The Promise by Dee Davis Read Free Book Online

his waist,
supporting his weight with her body. Michael groaned as she
stumbled. "Believe me, I'm flesh and blood, and right now, I feel
like it's mainly blood." He sagged backward, his breathing coming
in irregular gasps.
    Cara tightened her hold, whispering in his ear.
"You've got to hold on. I can't do this by myself. Come on, we've
gotten this far. Just hang on a little while longer. Please."
    His muscles bunched and tightened, as he pulled
himself upright, but he kept walking. "How… much… farther?"
    "Not much more. Just around the next bend." Keep him
talking, her mind asserted. Keep him awake and keep him talking. "I
looked for you, you know. After you disappeared."
    "I looked for you, too." His voice was rough, colored
with pain.
    "Then I don't see…" She stopped, not knowing how to
continue.
    "How we missed each other? Me either. But just at the
moment I think there are more important things to deal with."
    "You're right. I'm sorry." There was just so much she
wanted to ask him. So much she needed to know. But not now. He
slumped forward again, his shoulders relaxing. She tightened her
grip. "Michael, you've got to stay with me. I can't keep you up
here on my own."
    He jerked his head upward, pulling himself back to
consciousness. "I'm here."
    "Good." She stared at the side of his head,
concentrating on the way the dark hair curled against his collar,
trying to find something of the boy she remembered in the man he'd
become. "Just keep talking to me, okay? Tell me what happened to
you."
    He nodded, shifting a little, leaning into the curve
of her body. She could feel the heat from his fever. His shirt was
damp with sweat. "I...don't know. Snuck…up on me…shot me. Lucky to
escape."
    "Someone shot you?" She tried to make sense of the
insensible. "Was it a hunter do you think?"
    "Man hunter maybe." He groaned, tensing with pain as
they hit a rough spot.
    "You mean you think someone shot you on purpose?"
    "Seems likely." His words were a bit disjointed, but
if she was following the conversation, he was talking about murder.
Or attempted murder.
    "My God, Michael, are you saying someone tried to
kill you?"
    "And did a damn fine job of it." He drew in a ragged
breath and she felt his body slide forward.
    "Hang on," she ordered. They stopped and she
automatically turned toward him, supporting his weight. "We're
here."
    The warmth of his body surrounded her as he braced
himself against her. She closed her eyes, feeling his heart beating
beneath her hand. The tangy smell of male enveloped her and
somewhere deep inside her, despite the odor of blood and injury,
she responded to the memory. She knew this man, knew his scent,
knew the feel of his arms. And no matter what anyone had told her,
he was real. Real .
    The feel of something sticky against her fingers
pulled her from her thoughts. "Oh God, you're bleeding again."
    He touched the stain on his shirt. "Yeah, I think the
walk opened the wound."
    "Look, Michael, we've got to call a doctor."
    "No time." Their eyes met and she saw the certainty
in his gaze. "The bullet has to come out now."
    She helped him into the house and across the living
room, for once thankful that the cabin was small. Reaching the door
to the bedroom, she paused, summoning the last of her strength.
"We're almost there." She wasn't certain who she was talking to,
Michael or herself. She steered him across the room to the bed.
With an exhausted sigh, he dropped down on it, his eyes closed, his
lashes dark against the ashen pallor of his skin.
    "Come on, we've made it this far. You've got to stay
with me."
    Blue eyes flickered open. The pain reflected there
made her gasp. With steely determination, he struggled to sit up,
leaning back against the pillows. "Have you ever removed a bullet?"
He spoke slowly, as if each word were an effort.
    "It's not something I list on my resume." He frowned.
"I'm sorry. It's just that I haven't dealt with anything like this
before." Her voice trembled. What if she