I do that?"
"I heard you back there," Darcy sputtered, some of her defiance returning as she got up, dusting leaves off her skirt with as much dignity as possible. "You sounded like you wanted to kill David and Robert."
"They had guns. You don't—unless you're hiding them where the sun don't shine."
Darcy blushed. She'd given him a view right up her skirt at her wisp of a lace thong...and down her low-cut sweater at her matching bra. It was pretty obvious she wasn't packing, but she shook her head just in case. She wasn't in the mood to be strip searched.
"Good," the alpha muttered, drilling her with an unblinking gaze. "Listen, I don't care where you go from here, but if you keep on in this direction, you'll end up on my neighbor's land—and Cade ain't half as friendly as me."
Darcy swallowed. Was it really possible that there were scarier alphas than this one?
"Th-Thank you for the warning," she said as politely as possible, barely stopping herself from adding 'sir,' as she did at work.
The alpha stared at her for another long second before abruptly shaking his head and turning to head deeper into the woods. "Whatever."
"Wait," Darcy called after him before he'd gone more than a few steps.
The alpha stopped, his body rigid, but didn't bother to turn around. "What?"
"You're bleeding," she said, transfixed by the bright red stain spreading on the side of his T-shirt.
The alpha finally turned toward her, his black eyebrows slightly raised. "So?"
Darcy rolled her eyes at the tough-guy act. If this alpha was anything like the cops she worked with, he'd sooner drop dead than admit anything was wrong.
"So, you've been shot," she said. Without thinking, she stepped toward him.
"Back off," the alpha barked. The warning in his eyes was steely and cold. "Don't take another fucking step."
Darcy held up her hands to show she posed no threat, and slowly backed up. For a moment she almost thought—but no. The alpha couldn't possibly be afraid of her….could he?
"But you're hurt," she said, wondering if he had gone into shock. He hadn't lost that much blood—yet—but maybe the bullet had struck a vital organ. "You need help."
"I'm fine." The alpha shook his head impatiently, already on the move again. "This is nothing—a scratch that'll heal in no time."
"I have a first aid kit in the car," Darcy called to his retreating back, trying to stall him.
Of course, her first aid kit was filled with bandages and alcohol wipes. Nothing in it could treat a gunshot wound. What this man needed was an ambulance and emergency ward—but he was never going to get those things if he disappeared into the trees.
Darcy had sat through far too many department-mandated first aid classes not to know what happened to untreated gunshot victims. First, the alpha would become confused. As oxygen failed to reach his brain, his disorientation would worsen. Then his heart would begin to fail. His kidneys would shut down, and eventually he'd simply crumple to the forest floor like a wounded animal and die.
She couldn't let that happen.
The alpha might be the scariest son of a bitch that Darcy had laid eyes on —and she should know; she'd dated some doozies—but he'd also saved her from the Baron brothers. He'd saved her life.
Now she had to return the favor.
"It'll only take a second for you to come with me to my car so I can grab my kit," she said, hoping that once there, she could talk him into calling for help.
The alpha let out another low, rumbling growl, making his irritation with her obvious.
But he'd already shown his hand—if he hadn't killed her already, he wasn't going to. So Darcy decided to treat him like a cop in a foul mood or one of the disorderly collars they brought in for holding—ignore the bullshit and keep repeating herself until her words finally sank in.
"I told you, it's a scratch," he said, resignedly turning back toward her.
That was when Darcy spotted more blood seeping from additional holes in his shirt. "Holy shit!" she said, rushing forward.
The alpha staggered backward, never taking his eyes off her as he picked up a huge fallen bough. "Don't come near me," he ordered her, brandishing it like a sword.
"You're in shock," Darcy said, enunciating each word carefully. "Your mind is playing tricks on you. I'm no threat to you. See?"
She held out her arms to show him that she wasn't hiding anything.
"You don't know what you're talking about. There's nothing wrong