Lies That Bind by Caitlyn Willows

weapon and dropped to his knees beside Nate.
    “What the fuck does it look like?” Nate dropped his arm. “Someone fucking shot an arrow at me.” He tried to hold up the arrow clutched in his grip but failed. Sucking in a gasp through clenched teeth, he tried to push himself more upright on the tree. “I thought I heard a noise in the trees.”
    “You shoot?”
    Nate hesitated too long. “When I heard you call me. Between the shock of being hit and the horse running off, I couldn’t tell if the person ran off or not.”
    “They sure as shit didn’t stick around.” Tyler yanked off his shirt for a compress and draped it over Nate’s shoulder. The gaping wound made it impossible to stop the blood flow. “It took a chunk out of your shoulder.”
    “I’m lucky to be alive. If I hadn’t ducked to miss a low branch, I’d be dead.”
    “We’ve got to get you out of here.” He fumbled for his cell phone.
    “No shit. Help me mount.” He stuffed his .32 into a shin holster and tried to stand.
    Tyler caught his fall and eased him back to the ground. “If you don’t let go of that damn arrow, you’re going to get hurt again.”
    “It’s evidence.” His grip tightened on the shaft. “I’ll be damned—”
    “You’ll be dead.”
    Nate’s eyes narrowed. Tyler couldn’t tell if it was from anger or shock getting the better of him. He’d gone pale and clammy. But Nate did have a point. The arrow was evidence.
    Tyler retrieved his cell phone and punched in Rex’s number. “We’ll put it in my quiver.”
    Heaving breaths, Nate hooked the hole in his T-shirt and ripped it in two, then wrapped it around the arrow and knotted the ends closed. “Who you calling?”
    “Rex. I want him to have the Suburban ready to go. It’d take forever for a rescue crew to get out here.” He punched End and tried again. “He’s not picking up.”
    Nate snickered and sagged against the tree. “No shit. If you were with Tessa, would you pick up?”
    Valid point. He disconnected.
    “Try her cell,” Nate said.
    Tyler scrolled down to her number, punched it to dial, and got a no-service signal. “I lost the fucking connection.”
    “I’ll try mine.” Nate fumbled for his phone tucked in his right pocket with his left hand and succeeded in toppling over onto his wounded shoulder. Tyler saw him grind his teeth against a cry of pain. He felt Nate’s agony in his own bones.
    “Here. Let me.” He braced Nate upright, repositioning the makeshift compress—worthless at this point but better than nothing. “I’ll call her.” Tyler reached for the phone in Nate’s pocket.
    “Don’t get too personal with me.”
    At least Nate’s humor was still intact. “You wish.” Tyler passed the cell to him. Like his attempts, the call to Tessa went unanswered.
    “Okay, we’ve got to get you out of here while you can still move. I’m only wasting time, trying to find someone. All the hands are out with the tour group. We’d make better time heading back.”
    “Leave me here.”
    “For the pigs? You’re losing blood quicker than I’d like. All the ammo in the world isn’t going to do you a lick of good once you pass out.” Tyler stuffed both phones into his jeans pockets. “You’re coming with me.” Tyler drew Nate’s good arm over his shoulder, grabbed him around the waist, and helped him stand on wobbly legs. In spite of all the shuffling, Nate had still managed to grab the arrow. Tyler didn’t have a free hand to argue the point.
    “Hang in there. I’ll get you back.”
    “Dead or alive?”
    Something like that . “Let’s shoot for alive, okay?”
    “I’d rather shoot for the guy who did this. Before he tries again.”
    And they’d be sitting ducks on those horses. “Then we’ll aim for the middle of the clearing and pray.”
    “Like Derek did?”
    Too much so . Tyler prayed they didn’t end up the same way.

Chapter Seven
    Tessa woke to a hard, hot body wrapped around hers and a promising erection