She didn’t even know if Raid was around and she couldn’t wait to find out. The stables were closer than the house. They needed shelter. It didn’t compute that the shooter could easily hit her, that they were deliberately missing her. It also didn’t occur to her to run and get help.
“Help! Help! Shooter!” she yelled as she pulled at Beau, trying to tug him across the ground. She shoved her injured arm out of the sling, ignoring the pain that slashed through her as she grabbed hold of Beau under the arms. He was heavy. God, how was she going to move him? Where had he been shot?
She didn’t notice the shooter had stopped as she dragged him, grunting with the effort, her shoulder burning, tears and sweat mingling. Her breath sawed in and out of her lungs, but she got him closer to the stable then inside. She collapsed with a sob.
“Beau, Beau, oh, God. Please be alive. Please be alive.” Her whole body trembled with shock and horror. She managed to roll him over, crying out as she saw the blood on his chest.
Fuck. Fuck. She felt for a pulse.
There. It was faint but it was there. But, oh, God, now what did she do?
Her phone. Call someone. She reached into her back pocket and drew out her phone. She dialed 911 and quickly told them the situation. She put them on speaker, pulling her T-shirt off as she spoke so she could ball it against the injury. Where was the shooter? Was he coming this way? Where could she hide Beau?
“Ma’am? Ma’am, are you there?”
She didn’t recognize the dispatcher and thought she must be from a different county.
“Please, I’m scared the shooter is going to come find us. I need to stay quiet. I need to end this call.” She turned off her phone and looked around for a weapon. She needed something to defend Beau with. She grabbed hold of his feet, pulling him into an empty stall. As soon as they were safe, she was going to start lifting weights or something. By the time she moved him, her whole body was shaking, her shoulder burned with an agony that was indescribable. But she couldn’t worry about that right now.
A weapon, she needed a weapon. She spotted the rake they used to muck out the stalls. Grabbing it, she moved over to stand over Beau and waited.
No one would hurt him again on her watch.
“What’s going on with you and Flick?” Alec asked as they knelt and studied the cut fence. He couldn’t fucking believe it. Some motherfucking bastard had stolen their cattle.
You had to be a fucking idiot to steal cattle off their ranch. When West found them, he was going rip their balls off and—
Okay, deep breath. He recognized the rage pumping through his blood probably wasn’t entirely due to their cattle being taken. Most of it was directed at himself.
You had no business touching her.
“What are you talking about?” Flick wouldn’t have said anything about that kiss, would she? Not to Alec, anyway, but maybe to Mia?
You’re supposed to be taking care of her, not hurting her.
He’d gotten carried away the other day, practically throwing her on the bed and ravishing her. When he’d heard her gasp in pain and realized what he’d been doing, he’d been disgusted with himself. What were you thinking?
He hadn’t been thinking. He’d been caught in a haze of arousal. Need unlike anything he’d felt before.
For Flick.
He tried to recall the desire he’d had for Lana. But it paled in comparison.
You had no right leading her on, knowing her feelings for you. Knowing you can’t take things further.
Except he wanted to. He’d had to move out of her room, because he wanted her so damn much it was a burning ache.
She’s not a fuck ’em and leave ’em girl, and you can’t commit to more.
“Bastards were brazen, just drove right up,” he muttered.
“West,” Alec said sharply.
“Yeah?”
“I asked you a question about Flick.”
“I don’t want to talk about Flick. What she and I do is none of your business.”