Jordan Summers - [Dead World 01] (42 page)

A cry came from the woods.

Red started sprinting before the sound died on the
wind. Her blood thundered in her ears as she raced along a well-worn trail. The
sounds were growing louder now, bone hitting bone, if she wasn't mistaken.
Morgan ...

Red broke through the clearing and cried out at the
scene before her. Blood covered the ground and two men were fighting, except
they weren't men at all— they were werewolves. She recognized Morgan instantly
from seeing him transform yesterday.

He looked in pretty bad shape. His head was bleeding
profusely and his back had strips of flesh torn away. She glanced at the other
figure and real
ized that it was Kane. Red
didn't know how she knew
it, but she did.

Morgan circled Kane with his arms held wide, preparing
to strike. Kane leapt at him, but Morgan stumbled to the side, barely avoiding
the razor-sharp talons aimed at his abdomen. Red screamed before she could stop
herself, momentarily distracting both men.

A twig snapped to her left and she saw Roark
Montgomery step from the shadows. He stood near a hydrocopter, watching the
melee like a spectator at a sporting event. His gaze shot to her at the sound
of her cry, and then he glanced behind him. Mike Travers walked forward, his
head bowed in submission. Roark's face scowled in disapproval and he looked
away.

Kane took that moment to strike.
Morgan bellowed as claws raked his right arm. It now hung nearly help
less at his side, shredded and bleeding. His gaze met
Red's and held for a split second.

In that moment, an understanding passed between them.
One that did away with their differences and focused on their similarities.
They may not fit into
each other's worlds
or know what the future held, but
they wanted to face it together.

Red remembered what she'd learned about wolves.
They lived in a pack culture that was based on
domi
nance. The alpha was the leader. Morgan had been telling the truth.
He wasn't just the sheriff of Nuria.
He
meant much, much more to this town. Meant more
to her.

If the fight ended badly and she had to kill Kane,
Red needed Morgan to know ahead of time how much
she
cared. She slowly lowered her eyes in respect... in submission. Morgan let out
a triumphant howl,
then jumped forward with
renewed vigor, landing on
Kane's back.

Morgan's jaws clamped down on
Kane's neck while
he slashed Kane's chest
with his good arm. Kane yelped in pain, but Morgan kept up his assault. The
clack of bone and muscle ripping filled the air.

Red's stomach roiled and she fought back the urge
to vomit. A flash of movement out of the corner of
her
eye drew her attention away from the carnage. She
saw Roark Montgomery raise a laser rifle into the
air.

His prowess with a gun was legendary. He still held
the record with his marksmanship. Red didn't have time to think or even to
breathe. She pulled her charged pistol out of its holster and fired. Laser
light snaked out, hitting Roark's trigger hand, severing three of his fingers.

He shrieked, dropping the weapon
in order to clutch
his smoldering injury.
At that moment, something to
her right
snapped loudly. The wet twist was followed
by a gurgle of breath.
Someone's last breath. Please don't let it be Morgan. Red turned in time to see
Kane's body drop to the ground, twitching as his lifeblood seeped into the
dirt.

She glanced back at Roark and
saw Mike Travers
helping
him into the hydrocopter. The machine started
and began to lift off. As soon as it cleared the
trees, it
shot forward with blinding
speed. Within seconds
Roark Montgomery and
Mike Travers were gone.

Red watched Morgan's ravaged body fall. She rushed
forward. He was already shifting back into his human form. She dropped to her
knees when she reached him.

Blood covered every inch of Morgan's skin, making it
difficult to lift his torso off the ground. Her quaking hands slipped twice
before she succeeded in pulling him onto her lap. Breath rattled in his chest.
He was dying.

Red hit a button, waking Rita
from her long snooze.
She prayed the
navcom didn't take this moment to
malfunction.
"Rita, I need your help," she said, hear
ing the panic in her voice.

"Gina, I detect foreign
material all around you. I
will run a scan immediately to determine the extent of
your injuries."

"No! I need you to please contact the emergency
care center in Nuria. Tell them that Morgan is
hurt bad
and to send help. The sheriff's
station has our location."

"Affirmative."

Red brushed Morgan's wet hair
away from his face.
There was so much
blood that she didn't know where
to press
first to stop the bleeding. It had already soaked
into her shirt and through her pants. "Please
don't die,"
she begged, pulling
him closer and rocking. "You have
to hang on."

Morgan's eyes opened and closed, but he wasn't able to
focus. Red began to cry. "Help me, please somebody. Help me!" A hand
touched her shoulder. For a second, she'd thought she'd imagined it, then she
looked into Raphael Vega's concerned face. "He needs help."

"Let me take him."

"Can you get him to the emergency care
center?" she asked, afraid to let Morgan go.

"I can do one better than that," he said,
nipping his wrist until it bled. "But you have to let me have him for a
moment."

Red nodded and reluctantly released Morgan. Raphael
lifted him as if he weighed no more than a child. He leaned in close to
Morgan's ear and whis
pered. Red couldn't
make out what he was saying, but
Morgan's eyes opened and fixed on
Raphael's face.

"Drink," he said clearly, placing his wrist
to Morgan's mouth.

Morgan latched onto his arm and sucked, pulling Vega's
blood into his mouth.

Red frowned in confusion.
"I
don't understand how that's
going to help him. He needs a doctor." Her own words reminded her exactly
how much was lost this
night. Her gaze
swept to Kane's tattered body. He,
too, was
back in his human form, even though pieces
of his flesh were scattered
over the arid meadow.

