He was scared to touch Jason’s head, not knowing what he would find, but when he did, there was no blood he could feel. Nothing to explain Jason’s stillness. He was on his knees, whispering Jason’s name, his voice breaking, stroking his coat, willing him to feel his love, willing him to stay.
A truck roared into the lot, but Riley barely heard it.Wake up.Please,just wake up.
Urban was out of his truck in an instant, straddling Lennox and cuffing him. The guy cried out as his injured arm was forced behind his back.
“That fucking wolf broke my arm,” Lennox hissed through clenched teeth. “It was self-defense!”
Urban ignored him to look over at Riley and Jason. “How is he?”
“I don’t know!” Riley’s voice rose wildly. “He was shot, but it didn’t seem too bad, but then he got hit in the head, and now he won’t wake up.”
“I’ve got this one for you, Sheriff,” the woman said, as Urban rose to his feet.
“Just don’t shoot him and claim it was because you sneezed, Dolores,” Urban said, moving to where Jason lay and crouching next to him.
“Well, damn. You spoil all my fun.”
Urban was running his hands over Jason, the way Riley had done. His face was serious as he looked up at Riley. “Bring him over to my truck,” he said, just as a patrol car pulled up, and the dark-haired deputy climbed out. “Shannon, book him. Charges can wait till the morning.”
Lennox raised his head. “It was a fuckingwolf,” he protested. “It was self-defense.”
“Shut your goddamn mouth.” Dolores smacked him in the back of his head with the butt of her gun.
“Shannon,” Urban said, sounding weary.
“I got this, Matt,” the deputy said.
Riley got his arms under Jason and lifted him, feeling the strain in his thighs and his shoulders as he took the weight of Jason’s limp body. Urban opened the truck and Riley eased Jason onto the bench seat. He hopped up after him, and Urban was in too much of a hurry to throw him out again.
Peeling out of the parking lot, Urban used his siren and lights as he sped out of town. In another life, Riley would have loved this. But not now, not for this reason.
Urban was on his phone. “Bryce, I need Don at the ranch for a head injury. Jason. He might need some stitching, too, though it doesn’t look too bad. Let the others know I’ve got the journalist with me.”
He ended the call, and Riley was aware they were moving faster than any law-abiding vehicle could get away with. It still wasn’t fast enough. Jason needed helpnow.
“I’ve heard Dolores’s version of what she saw from her window,” Urban threw over his shoulder. “You want to tell me what happened?”
Riley’s account was broken and his voice uneven, because Jason still wasn’t moving.
“Dolores seems to think you put yourself between Jason and Carmichael,” Urban said when he’d finished.
“I thought he’d listen,” Riley said desperately. “I thought he’d gotten it wrong and that when he understood, he’d stop, till I recognized him.”
“You know him?”
“Just from the bar. He was an asshole then, and a cowardly bastard now.”
“Sounds like you and Dolores should start some sort of club,” Urban said as he screwed the truck around a bend at a speed that had the tires screaming and Riley clutching at Jason to stop him from sliding off the seat.
“I wouldn’t have stopped her shooting him,” Riley said honestly.
“You would if you knew they’d been married thirty-four years,” Urban said. “That wouldn’t do her any favors in court.”
Riley snorted, and he couldn’t tell if it was tears or sudden laughter that clogged his throat as he ran his hands over Jason’s fur, the way he’d been doing constantly since he’d got into the truck.
“Will he be all right?” he asked, and didn’t know why he’d asked. It wasn’t like Urban was a healthcare professional. He just wanted someone to tell him everything would be okay.
“Enhanced healing means he’s got a better chance than just about anyone,” Urban said. “Let Don look at him, and we’ll know more.”
