Page 116 of Carson

“Do you know him?”

She nods. “I worked with him in Cheyenne. He stayed at the campground I was at.” Her brows pull together. “He was going to take me!” She falls back and her brows pull together as panic begins to set in.

I take her hands in mine. “He didn’t. You’re here. Safe with me.”

Her eyes lock on mine. “She told me you’d save me.”

Luna tugs away from me and tries to stand. Her bloody hands reaching for me again when she sways.

“Whoa there. Let’s not pass out on me now.”

“He was going to take me in Cheyenne. He was just getting me to trust him.” She rubs her temple. “If Carson and Cole hadn’t ordered that pizza.”

I guide her back onto the bed. “Well, you might be the only person I know who can say they were saved by a pizza,” I tell her, chucking her under the chin.

She looks me over. “Are you …”

“I’m okay.”

“Is he?”

“For now.”

Her face falls, but she doesn’t argue with me about it.

Dirk walks in with a couple of wet hand towels.

He whistles. “Whoo-wee, that fucker got you good, didn’t he?”

She lifts her shirt again, showing him her wound. So maybe it wasn’t him that was keeping her in the closet.

I take the towels from him. “Here, lie down and I’ll get you cleaned up a bit. Doc will be here in a minute. He’ll get you all fixed up.”

“We can’t tell Lily,” she says, already worried about someone other than herself. “She has enough right now.”

“Good luck with that,” Dirk says, moving to the window. He laughs. “Raffe’s got that fucker howling, but he’s getting him in the truck.”

“He followed me here all the way from Cheyenne,” she says in disbelief.

Dirk snaps his fingers. “You know, on second thought, I think I’ll go help Raffe.”

He cracks his knuckles on the way out.

“They’re going to hurt him?”

I’m not going to lie to her, no matter how much I want to.

“We can’t let him live, Luna. He might come after you again … or someone else.”

Her eyes fill with tears. “I can’t let him hurt anyone else. I didn’t stop my dad and he …” She pauses and closes her eyes. “He hurt Chance.”

“He won’t. Carson will make sure of it.”

Luna’s attention snaps to me. “Carson?”

I shake my head. “You’re his old lady, and that fucker hurt you. Carson gets dibs, and trust me, I know my son. He’s going to be the one to escort him out of this life. Tim couldn’t play nice, so Tim doesn’t get to play at all.”

“I can’t ask that of Carson.”