"This will keep him alive until help gets
here," Raphael said, drawing her back. "Although I'm not sure Morgan
will appreciate the
gift."
He smiled as if amused by some inside
joke.

"You're not hurting him, are
you?" Her hand moved
without thought
to her pistol.

Raphael watched her. but didn't release Morgan.
"That would not suit my purposes."

"You hurt him and I'll kill you," she said,
glaring at him.

"Once help arrives," Raphael continued as if
she'd never spoken, "I'll take care of this." He fluttered his
fingers in the direction of the mess. "I'm sure Jim Thornton will be
grateful to receive the body."

He glanced down at Morgan, then
whispered some
thing else in his ear.
Morgan released his wrist. His breathing had evened out and he didn't seem near
as pale. Raphael lowered him to the ground, then motioned for her to take his
place. Red stepped forward and sat next to Morgan, his head resting on her lap.

"Help is coming," Raphael said.
"They'll be here in a few minutes."

"How do you know?" she asked, looking at
him.

He smiled, flashing fangs. "I can hear
them."

The emergency care rescue unit arrived a few minutes
later via hydrocopter and shuttled Morgan off. Red rode with them, refusing to
leave his side. Morgan's heart stopped twice, but they resuscitated him both times.
By the time they reached the center, the medics had him stabilized.

They rushed Morgan into surgery, leaving Red to pace
outside the nurse's station. Three hours later he was settled in a private room
with half the sheriff's department standing outside in the hall, fighting over
who would stand guard first.

Red let them fight as relief washed over her. The
doctor had said that if Morgan made it through the night, then he'd live. She
sat in a chair next to his
bed, willing his
heart to beat and his lungs to fill with
air. Tears spilled down her
cheeks as she watched his pale face wince from the pain.

She couldn't bear the thought of losing him. When had
he stolen her heart? Red thought about the first time she'd seen him on the
vidscreen. She had known in that moment that he wasn't like the others.

She stood and leaned over the bed, until her lips
touched his ear. "Morgan, this is Gina. I
don't know if
you can hear me, but the doctors say you're going to be
all right. Do you understand? You're going to be
fine. And
I'll
be waiting
right here until you open your
eyes."
Red sniffled.
"I
love you. Don't you die on me,
damn
it!" She kissed his forehead and sat back down.

Red drifted off while watching Morgan sleep. She woke
shortly before dawn to find him looking at her. She yawned and stretched,
rising slowly.

"You're awake," she said.

"Thanks to you," he said, his eyes brimming
with emotion.

Red shook her head. "It wasn't me."

Confusion twisted his features and he winced.
"Then who?"

"Raphael Vega. He gave you some of his
blood."

Morgan's eyes widened and his color paled to three
shades lighter.

"Did he do something to hurt you? I told him I'd
kill him if he did, and I meant it."

"I don't know for sure." Morgan glanced at
the window. "Is the sun up?"

"What?"

"The sun," he said. "Can you see
it?"

Red walked over to the window and opened the automated
blinds. Sunshine poured into the room. "Yep, it's up."

She looked back in time to see Morgan throw his arms
up and curl his body forward in defense.

Red drew her pistol. "What's wrong?" she
asked,
glancing outside. She scanned the sky
and the ground,
but saw nothing amiss. She holstered her weapon.

Morgan slowly lowered his arms and inspected his
skin.

"What are you looking for?" she asked,
concern growing. Had Morgan's injuries gone beyond the physical, affecting him
mentally?

He stared out the window, then met her gaze.
"Nothing's wrong." He smiled. "Everything is just fine. I didn't
mean to worry you."

"Right," Red said, not believing him for a
second. "Sometime soon you're going to have to explain to me what just
happened."

Morgan grinned. "I'll do that, but right now I'd
like a kiss."

Red pressed her lips to his gently. Heat from his body
seeped into her, telling her without words that he was going to be all right.

"I have something I need to do," she said,
staring into his eyes.

"Do you need help?" he asked, throwing the
covers back.

"Oh no, you don't." She grabbed the blanket
and pulled it over his legs, tucking it against his chest. "You're staying
here until the doctor says you can leave."

The mention of the word
doctor
brought pain to
Morgan's eyes.

"Morgan, I'm so sorry about Kane." Red
clasped his hand, giving it a small squeeze.

His jaw tightened. "He made his choice and left
me none. The rules of the pack are clear."

"I know, but he was still family," she said.

Morgan met her gaze. "You're my family now."

Red's heart swelled at his words. She kissed him
again, then stepped away. "I'll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime,
there are a lot of people outside who'd like to say hello."

"Where are you going?"

"IPTT headquarters. I have to take care of something."

He nodded. "I'll be here when you get back."

She laughed. "You'd better be."

Morgan watched Gina leave, his heart light and elated.
She'd come back. Even after learning the
truth, she had returned. He only remembered bits
and
pieces of what had occurred during and after the battle with Kane,
but one thing Morgan did know was that Gina hadn't left his side.

He grinned to himself as his mind scrolled through a
future that until yesterday he hadn't dared dream would exist.

Sheriff Hunter, I'm so glad to sense that you are
awake. I was beginning to wonder if I 'd been too
late.

"Raphael?" Morgan bolted forward at the
sound of the vampire's voice. "Where are you?" He glanced around the
empty room, then leaned over the side of the rest pad to check underneath.