Owen
How many years had it been since we’d seen each other, yet suddenly, there she was.My little sister was on my doorstep with an unconscious stranger who’d apparently suffered a gunshot wound.
“I really need you to help him.”Erin hopped from one foot to the other, anxiety rolling from her in palpable waves.“Please, Owen.I know it’s a huge ask, but we’re desperate.”
“Hold up.”My hands rose as my head struggled to keep up.“This isn’t a hospital, Erin.If your friend’s been shot, then he needs proper medical facilities.This is my house.”
“We can’t go to hospital.”Her brows knitted, and for the first time since I’d opened the door, I looked at her properly.
Disheveled and dirty, Erin looked weary, as though the weight of the world had been foisted on her shoulders.If she didn’t yet know about our mum, then I wondered what the cause of her apprehension could have been.My attention slid to the motionless stranger in the front seat.Somehow, I suspected he was to blame.
“Is he a criminal?”I motioned to the car when my gaze returned to her.“Is that why you won’t go to the hospital?”
“It’s complicated, Owen.”Tears brimmed in her eyes as her desperation amplified.“We were abducted by some shady characters from his past and he got shot.That’s all I know.I haven’t known him that long.”
“Then go to the police!”My tone implored her to see sense.“Let them deal with it.”
“He needs a doctor.”Her tone was even, despite the tears making tracks along her cheeks.“Please, help us.”
Staring into her eyes, I knew I couldn’t refuse her.There was little more than a year between us, yet I’d always been her big brother, the one she’d come to for help when we were younger.I couldn’t let her down.After all, Erin was the only family I had left.
“I’ll help,” I assured her.“But for you, not him.Are you sure this is the kind of guy you want to be hanging around with?”
“I know it sounds insane, but…” She wiped at tears with the heel of her hand.“I really like him.He’s not a bad man, Owen.He just came from a bad place.”
My focus flitted back to the sleeping man as she concluded.I could hardly keep up with the things she was telling me.She’d been kidnapped by the kinds of men who carried guns?What the hell had happened to the happy-go-lucky girl I remembered?
“How long ago was he shot?”I walked toward him.“And where did the bullet end up?”
I assumed it was nowhere too serious or the guy would have already bled out in the front seat of the expensive car parked on my driveway.
“His shoulder,” she answered.“Probably four or five hours ago now.”
“Has he had any pain relief?”It must have been fucking excruciating for the guy dealing with a gunshot for that long.
“No.”She pulled in a shaky breath.“We were trying to get away, and then we were driving.”
She grimaced, presumably recollecting whatever they’d been through.“I’m worried he’ll get an infection if you don’t act.”
“Jesus, Erin.”Closing the distance between us, I flung an arm around her.I’d been so glad to see her when I’d opened the door, so certain that she’d got wind of my messages and had come because of our mother, but evidently, Erin had been going through an ordeal of her own.
“I know.”She pulled in a breath, as though steeling herself.“I haven’t even started to process it all yet.I just want him to be okay.”
“You care about him?”
“Yes.”She stared up at me with watery eyes.“He saved me, Owen.He doesn’t deserve to die this way.”
“Okay.”Walking toward the passenger door, I was already rolling up my sleeves.“You’re going to have to help me get him into the house.What did you say his name is?”
“Eli.”She rushed to my side as I opened the door.“I didn’t know if it was a good idea to let him sleep or not, but he seemed exhausted.”
Peering into the car, I was thankful my property wasn’t overlooked.The nearest neighbors were almost a mile in any direction, which meant no one had to witness the suspect car outside my house or the bleeding man we were about to haul inside.
Falling to one knee, I reached for his wrist and checked his pulse.Satisfied there was a steady rhythm, I lowered his hand and shook him gently.
“Eli,” I coaxed.“Eli, wake up.”
“Hmmm?”He turned his head toward me, but his lids stubbornly refused to open.
