“Wonderful.” Sighing, he moved slowly, silently forward.
Boyo paced beside him on the left, while Bri matched his steps on his right. They hadn’t gone very far when Tanner and Boyo came to a halt. Bri stopped next to him.
Across the stream, some distance away, she could just make out a man standing on the other side. There was a small clearing near the bank, but the horses were tethered and a makeshift camp had been set up to the back, under cover of the tall pines, surrounded by brush.
Tanner took out the field glasses. He gazed through them a few moments, then slid them back in the pouch. “It’s Minnich,” he murmured, sounding positive.
Then all hell broke out, everything seemingly happening at once.
A shot rang out and Tanner’s hat went flying. In unison, they dropped to the ground. Tanner scooped up his hat and poked his finger through the hole in front. Bri vaguely heard him mutter, “Son of a bitch, I thought that only happened in the movies.”
With a bone-chilling yowl, Boyo took off running, as Tanner and Bri raised their rifles to their shoulders.
Another shot rang out. Boyo let out a horrible-sounding yelp and flew into the air, then crashed to the ground. At the same time, two more shots rang out. With an outcry of pain, Minnich went down.
“I got the bastard.” Tanner took off at a run toward the downed man, splashing through the stream.
“I got him,” Bri yelled, also running, but she was not running through the water but to Boyo.
She went cold at her first sight of the dog. He was lying still, not whining. Breath eased from Bri as she saw his chest move. He was alive.
She dropped to her knees next to him, gently running her hands over his wiry-haired body. Her hand came away wet with blood when she touched his shoulder. “Bastard’s too mild a word for the lowlife,” she mumbled, parting Boyo’s fur to examine the wound.
She sighed with relief when she saw the bleeding was not profuse, indicating a major artery hadn’t been hit. But had the shell gone through his body?
Even as the thought went through her mind, Bri was carefully sliding her hand beneath Boyo, feeling for a wet spot. There was none. The bullet was still inside somewhere.
She had to stop the bleeding. Not wanting to leave him even long enough to run back to the horses for the first-aid kit, Bri yanked her shirt from her waistband, popping buttons as she pulled it off.
Without a thought that she was sitting there with only her silk long undershirt on or the chill in the air, she began tearing the shirt into strips. Folding them into pads, she lay them on the wound, applying gentle pressure. She had just changed pads when Tanner loped up to her with the first-aid kit in hand.
Sliding around to give him access to the wound, Bri gently lifted the dog’s head to her lap. “You’re such a brave boy,” she murmured, stroking Boyo’s head as Tanner poured water over the pad before carefully removing it from the wound. The dog didn’t so much as whimper as Tanner dried and cleaned the ugly gash. Bri continued to soothe the animal with soft praise. “You risked your life for us, Boyo. You’re a genuine hero.” She stroked his head and muzzle, and every time she got close to his mouth, his long tongue flicked out to lick her hand.
“Why, thank you for the kisses,” she said, watching Tanner as he applied an antibiotic cream to the wound before pressing a sterile pad against it. Taking out a roll of gauze, he wound it around Boyo’s body, anchoring the pad. Then he took out a syringe, rubbed a spot on the animal’s leg with a sterilized pad and carefully slid the needle into the leg.
Bri glanced up at Tanner in question.
“For pain,” he said. “I didn’t want to waste time before we stopped the bleeding,” he explained. “He should rest easy now.” He raised his brows. “You must be uncomfortable. Do you want me to move him?”
“No, no, I’m fine.” It was a bald-faced lie. Bri was aching all over now, partly from tension, but there was no way she was letting him move the injured dog away from her.
Tanner smiled as if he’d known her answer before asking the question. “Okay. I’ve notified Hawk. He and a rescue helicopter will be here in a couple of hours.”
Bri frowned. “How did you reach Hawk?”
He smiled again, teasingly. “It’s called a cell/walkie-talkie phone.”
