How do you survive being shot and left for dead in the Chihuahuan Desert? By being found by a beautiful wildlife photographer willing to risk her life to save yours.
A bitter ex-cop fights for his life after he runs to the sound of gunfire on the Ri...
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Mendocino spent the following week in the hospital. A lot of muscle and meat had been ripped and torn. Time and meds were helping. Day by day, the hot lava searing his chest began to cool. Not a lot could be done about the puncture wounds from the thorns or the big hole in his back, where the bullet ripped out of his body, or even the two holes in his chest, where they entered. Take it easy. Let it all heal. Be careful not to rip anything.
His sun-streaked hair, which had not been cut since he left the Dallas police force, was thick and long enough to hide almost all of the wicked gash across the right side of his head. "It gives you character," Patty told him. Patty McKay. She was sunshine on a cloudy day.
All week, one Triple-A guard or another remained posted at his hospital door. Mendocino hadn't seen or heard from LeBeouf or Wright again.
Amos stopped by. The two had a lot in common and they'd gained trust. Amos seemed satisfied Mendocino was not the dangerous criminal he initially suspected.
Tillie proved true to her word and stayed away.
Mendocino arranged to move his RV from Lajitas to Alpine, so he could be near enough to the hospital to attend physical therapy daily after his release. Lajitas was too distant.
Amos picked him up from the hospital on Friday to drive him to his truck at Adventure Rafting on the Rio Grande at Lajitas. The round trip was more than two hundred miles.
Leaving his hospital room for the last time, Mendocino noticed the guard was gone. He scoffed. "They guard me while I'm in the hospital but when I walk into the open—when I'm an easy target—I'm on my own." He glanced sideways at Amos. "Does that make sense?"
"Do you want a guard?"
"I didn't want anyone to know I made it out of that cave alive. Guarding me in the hospital but not when I'm out in the open seems counter-intuitive. Don't you think?"
"If counter-intuitive means stupid then, yes. Nothing the feds do makes sense," Amos said. "What do you expect from a fed?"
"Thanks for doing this," Mendocino said, climbing into Amos's truck. "I'll buy the gas. Whatever you ask."
"Don't worry about it. I offered," Amos said. "Since we're headed south, do you want me to take you back to where Tillie found you?"
He hadn't thought about it. "Someday. Not this day." He grinned. "I'm not big on hiking in pajamas."
Amos eyed his passenger's clothing and let out a hearty laugh, spotting the pajamas and wearing the muddy boots he'd worn when they brought him to the hospital. "Sorry, man. I wasn't thinking. Good-looking outfit." He kept laughing, wiping his eyes.
Mendocino chuckled, too. "It's good enough for a drive-through window. I'd kill for a big, fat, juicy burger with an icy cold Coke and fries. I'm buying."
"Damn straight." Amos eyed his riding companion with half a grin. "I'll have a double chocolate malt on you, too." He flicked his brows, dimples showing. "Maybe even onion rings, big spender." He nodded. "Place right up the road makes the best burger in Texas."
