Shiver

have been sausage casing. He got sick to his stomach every time he looked at it. So unless it was absolutely necessary, he just didn’t. Only now, it was necessary.
    “You really think taking off that tourniquet is a good idea?” She glanced up at him. Her expression was uneasy.
    “It is if I don’t want to lose my leg. Which I don’t.” He handed her the folded shirt, then picked up the roll of gauze that had been in the first-aid kit. Along with an Ace bandage, a tube of antibiotic ointment, some surgical tape, and a small pair of scissors, all also from the first-aid kit, that was all he had to work with. He placed each item carefully on the dashboard, within easy reach of his outstretched hand. Once the tourniquet came off, he was going to have to work fast. The darkness was an issue—moonlight only went so far—but he could see well enough to bandage the hole in his leg, and turning on an interior light would make them too visible. Finally, he pulled the pistol out of his waistband and tucked it down into the pocket on the door beside him, which put it out of her reach but kept it close enough where he could grab it if he needed it. When everythingwas ready, he unbuttoned his jeans and slid his zipper down, the better to get his pants out of the way fast when the tourniquet came off. Then he looked at her.
    “Scoot on over here.”
    “What happens if you bleed out?”
    Trepidation showed in every line of her face, but she scooted obediently, sliding toward him until her knee just touched his good leg. Given the angle at which he was situated on the seat, that was as close to him as she was going to get without putting herself through some major contortions. But she was near enough to do what he needed her to do: apply pressure to the wound while he bandaged it up.
    “Then I guess you get lucky.” Reluctantly, he slid his fingers along the narrow leather strap constricting his leg to where the fastened belt buckle strained to hold it tight above his lacerated flesh. There was no exit wound, at least none that his probing fingers had been able to discover, which meant that the bullet was still in his leg, but digging for it wasn’t going to happen under these conditions. He didn’t see any way that what he was getting ready to do could be anything but bad, but he equally didn’t see any real alternative. The tourniquet had to come off. The wound had to be bandaged. He looked at her bent head. She was intently watching his fingers as they got reacquainted with the cool silver of his belt buckle. “Or not. Just so we’re clear, me dying does not get you off the hook. They’ll still come after you. And without me around to protect you, you’ve got about as much chance of surviving as a mosquito in a zapper.”
    “Protect me?” Her eyes snapped up to meet his. Indignationsparkled in them. “Since when are you ‘protecting’ me? You said we were on the same side in the trunk, and then you kidnapped me at gunpoint. You ‘protecting me’ isn’t what’s happening here.”
    She had him there. At least, he could definitely see things from her point of view. “It wasn’t my fault you got thrown in that trunk. And, believe it or not, I’m trying to keep you alive.”
    Her lips curled scornfully. “Get real, why don’t you? The person you’re trying to keep alive here is you.”
    “Okay, so I’m trying to keep both of us alive. Same thing.”
    “No, it definitely is not.”
    “I’m not going to argue about it. You’re just going to have to trust me on this.”
    The sound she made was rife with derision. But she didn’t argue anymore; instead, her gaze shifted to his leg.
    “I think you ought to let me take you to a hospital.” She was eyeing his leg as if she wanted no part of what was getting ready to happen. Well, fair enough. He didn’t want any part of it, either, but they both had to deal.
    “I do that, and I’m a dead man. You’re dead, too. They know I’ve been shot, and believe me, they’re hoping to capitalize on it. I’ve got no doubt that they’re already keeping watch on all the hospitals in the area. We show up at one, they’ll grab us both. Like that.” He snapped his fingers.
    Her eyes flicked up to meet his. “ Who are they ?” was the question he read burning in them, but this time she didn’t even bother to ask it. Smart girl, she was learning.
    “You bleed to death trying to treat yourself, and you’re just as dead.” Her voice was flat.
    “Do your