over her face,
removing the dried blood.

The color drained from Doc’s face. “Dead?” She licked her
lips. “I’m gonna be sick.”

Steve grabbed the wastebasket and shoved it under her as she
leaned over the side of the bed and emptied out her stomach. Her father held
her hair back and Kat handed Steve a clean cloth when Doc had finished
vomiting.

“I want to go home.” She slumped back against the pillow.

“Okay, I’ll get your mother to take you while I check on our
other patient.”

“No.”

“No?”

“I don’t want to go back to the house.” She turned away and
curled into a ball.

Steve took pity on the older man. “Can I talk to you
outside, sir? Kat, keep an eye on Doc.”

They stepped into the hall as Mrs. Monroe came out of the
other room, Dale and Tatum behind her.

“Hey, you okay?” Steve asked.

“Yeah, a little embarrassed at passing out and not helping
Doc, but otherwise I’m good.” Tatum leaned into Dale.

“I’ll talk to you later, Steve. I’m taking Tatum home to
rest. Brogan and Quinn arrived a little while ago. They’re handling the Marcus
issue with the help of my deputies.”

“Need me to do anything?”

“No. Just take care of Doc.”

Steve watched as Dale and Tatum headed for the back door.

“Want to tell us what’s going on, son?” Doctor Monroe asked.

“I’ll keep it short for now but the bare bones are this.
Marcus has led a terror campaign against Doc, Gordie, for a few months. As
usual, she’s weathered it all on her own, but two days ago he stepped it up and
the results are…” Steve tried to think of the best words to describe his and
Doc’s new relationship.

“You and my daughter are mated.” Mrs. Monroe saved him the
trouble.

He felt his cheeks heat. “Yes.”

Doctor Monroe slapped him on the back. “About time you
pulled your head out of your ass, boy.”

“With all due respect, dear, I think it’s Gordana who’s had
her head up her ass,” Mrs. Monroe said.

Steve smiled. He’d forgotten how much he liked the Monroes.
Being the town’s only doctor and nurse, they’d been a huge part of his
growing-up years. And now they’d be his in-laws.

“If it’s okay with the two of you, I’d like to take Doc home
with me tonight. I know we’ll probably be stuck up the mountain for a few days
with the storm due in tomorrow but I think she’s going to need the time to
recuperate.”

“Son, I think her physical recovery will be far easier than
the mental one. She took a life today. That won’t sit well with her no matter
how deserving the bastard was.” Doctor Monroe held out his hand. “And I guess I
should say welcome to the family.”

Steve shook the other man’s hand. “Thank you, sir.”

“None of that
sir
business now, we’re family after
all.” He turned to Mrs. Monroe. “Let’s go get that girl of ours ready to go
home.”

He gave them a few minutes with their daughter. They hadn’t
seen each other in months and coming home to this couldn’t be easy to deal
with. The commotion at the other end of the hall drew his attention and he
wandered down to see what was going on. Brogan and Quinn were making sure the
deputies did their job, but Steve didn’t think it really mattered. Marcus was
dead and couldn’t be punished for any of his crimes.

“Hey. How’s Doc?” Brogan asked when he saw Steve standing in
the doorway.

“Okay as she can be. She came out with minor physical
damage, but I’m not sure about the emotional yet.” Steve ran a hand over his
head, dragged his fingers through his hair.

“You heading home?” Quinn asked.

“Yeah, Doctor and Mrs. Monroe are with her now. I’ll let
them have a few minutes and then we’ll head out.”

“Gordie’s going with you? She isn’t going home with the Monroes?”
Brogan asked.

“She doesn’t want to go home with them. Doctor Monroe seems
to understand it better than I do though. I thought for sure she’d want to be
with them.”

“She needs her mate,” Quinn said.

“I guess, but she’s fought against it for so long I can’t
see that it would be this easy.”

“It’s not going to be easy, Steve.” Kat came up beside him.
“She’s shutting down. She won’t talk to any of us. Mom and Dad are just getting
her dressed, where’s your truck?”

“Shit. Down the street. I’ll go get it, bring it around the
back.”

“Okay. I’ll let Gordie know that’s what you’re doing.” Kat
walked back down the hall.

“I’ll talk to you guys later.” Steve waved as he headed out
the back door.

* * * * *

Gordie allowed her mother and father to fuss over her. It must
have been a shock for them to arrive home and find the mess she’d found herself
in. They’d avoided the subject and while she was glad, she knew it meant
rehashing the event later but right now she just wanted to forget everything
that had happened in the last few days. The door opened and Steve came in.
Well, maybe not everything.

“Ready to go home?” he asked.

Home. Such a simple word. One she thought she understood the
meaning of until she’d taken that final step with Steve. Home wasn’t a house to
her anymore. Home was Steve.

“Yes. Take me home.” She held her arms out and he stepped
into her, lifting her off her feet for a full-body hug. Gordie buried her face
in the warmth of his neck and bit her lip to stifle the tears threatening to
fall. She refused to fall apart yet.

“We’ll see you all in a few days,” Steve said as he carried
her from the room.

Gordie didn’t look up or say goodbye to her parents or
sister and she certainly didn’t raise her head as Steve walked through the
clinic. She didn’t want to chance seeing anything again today. There’d be
plenty of time in the coming weeks to deal with the clinic and the carnage
Marcus had caused.

Steve placed her in the front seat and buckled her in. It
wasn’t the first time but she sure hoped it would be the last. She stared out
the side window the whole time he drove up the mountain. He kept reaching over
and patting her thigh but he needed two hands on the wheel for most of the
treacherous drive.

They pulled into his driveway but he didn’t go into the
garage. The plow on the front had pushed a drift of snow up to the garage door.
He hopped out and walked around to her side. She fell against him when he
opened the door and unbuckled her seatbelt.