She gave him a narrow-eyed look. Then suddenly she remembered. “Minnich. Did you get him?”
Tanner nodded. “Took a couple of bullets, but he’s still alive. I carried him back to our horses. He’s in a lot of pain, so I tied him up real tight. Make him suffer for what he’s done.”
Seemingly picking up on her inner turmoil, Boyo licked her hand as if comforting her. “Do you think he might be thirsty?” she asked, nodding down at the dog.
“Probably.” Tanner nodded, handing her the thermos he had used to clean the wound. “There’s still some water in here. He can’t get up, but you can lift his head enough so he can lap up some of it.”
Bri was already pouring the cool liquid into the small cup and slowly lifting his head. “Come on, Boyo, help me here. You’ve got to be thirsty after all you’ve been through.” She barely noticed Tanner turning away.
“I’m going to check on Minnich,” he said. “Then I’m going to tear down that excuse for a shelter he threw together.”
What seemed like forever later, Bri was cradling Boyo in her arms, her head resting against his. She was still murmuring encouragement to him, every bone and muscle complaining in pain at the awkward position she was sitting in, when she heard the sound of the helicopter approaching. She’d have cheered, but she didn’t have the energy.
Boyo had been dozing from the effects of the painkiller, but he opened his eyes and moved his head enough to look up at the sky, golden now with the setting sun.
“Yes, baby,” she said, ruffling his wiry coat. “It’s the boss. He’s come to take you home.” For the first time, Boyo whined, but it had a happy sound to it.
Bri watched as the copter came into sight, then stopped to hover overhead. She saw the line with the rescue basket attached, Hawk in a harness, clinging to the line as it slowly dropped to the ground. Tanner was waiting to catch it.
Between them, Tanner and Hawk lifted an unconscious Minnich into the basket and motioned to have it hauled up. Before it was off the ground, Hawk was striding to where Bri sat cradling his wounded pet.
“So, then, laddie, you took a bullet for my friends, did you?” Hawk said, the contrived Scottish burr failing to conceal the concern in his tone.
At the sound of Hawk’s voice, Boyo’s tail began thumping against the ground. Bri blinked against the mist stinging her eyes.
Hawk dropped to one knee as another basket was lowered from the copter. “Okay, fella,” he said, sliding his arms under the dog. “Grit your teeth, ’cause I’m gonna lift you.” Slowly, very carefully, he rose to his feet. Cradling Boyo in his arms like a child, he carried him to where Tanner waited.
Gritting her own teeth, grunting, swearing to herself, Bri pushed herself upright and, moving stiffly, followed at Hawk’s heels. She saw Tanner remove a small cooler from the basket as Hawk approached.
After Boyo was settled into the blanket-padded basket, Hawk turned to Bri and drew her into his arms for a strong hug. “Thanks for taking care of him, Brianna,” he said in a suspiciously choked voice.
She stepped back to look at him with worried eyes. “Will he be all right, do you think?”
He gave her a nod and a shaky smile. “He’s a tough one. He’ll live to see his pups.”
“But…” she began, confused by his remark.
“Gotta go,” he said, turning to shake Tanner’s hand, then pull him into a quick hug. “Thanks, my friend.”
“Anytime, buddy.” Tanner stepped back. Hawk fastened himself into the harness and grabbed the line, and he and the basket disappeared inside the copter.
The hunt was over.
Bri watched until the rescue helicopter was out of sight. When she looked around the area, she saw Tanner had not only cleared away the makeshift camp but had set up their domed tent and brought the horses from where they had left them.
“I see you were busy while waiting for the helicopter,” she said, feeling a twinge at having not helped him. “I’m sorry I wasn’t any help…” she began.
He gave a sharp shake of his head. “I didn’t need any help. Boyo did.”
That quick, at just the mention of the dog’s name, Bri got all misty-eyed again. Just as quickly she felt Tanner’s arm around her, pulling her toward him in a comforting embrace.
