Dancing with the Devil

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Eighteen 

Audrey swallowed hard as she peered through the firelight and down at the bloody hole in Ance's side. 

"Unless you know witchcraft, staring at the damn thing won't get the bullet out," Ance growled as he lay on his good side on the ground and glared at her. 

Audrey snapped from her daze and nodded. She held out her hands and Ance poured a bit of whiskey onto them. Audrey rubbed them together thoroughly and winced when Ance then poured more of the stinging liquid onto his bullet wound. 

Sweat beads slicked his brow and he grimaced but did not say a word or yell out the way most people would have. Audrey knew that was partly because he was no doubt a tough man but also because he didn't want to wake Penelope who was sleeping soundly on the other side of the campfire after riding like the hounds of hell were on their heels for five straight hours. 

"Alright, Audrey, just pour some whiskey over that knife and cut the wound a little wider so you can get your fingers in there and find the bullet. I don't think it's real deep and it didn't hit anything important but we gotta get it out and get the bleeding stopped." 

Audrey agreed silently as she looked at his blood soaked shirt tossed beside the fire. Ance was bare from the waist up and if not for the blood, paleness and bullet hole, Audrey would be able to take the time to admire his physique. His muscles weren't well defined but he was solid, thick and masculine. The same brown hair that was thick upon his head also covered his chest and trailed down his stomach to the waistband of his trousers. She refocused her attention on the wound, which was toward his back and swallowed hard as she poured whiskey over his small pocket knife. 

This wasn't the first time Audrey had treated wounds, though it was her first bullet wound and her first experience with human medical care..... All her other patients had been of the equine variety. 

"Are you ready?" she asked, meeting his gaze as he watched her. 

Ance simply nodded and she knew his jaw hardened beneath his beard. With a steadying breath, Audrey stuck the knife blade to the bloody hole and slit it open wider to allow her fingers access. 

Ance tensed and grabbed his gun belt before plopping the leather between his teeth and biting down hard. Audrey's hands were shaking but she didn't stop. If Ance was going to live she had to get that bullet out of him--and Audrey needed Ance to live. 

Without giving herself time to fully think about what she was doing, Audrey sat the knife aside and pushed her fingers into the wound. Ance's breaths came in sharp pants as Audrey desperately fished for the tiny piece of metal. 

Once she glanced up at his face and found his deep blue eyes locked on her. She had quickly turned her gaze back to her task but not before those eyes had once again caused her to feel small and somewhat helpless. 

Audrey fished around inside the wound and nearly let out a cry of triumph when she felt that small, crumpled ball of lead and pulled it out between her fingers. 

"I got it," she declared triumphantly. 

Ance nodded and pulled the gun belt from his mouth. "You did real good... now sew me up before there ain't any blood left to keep in." 

Audrey nodded, dropped the bullet, poured a bit more whiskey over the wound and then sewed it closed all while Ance gripped that leather between his teeth and panted hard through his nose. 

When Audrey finished, she sat back on the dirt and breathed out a long sigh of relief, happy that her messy task was over. She was filthy and would need to clean off in the small stream they were camped beside, but Ance was patched up and would, hopefully, make a full recovery.