Ridge Creek Reunited (Ridge Creek Duology) Read Online Free Page B

someone will find me.
    With more questions than answers running through my head I slowly realize that although the two men in the front seat have been talking animatedly in stilted and muted voices, they are in fact arguing.
    I instinctively move a hand to run my fingers across Pierre’s soft coat as he sleeps calmly in my lap . Luckily, he is oblivious to the turmoil swirling in my head and the fear now icing its way through my veins. Deep in puppy sleep, he merely sighs and continues to snore.
    Glancing out the window into the darkness, I note we ’re nearing the outskirts of a large country town or small city. Already formulating ideas for escape, I start looking for signposts to gain an indication of our whereabouts. It’s only a few short seconds later that my interest piques at the topic of conversation in the front seat and I soon forget all about signposts.
    “We get her to a neurologist first and confirm you didn’t do any damage with your Tibetan Ninja crap. Then we find a veterinary clinic. Then and only then will I let you deal with my injury,” the man in the passenger seat announces in a rich, authoritative voice that surprises me. He sounds well-spoken, well-educated and sort of cool.
    My interest sparks further as I focus my attention on the back of his head and realize that this is the older man with the graying hair who pointed his gun at me earlier. The man I shot.
    “Surgeon first, she and the dog are fine, ” the bald man in the driver’s seat responds quickly as he continues to focus on driving. “I’ve already told you sir, I knew what I was doing when I tapped her. You can keep fiddling and Googling on your phone all you like. You’re only going to find shit that says not to whack anyone on the head because it’s dangerous. Which is a good thing. Just think, if they advertised the real truth about how easy it is to put someone down with a precisely placed soft blow, every kid in Australia would be trying it. They’d try it on their enemies, they’d try it on their friends. They’d even try it on their families if they thought it was gunna save them doing homework. That’s when people would get hurt and end up with brain damage. I knew what I was doing. I just put her to sleep. She’s fine. ”
    “Ritchie, I don ’t think you have been listening to me at all,” the older man continues. “I said neurologist first, vet second, surgeon third. She clipped my side, we’ve stemmed the flow. I want them both checked and I want them checked first .”
    What the fuck?
    He wants a vet to look at Pierre before he gets his bullet wound attended to?
    I hear the man in the driver’s seat sigh. “Sir, a dog does not take priority over a bullet wound to your own person.”
    “ Her dog does,” the older man snaps back instantly.
    I find myself blinking rapidly as I try to understand what the hell is going on.
    “The dog looks fine to me sir. He fell, he squeaked, he got up and ran to her.”
    “Exactly. He squeaked,” the older man fires back. “It hurt, he could be hurt. He needs to see a vet. You know I know dogs. Dogs mask pain. They do it involuntarily. Your job is to follow orders Ritchie. Now follow orders. ”
    The man in the driver’s seat sighs. Leaning across to the center console of the car, he hits a button on a mobile phone sitting in a hands free cradle. Within seconds he starts talking. “Gina, we need a plastic surgeon, a general practitioner and a veterinary surgeon back at the house when we get there. Our ETA is sixteen minutes.”
    A woman’s voice responds, confused. “You’re not heading direct to the Health Service according to previous advice? Why do you need a veterinarian?”
    “On the first, he’s being an ass. On the second, she has a dog,” the driver informs the woman.
    “Okay, I’m on it,” the woman replies and the call finishes.
    “A General Practitioner is not a neurologist,” the man in the passenger seat barks half a second later. The driver