Cooper kneeled next to Kendall and set his gun on the floor. She was bleeding from her left shoulder. Not a kill shot, but she wasn’t moving. He gently turned her over, and when he saw the bruises and fingerprints on her neck, he almost picked up his gun to kill Schroder all over again.
“He’s dead,” Grayson said from Schroder’s side.
“Good.” There wasn’t an exit wound, so the bullet was still inside her. “We need to get her to the hospital. We’re too far out to wait for an ambulance.” How he was even speaking coherently, he didn’t know. There was a blood-red rage inside him at seeing what had been done to her.
“He’s not going anywhere, so we can leave him here for now,” Grayson said. “Let’s go. Give me your keys.”
Cooper dug his truck keys from his pocket and handed them over, then he scooped Kendall up. He followed Grayson to the truck, got in the back and held her across his lap. “There’s asmall first aid kit in the console. I need something to press over the wound to stop the bleeding.” It was only because of his years of military training that he was able to stay calm. Going ballistic—which was appealing right now—wouldn’t help her.
Grayson handed over a pack of gauze. “Here.”
He tore the package open with his teeth, then pressed several squares over the wound. “Kendall, open your eyes. Please, baby.”
“Okay, I’ve got the closest hospital on the GPS. It’s twenty-five minutes from here.”
“Make it in fifteen.”
He kept talking to her while Grayson sped them to the hospital. He also half listened to Grayson’s conversation with their FBI friend Sean Danvers. Grayson gave Sean a rundown of the events leading up to Schroder’s death, then asked him to contact the local police.
“He’s going to notify the police and send one of his agents out of the Atlanta office up here,” Grayson said after disconnecting. “We’ll have to give statements. Kendall will, too, when she’s able.”
“Whatever. All I care about right now is getting her to the hospital.” He lifted the gauze. The wound was still bleeding but not as heavy as it had been. “Kendall. Open your eyes.”
She moaned, and her eyelids fluttered but didn’t open. How long had she been deprived of oxygen? He tried not to think of the damage that might have been done to her brain. She was going to be okay. She had to be.
“I don’t know why she won’t wake up. It’s obvious he tried to strangle her from the marks on her neck, but she should be conscious by now.” That she wasn’t scared the hell out of him. “Kendall. Wake up.” He put command in his voice, hoping that would bring her around, but there was no reaction. “Baby, open your eyes for me.” He trailed his fingers over her face.
“No,” she cried. “No!”
She sounded like someone with an awful cold. Had Schroder damaged her voice box? Suddenly, she was fighting him like an enraged cat, all teeth and claws. The only thing he knew to do was hug her to his body to keep her from hurting herself.
“Hey, hey. You’re safe now, Kendall. You’re safe.”
“I think she’s afraid to wake up,” Grayson said. “She doesn’t realize it’s you holding her.”
She quieted, sinking back down into whatever black hole she was hiding in. He stopped trying to wake her up. If she thought she was safe wherever she’d taken herself, he would let her stay there until they could get to the hospital and doctors.
“Do you think the hospital here has doctors who know how to deal with this?” he said. “Maybe we should arrange a medical flight to an Atlanta hospital.”
“Let’s get her to the hospital here, then decide if we need to do that. We’ll be there in three minutes.”
He also needed to call her father, but he’d wait to do that after they learned what they were dealing with. He didn’t think the shoulder wound was life-threatening or would even cause long-term damage. The location where the bullet had entered wasn’t where it would have hit any vital organs. They’d have to get the bullet out, and maybe she’d need some physical therapy, but it was the possible brain damage from being choked and her mental state that had him worried.
“We’re here.” Grayson stopped the truck at the emergency entrance and jumped out. He opened the back door. “Let me take her until you get out.”
“I’ve got her.” Refusing to let go of her, he slid out of the truck.
“Okay. I’m going to park the truck, then come in.”
Cooper nodded. The door slid open as he approached, and he ran up to the desk. “I need a doctor. Now!”
The woman took one look at Kendall before picking up the phone. “Code Blue. Code Blue. Front Desk.”
A man and a woman appeared, pushing a gurney between them. “Are one of you a doctor?” he asked as he eased Kendall onto it.
“I am,” the woman said. “Dr. Hasting. What happened to her?”
“She was strangled and shot in the shoulder. She’s been unconscious since I found her.”