Free was up then, running toward the ambulance as the doors opened and two EMT’s hopped out. They raced back to the deputy that had been shot as three officers approached the two of them as they crossed the yard. Their guns were drawn, aimed at their feet in precaution.
“They’re with us!” Free shouted as he became aware of the situation. A tall, black-haired deputy with striking blue eyes glanced between Free and Travis, who still held Roxy cradled in his arms. “Chase, dammit, that’s Roxy you’re aiming your fucking gun at!”
“Who’s he?” the deputy called back, not lowering his gun entirely.
“That’s the guy that just drove her across the fucking country to get her here safe,” Free hissed, stepping closer before another officer stopped him. “Oh, fuck off Cross. I’m not going to hurt Chase.”
“And the suspect?” Chase called to Travis.
Travis tightened his arms around Roxy. Fear and anxiety swirled inside his chest. She had done everything she had to in self-defense… but that fear still ate at him. He would take the blame before he ever let her see the inside of a fucking jail cell.
“Deceased. Around the barn,” Travis said loud enough for him to hear. Roxy’s arms tightened around his neck at his words. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “She’s been shot. Looks superficial, but it will require stitches.” Then he looked squarely at the first officer, the one Freeman seemed to be on a first name basis with. “I have a firearm at my back, the safety is on.”
The dark-haired deputy notched his chin at the other officers around him. “You two take the weapon, then go check the suspect. I want to go—”
“You go with Beckett,” the one Free had called Cross said. They all holstered their guns, stepping toward Travis and Roxy, still held in a bridal carry in his arms. “Sorry, it’s just precaution.
Travis nodded stiffly as they lifted his shirt, pulling the gun out of his waistband. Anxiety was clawing at his chest, but he rasped, “I understand.”
The deputy named Cross asked, “Does the firearm belong to you?”
Free spoke then. “It’s mine. I gave it to him just before he went to find Roxy.”
“How is the other deputy?” Travis asked then, glancing across the yard to where the ambulance was parked.
The EMT’s were loading the wounded deputy into the back of the ambulance, and the dark-haired deputy jogged over to the back of it before they could close the doors. They spoke for just a minute, and then the doors closed, the lights and sirens coming on as they pulled out quickly. The officer in front of Travis shook his head. “Not sure.” Pointing to the dark-haired deputy who stood staring after the ambulance, he continued, “That’s his partner. I’ve never had a partner wounded like this before. It’s got to be rough.”
Travis adjusted Roxy in his arms and she hissed in pain, her breath sucking in through her teeth where her head was resting against his shoulder. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, walking forward again. “Is there another ambulance coming or should I take her myself?”
“I don’t need—”
“Shut up, woman,” Travis growled, though there was no heat in his tone. Pressing his lips to her forehead again, he breathed, “You’re going to get checked out this time whether you like it or not.”
She nodded, just barely. Jodi, Seren, Levi, and Free waited nearby. It was going to be a long night of getting her checked out, lots of questioning, and documenting the scene. But he would be with her, wherever she was.
Her lips moved against his neck as he continued forward. “You came back for me.”
His chest tightened; heart wrenching open inside his ribcage. “Always, Roxy.”
Forty-Nine
The next several hours passed in a blur for Roxy. Travis waited with her for a second ambulance, continuing to hold her in his arms, refusing to let her go. Free had stepped up close enough to catch her gaze, and then he was gone again, as if he simply needed to ascertain for himself that she was alright. In Travis’s arms, she was.
Travis relinquished her to the EMT’s once they arrived, climbing into the back of the ambulance and setting her down on the gurney. They wrapped her up in a silver blanket, her muscles locked from the trembling, the cool rain, and the shock. Travis refused to stay behind, insisting on riding with them to the hospital, but once there, the hospital staff wouldn’t let him back with her until they’d completed their exam. She didn’t remember most of what happened, the shock dulling everything. They numbed her arm and closed the bullet wound with eleven stitches.
When the police arrived later to document her portion of the incident, Travis had been forced to remain in the waiting room. She recounted the events of the night, skimming over the past incidents and the outstanding Protective Order she’d had filedagainst Neal in Texas. It would be a long road, but the conclusion was undoubtably that she’d acted in self-defense.
It was hours later that Travis was finally allowed back into the room with her, after they’d come in to tell her she was being discharged. Gathering her things into the plastic bag they’d given her, along with an overnight supply of pain meds and an ice pack for her newly battered cheek, she turned when the door opened. Travis strode in, his long hair a mess around his shoulders, as if he’d been shoving his fingers through it for hours.
His honey gold eyes were wild as they lit on her, up and out of bed, dressed. He looked like he wanted to say something, his mouth opening and closing several times. His shoulders were bunched tight, his chest rising and falling with deep, uneven breaths. Then he let out a long, slow breath, squeezing his eyes shut. Opening them, he held out his hand toward her.
“Come on, baby girl, let’s get you home.”
She placed her hand in his, those big, strong fingers closing around hers, and then they were out the door. He jangled a set of keys in his hand as they exited the Emergency Department doors. “Free and Levi brought your car down so we would have a way back when you were discharged.”
She nodded, allowing him to help her up into the seat. He leaned in, pressing his forehead to hers for a long time before leaning away to buckle her in. Every time he touched her, it sent electric jolts through her. He remained quiet on the way back to Blue Haven, but his right hand never left hers.
The sun was just beginning to rise over the horizon when they pulled in. Gold and orange and pink tingeing the skyline in a stunning watercolor. He helped her out of the car, but she stopped, staring at the dazzling sky as the world began to wake. Last night, she’d fought for every heartbeat, terrified she’d neverget another single minute away from Neal, let alone another day with Travis.
