That time came too quickly for me. And for him too, it seemed. He tried to climb in the back of the car with me. Declan had to drag him out with the help of Mason. I cracked my eyes open long enough to see Mason holding a naked, blood-smeared Ethan back as Declan climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car.
The nurse at the hospital rushed me into a treatment room. They poked and prodded me and gave me oxygen. The doctor admitted me and stressed the need to monitor me until I was symptom free. I wanted to return to Ethan and Jonah. Verifywith my own eyes they were okay. But Declan just gave me a stern stare and said they’d come visit me as soon as Ethan was done getting stitched up.
Sheriff Danvers arrived before them to take my statement. By the time I finished recounting everything that happened, my throat was on fire, and I was coughing again. Declan brought me a glass of water, glaring at the sheriff for questioning me so long.
The man left after promising to return with more questions after I’d recovered. I wasn’t sure if I believed him, but I hoped we had enough proof that he couldn’t brush off what happened to Cassie any longer.
Declan settled into the chair beside my bed. “Chloe wanted you to know what she found on the USB drive. She made a copy before giving the original to the sheriff, just in case.”
I tried to sit up, but exhaustion filled me to my core. I flopped back against my pillow. Declan pressed a button, raising the head of the bed a bit for me.
“It seems Ethan had given her a list of the construction crew. Based on her notes, she reran their background checks. She dove a little deeper than Mason, to his shame, and realized one worker had a fake identity.” Declan refilled my water cup. “It was well done—had to be for Mason not to catch it—and she almost missed it.”
“The saboteur?”
He nodded. “Ethan caught him before he got you out of the cabin. Took a bite out of him, in fact.”
“Will he get in trouble?” I didn’t trust the sheriff. I’d heard too many stories from Cassie about him.
“He might have, if it weren’t for the USB drive. Between that and your statement, Sheriff Danvers can’t deny the man was up to no good.” Declan glanced over his shoulder. “Sounds like your mate is here.”
Ethan burst into the room, Jonah on his heels. They both rushed over to me. Ethan kissed my forehead, taking my hand in his and lacing our fingers together. Jonah’s eyes were haunted, and I knew he must be remembering when his mom died. She was in a coma for three days before she passed. I pulled my oxygen mask down for a minute.
“I’m okay. I promise. The doctor said I just need to hang out here for a while before coming home.” I held Jonah’s gaze with mine.
“It’s my fault.” He sniffed. “I shouldn’t have snuck out. I just wanted to see Tank.”
“Hey, bud.” Ethan held his hand out to Jonah. “It’s not on you. It’s on the bad man that tried to hurt your aunt.”
“Ethan’s right, Jonah.” I gave him a soft smile before putting my mask back on for a breath. I pulled it down again. “Nothing you did caused this.”
We would talk to him later about telling someone where he was going, but not now. Now he needed comfort. He observed us with those eyes that were so like his mother’s it brought tears to mine. He rubbed the back of his hand across them, dashing away the moisture gathering there before taking Ethan’s hand.
Ethan tugged him in closer, hugging him to his side with one arm while he slid the other around my shoulders. I took Jonah’s hand, completing the circle of my newfound family. A peace settled over me, and I knew Cassie was watching and granting her approval.
TEN
Ethan
Hannah had only been home for a few days since getting discharged from the hospital, and her irritation with me was obvious. I could sense it. She kept trying to sneak out of the cabin to work. I caught her every time and carried her back to bed to rest.
I knew I was being unreasonable. The doctor said she was fine. She said she was fine. But the terror in my chest wouldn’t abate. I still remembered the fear I experienced when I pulled her from the cabin, unsure if I was too late to save her.
After Mason had stitched me up, I’d parked myself at her bedside in the hospital. The staff were too nervous about me being a shifter to force me to leave after visiting hours. They would inch past me to check on Hannah, their nervous gazes only leaving me when they absolutely had to. My bear didn’t help, as he got growly whenever anyone came near his mate.
I was always the most easy-going brother, but now I was the grumpy bear who couldn’t relax, and it was driving Hannah crazy. My brothers tried to intervene, but I didn’t even like them near us. Only Jonah was welcome in the cabin. Both my bear and I agreed he belonged with Hannah and me.
Hannah’s door banged against the wall. I startled and jumped to my feet. Before I could reach her, she was in front of me, hands on her hips and spitting mad. “Sit down.”
I sat without thinking. She pointed a finger at me. “You listen to me, Ethan. I will not let you keep me a prisoner in my own home for another minute.”
I wanted to protest that she wasn’t a prisoner. I wanted to tell her I was keeping her safe and healthy. But I knew I was going overboard. Still, the terror wouldn’t go away.
She must have seen it in my eyes. Heaving out a sigh, she sat on my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. “I know you’re scared of losing me. But I’m better now. And the saboteur is behind bars.”
“But who hired him?” I spoke the words that fueled the fear in me. “He had no reason to target the ranch. Someone else has to be pulling the strings. And whoever it is, they seem to have no problem getting around our security. How am I supposed to keep you safe?”
“We’ll deal with that. Together.” She rested her forehead against mine. “All of us. Your brothers and Chloe included. Mason’s already implementing changes with alarm systems for all the buildings.”
