Page 66 of The Veteran

“Disbeliever,” she teased. But then her face pinched with pain. She brought the hand with a broken finger up to study it and for the first time I noticed a gash across her palm. The blood seemed to have set at some point but she’d opened it again when she’d struck Baker.

“We need an ambulance.” I grabbed my phone and called 911 to report the incident, then phoned Ronan and Zeke.

Sage was steadily growing paler as shock set in. She’d been through a lot in a short amount of time. A cut, a broken finger, and now a bullet wound—all while she was flecked with someone else’s blood. I sat beside her, wishing I could hug her close but knowing that would likely cause her more pain.

“Why did you do it?” I asked, my voice ragged. “You could have told me Mick had contacted you, and we’d have worked something out.”

She reached for my hand with her wounded one and I gently held it carefully to avoid her broken finger. “I love you,” she said. “I knew you wouldn’t let me go alone, but I thought you needed to focus on your family. I didn’t want to get you hurt, and I hoped I might be able to get everything sorted out myself.”

I shook my head incredulously. “I love you too.” I brought her hand to my mouth and gently kissed the back of it. “So please, for the love of God, don’t ever risk yourself like that again. We’re a team. That means we talk things through. You told me at the start of all this that relationships are built on trust. I thought I understood, but I didn’t. Not fully. Now, I do, and I want that, with you.”

Behind us, Baker’s phone rang, cutting the moment short.

“That reminds me,” Sage said. “Getty is on his way to my old house. He might already be there.”

“I’ll send reinforcements after him.” I could hear sirens approaching fast. “He won’t get away.” I got to my feet, then squatted and lifted her into my arms. “Let’s get you the help you need.”

With that, we emerged into the sunlit morning just as an ambulance screeched into view. The cavalry had arrived.

KADE

Once again, I found myself sitting beside a hospital bed while a woman I loved lay pale-faced and asleep. A doctor had cleaned and stitched her wounds and splinted her finger. They’d given her a sedative beforehand and a bunch of painkillers, which I was grateful for because she’d hardly reacted as they worked on her. If she’d been visibly in pain, I might have made a scene.

Unfortunately, the ambulance had taken Sage to a different hospital from the one Audrey was in, so Mom wasn’t able to drop by to see how she was and I couldn’t check on Audrey, but I’d sent Mom a message to let her know everything was going to be all right and she’d updated me that Audrey was starting to show signs of coming around.

I heard male voices in the corridor and then Willow appeared in the doorway, her eyes red and puffy, tears streaming down her cheeks.

“How is she?” she demanded, rushing to Sage’s bedside. “She’s unconscious?”

“Just for now,” I replied. “It’s nothing to worry about. They sedated her so it would be easier to treat her injuries, that’s all.”

“Oh, good.” She flopped onto a chair and all the breath whooshed out of her. “I was so worried.”

“So was I.”

I turned back to the doorway, where Ronan was standing, and inwardly cringed at his black expression. Zeke had quietly entered and was hovering in the corner, his lips twisted in a strange smile.

“Sorry,” I muttered.

“Do you have any idea how dangerous it was for you to go off half-cocked like that?” Ronan asked, rounding on me. “You put yourself at risk, and you put Sage at risk.”

“I know.” I felt a little shamefaced. “I’m sorry. Having Sage in danger like that made me crazy.” While I knew I’d acted rashly, Sage might have been relocated or killed if I’d delayed. I couldn’t regret anything that had ended with her being safe.

“Oh.” Ronan had clearly not expected that response. “Well, I get it. I wasn’t exactly sane after Willow was kidnapped. Still, Joanna is going to tear you to pieces.”

I nodded. Whatever telling-off I got from Joanna, I’d sit through it a hundred times to have Sage in one piece.

Zeke clapped my shoulder. “Cheer up. You’ll be pleased to hear that Getty has been arrested and there will be a few years added to his sentence.”

“It’s not enough.” He’d been indirectly responsible for eighty percent of the bad shit that had happened in Sage’s life. He deserved to rot.

“That’s assuming he survives,” Zeke added slyly.

I narrowed my eyes. “What do you mean?”

He gave a lazy shrug. “Just that Parrish wasn’t happy to be left behind. I’d say Getty has earned himself at least one enemy on the inside.”

Something about the way he said it made me suspicious, but I let it go. As long as Getty was out of Sage’s life, I’d try to put him out of my mind as well.