Part 41 (1/2)
He unb.u.t.toned his s.h.i.+rt, then gritted his teeth and leaned forward, slipping out of it. She placed his hand against the wound again to help slow the flow of blood.
”Hold on tight to it, okay?”
She poked a key through the fabric of the s.h.i.+rt, then ripped away a piece of it, folding it into a pack.
”There you go messing up one of my s.h.i.+rts again,” Dave said. ”Pretty soon I'm not going to have a d.a.m.ned thing left to wear.”
”G.o.d, Dave. Please don't cut up. Not now.”
”Take it easy, Lisa. It's going to be okay.” He glanced at the yoke. ”Shouldn't somebody be flying this thing?”
”I've got it under control. Move your hand.”
He eased his hand away, and she quickly pressed the pack against the wound.
”Hold that,” she told Dave, putting his palm back against it. She tore the s.h.i.+rt into strips.
”Can you lift your leg?” she asked.
He raised his leg as best he could, and she slipped the strips beneath it, circling his thigh and making a knot just above the wound to tie the pack in place. Blood was already soaking through it. She pressed her palm hard against it, and Dave gritted his teeth.
”I'm sorry,” she said. ”But I have to hold it tight.”
”I know. It's okay.”
With his head against the back of the seat, he rolled it to the left to look at her. ”Guess this'll teach me not to mess around getting into the plane next time, huh?” He smiled a little, but she could see the pain in his eyes.
”Dave, I'm so sorry. I never should have gotten you into this.”
”No. It was my decision. I was the one who wanted to go after Robert.”
”But I never should have let you. You'd already done so much for me. To put your life at risk like this-”
”Again. My choice. And everything's going to be all right. We haven't come this far for things to fall apart now. Just get us to San Antonio, okay?”
”No. We're landing in Brownsville. It's only an hour away. I wish I could put down before then, but there's nothing between here and there but open country. I'll make sure they have an ambulance waiting.”
”What about Robert?”
”I'll ask the controller in Brownsville to contact customs agents in San Antonio and tell them what's happening. They can arrange to have agents in Brownsville waiting to pick him up.” She paused. ”And I'll have them call Alex. He needs to know what's happening.”
Dave looked for a moment as if he wanted to object. Then he glanced down at the blood seeping through the bandage on his leg and simply nodded. That was her first indication that he really did know what a dangerous situation he was in, and her own apprehension took a quantum leap.
Lisa radioed ahead and explained the situation. As she was asking them to contact Alex, she started to imagine what it would be like if she had to tell Dave's family that the worst had happened. They already thought he was crazy for having anything to do with her. If she ended up getting him killed . . . oh, G.o.d, how was she ever going to deal with that?
Even though Dave was losing blood, for the first ten minutes or so he seemed alert. But by the half-hour mark he started to get groggy. And no matter how hard she held the pack against his leg, blood continued to seep out, eventually dripping to the floor below.
She kept talking to him, even though his responses grew more spa.r.s.e. Her fingers ached from pressing them so hard against his wound, but she wasn't going to let up. Not for one second. With the blood he was losing even with the pressure, she couldn't imagine what it would be like if she let go.
So she wasn't letting go.
”How are you doing?” she asked.
”I'm okay,” he said with a weak smile. ”Just thinking about tequila shots.”
So was she. That and every other moment of the past few days that had brought them so close together. After everything that had happened between them, the very idea that she could lose him now was inconceivable.
As the minutes ticked by, Dave's respirations grew faster and more shallow and his eyes began to glaze over. Looking down, Lisa saw blood covering the floor beneath his seat, and she had to fight the ache of hopelessness that began to eat away at her.
Then she saw it. Far on the horizon, Brownsville was coming into view.
”Dave! We're almost there. Hold on, okay? We're almost there.”
He nodded almost imperceptibly, slowly blinking his eyes.
She was losing him.
”Hey, Dave,” she said, trying to keep her voice light. ”What do you suppose Arnold and Bruce and Sylvester would do in a situation like this? They'd probably think it was no big deal. I mean, this is a piece of cake compared to hanging off helicopters and getting hit by an explosion at the top of a skysc.r.a.per, right?”
”Yeah,” he said weakly. Then he rolled his head around to look at her. ”But the difference is that they go home at the end of the day . . .” He took a breath. ”No matter how many times they've been shot.”
”So will you.”
There was a long silence.
”Maybe,” he said.
Looking over, she saw his eyes growing heavy, and his face was deathly pale.
”No,” she said suddenly. ”Not maybe. Don't you dare dare say maybe. I can see Brownsville. We'll be down in just a few minutes. I know you can hold on for a few more minutes.” say maybe. I can see Brownsville. We'll be down in just a few minutes. I know you can hold on for a few more minutes.”
He sighed weakly. ”Lisa?”
”Don't talk, Dave. Save your strength. We'll be on the ground in no time.”
”If things go wrong, tell Ashley I love her. And my family, too.”
”Dave, stop it!” she said. ”You're going to make it. You can tell them yourself!”
”Promise me.”
”Dave-”
”Promise.”
She swallowed hard, fighting the sobs that choked her throat. ”I promise.”
”Something else.”
”Yes?”