“I’m here,” he said as gently as he could through his panting.
“Thank God,” she mumbled. “The others, Trev. I-I couldn’t…” her words dissolved into gasping sobs again.
He shifted to glance around quickly again. They were too exposed here. “I’m going to pick you up and carry you to a spot with more cover. Is that okay?” She nodded emphatically, so he slung his rifle and carefully scooped her into his arms. Her pack made that awkward, and she nearly whacked him in the face with the MP-443 Grach she still held in a white-knuckled grip when he looped her arm around his neck. But finally he got a stable hold on her, and as she buried her face in his chest he pushed to his feet on rubbery legs and looked around.
There was a dip in the ground that ran through some sage bushes nearby. He quickly made his way over to it and deposited her in the most covered spot he could find. Then he crouched over her and unslung his rifle, using the scope to pan the area as he toggled his headset mic. “I’ve got Deb safe for now.”
Matt’s voice came back strong with hints of exertion from running. “Good. We’ll be there in just a few minutes.”
Trev looked down at Deb. She’d barely responded to his voice when he’d been talking over the radio. Shock? “Are you hurt?” he asked her in a low, soothing tone.
She nodded. “He kicked me around a little before I managed to get away. Nothing serious, I think.”
He felt a flash of rage at that: whoever did that to the woman he cared about would certainly get what was coming to him. But for now he needed to worry about her. Getting her talking might help shake her out of her shock. “How about you holster that?”
Deb blinked and uncurled slightly, looking at the pistol still clutched in her hand. She managed a weak smile as she fumbled to return it to its concealed holster. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to swing it around like a madwoman this time.”
She was obviously talking about just after he’d rescued her from the blockheads, when she’d come within an inch of shooting Fred Vernon as vengeance for him abandoning Newtown and indirectly causing her situation. Trev relaxed slightly, deciding that if she could manage humor she was probably not in too bad shape.
“If you’re feeling up to it you can tell me what happened,” he said. When she flinched slightly he hastily added. “No need to go into details.”
Nodding, Deb haltingly related approaching the camp, the argument Brandon had with the four men there which distracted the patrol from the bandits charging them from the copse, and how by the time they realized the danger it was too late. She skimmed over her own escape, which he didn’t blame her for.
“The man you talked to at the fire was bruised?” Trev asked partway through.
The brown-haired woman started to nod, then froze as realization dawned in her eyes. “The refugee you headbutted!” Her face crumpled in guilt and anguish. “So he was shoot on sight. I thought the bruise was important but I couldn’t remember why. If I’d just remembered I could’ve warned the others. They’d still be alive. It’s all my fault.”
“It’s nobody’s fault but the men who did this,” Trev said firmly. “Although it can be a good lesson about paying attention to important details. Keep going.”
By the time she finished her account Matt, Dr. Langstrom, Terry, April, Lewis, Jane, Gutierrez, Rick, Lucas, and more than a dozen others had arrived. At Deb’s direction Gutierrez led most to the rise overlooking the ambush spot so they could investigate the scene, along with Langstrom to check on the other members of the patrol and see if there was anything he could do for them. Although nobody had much hope there.
Meanwhile Matt, Terry, April, Lewis, Jane, and Lucas stayed behind to check on Deb. At least until April insisted they should give her and her husband some space and not crowd the poor woman.
Trev reluctantly allowed himself to be pulled aside to briefly repeat Deb’s account of the situation. By the end of it his friends were seething as much as he was. “I’d like to take Deb home and make sure she’s okay,” he finished. “Can you handle things here?”
Matt nodded. “We’ve got it,” he said with a gesture to the others. Lewis and Lucas both gave Trev a reassuring squeeze on the arm, then the group followed Matt towards the rise and what lay beyond.
Not long after that April motioned to him, and Trev hesitantly made his way over. “How is she?”
Terry ran a hand through his reddish-blond hair. “She’s going to have some wicked bruises, and moving around might be painful for a few days. Nothing rest and regular careful stretching can’t fix.” The doctor stood and nodded to his wife. “We should probably go help Garret check on the rest of the patrol, although from the sound of things there won’t be any good news there.”
Trev didn’t envy his friend that task. “Check with the others that it’s safe before going over the rise, just to be careful. We don’t want to lose half the town’s medical staff.”
“Will do.” Terry crouched to say a few final quiet words to Deb, and April gave the brown-haired woman a hug. Then the two hurried off towards the ambush site.
After a brief pause watching them go Trev tentatively sat down beside Deb. To his relief rather than having a problem with it she reached out and took his hand, holding it tight. He was happy to share that contact. “You have no idea how scared I was for you,” he said quietly.
She gave him a wan smile. “I could see. Did you sprint the entire way here?”
“Pretty much.” They sat for about a minute, decompressing from what had just happened. Then, wondering if he was making a mistake and half sure he’d picked a bad time for it, Trev took a breath and plunged in. “I’m sick of not being able to see you. I feel like I failed you today. If you’re sick of being apart too then I’d say it’s been long enough, right?”
Deb made a face. “Way past being sick of it. I think I’ve sorted out my issues enough to risk hanging out with my favorite person.” Her eyes flicked to the north. “Of course then all this happened. I promise I’ll try not to let it make me cuckoo, but…” She sighed. “At least I was able to defend myself and get away this time.”
Trev squeezed her hand gently. “Let’s get you back to town. You need to get some rest in a quiet, safe place, and I’ll be nearby in case you need me.”
She gave him a wry smile. “I thought you weren’t supposed to enable my dependencies.”
Trev snorted. “Screw that. After what just happened I need to be close to you to reassure myself you’re okay.”
“But my patrol, the men who did this,” she protested feebly. “You need to lead the defenders.”
“I already talked to Matt. He doesn’t mind if I call off this time for personal reasons. I want those who hurt you to get what’s coming to them, but you’re my first priority.”
“Okay.” She hesitated, then continued in a small voice. “If we’re starting our relationship again we’ll still need to take it slow when it comes to, um, intimacy.”
Of course. Her problems hadn’t just gone away after a few weeks apart, and what’d happened today probably wouldn’t make things any easier. The last thing he wanted was for their relationship to be marred by trauma from her past because he’d been too impatient.
“We’ll take it as slow as you need,” he assured her.
Deb gave him a weak but sincere smile. “Then can I finally start calling you my boyfriend?”
He laughed quietly. “I guess it’s past time for that huh, girlfriend?”