Eric
With a curse, my hands tightened on 004’s steering wheel after I turned into the Ranch’s drive to see the two huge wrought-iron gates swinging shut. Hoping it was anyone but Calla who’d just arrived, I pulled up beside the gatehouse. I wound down my window as Axel ran his gaze appreciatively over 004 as he approached. He was another relatively new hire for the Ranch and worked as a member of the security team.
“Hey, Eric, have a good drive? Bet she handles like a dream.”
The buzz I always got whenever someone showed interest in 004 distracted me from asking about Calla straight away. Running my palm over her dash before returning it to the steering wheel, pride had me grinning up at Axel.
“That she does; 004 loves nothing more than taking me for a ride. These twisty mountain roads are perfect for her. No matter how long a drive I take, it never feels long enough.”
Axel nodded. “Amen to that. There’s something extra special about these mountains.” He smirked, a sparkle in his eye, “But if you really wanna enjoy them, you need to feel the wind in your face while you lean into every curve. You need to scrap the cage and get a bike, my man.”
Gasping in horror, I ran my palm over the dash again, leaning forward.
“Don’t you listen to him, 004, I’d never replace you with some chromed out donor machine.”
Axel threw his head back to laugh, the sound deep and loud. “Donor machine?”
It was my turn to smirk his way. “Yeah, it’s what most doctors call motorcycles, because of how often they create organ donors when they crash.”
But I wasn’t a surgeon anymore. Didn’t work in a busy ER where motorcycle riders who’d thought there were immune to gravity came in for me and my team to put them back together. Didn’t get to savor the rush I’d get every time I pulled off the impossible.
At first, when I’d run out of treatment options and I wasn’t getting better, I’d wallowed in my grief, believing that my life was over because I couldn’t operate anymore. I was beginning to understand what several people had been telling me all along.
I didn’t need to give up being a healer.
Also, the rush of adrenaline that had been fueling me since I’d received the call from Jacqui wasn’t so different to what I used to feel in the ER. My injuries simply meant I needed to pivot from my original plan, not create a whole new one. A renewed sense of purpose filled me. I knew I could help Calla, help her not fall through the cracks like so many neurodiverse girls have in the past.
Thoughts of Calla had me getting serious, pulling my thoughts from the past and back to where they needed to be: The here and now. Picking up on my change in mood, Axel moved closer.
“Figured you didn’t stop just to shoot the shit with me. What’s up?”
Nodding toward the now closed gate, I asked, “I don’t suppose you could tell me who rolled in before me?
Folding his thick arms over his chest, his eyes went cold and hard.
“An unannounced guest. I’m surprised Derek allowed them access, actually.”
Dread twisted in my gut.
“Was the guest a woman, early twenties? Name Calla Lewis.”
Now he frowned, holding my gaze with his glare.
“Yeah. She was in the car, along with another woman and two men. Man behind the wheel looked like a professional, while the guy sitting in the rear with the older woman, who I’d guess was the girl’s mom, clearly thinks he’s more important than the rest of us mere mortals. Said his name was Councilman Jack Bosman. Like I care what his damn job title is. When I asked him what his business was at Rawhide, he told me to tell Derek he was here to deliver his stepdaughter, Calla Lewis. Like she was a parcel or some shit. That girl is not okay, Eric. She was on her own in the third row of seats, pressed back into the corner furthest from her stepdaddy and rocking. Her eyes were wide and red from crying. Wanted to pop the trunk and grab her out of there. Damn hard to resist. Do you know them? Invite them here? Because I don’t think Derek was real happy about their arrival.”
Shaking my head as I winced, I pressed the button to open the gate.
“Not exactly. An old friend called me while I was out to let me know she believed Calla would be heading this way today. I rang through to Derek to let him know before I started my trek back. I’d been hoping to beat them…”
The gates were nearly open enough for me to pass, so I put 004 into gear before I looked back at the guard.
“Axel?”
“Yeah?”
“When they leave, if they still have Calla in the vehicle I’d appreciate it if you don’t open the gates until I can get here to take her. For Calla’s own safety, she needs to be away from her stepfather.”
With a nod, he dropped his arms and backed up a few steps to give me room.
