Page 51 of The Heat is On
Oh. Like Rio had done for Skye, maybe. “Where’s Rio?”
Archer shook his head. “I don’t know. We never found him after the bridge.”
The other marshal came over and started taking his vitals.
“Sorry,” he said to Archer as he moved him to check on his wound. “It’s a through and through.”
“I’m fine,” Archer said, groaning.
“Don’t be stupid, Dad,” Stevie said, coming up behind Skye. “You’re shot.”
“Yeah, but you’re alive.” He smiled up at her. “That’s all that matters.”
Stevie knelt next to him, her hand on the jacket. Skye eased away as Stevie bent close to her father.
She watched from a distance as Archer pulled the marshal down and kissed her forehead.
Sweet. And crazy tears burned Skye’s eyes.
She stood on the outskirts as a man pulled up in an SUV, one of the campers. He got out and ran over to them, carrying a first aid kit. Blond, solidly built, his hair nearly shaved off. “I’m a navy medic. I’m on leave—but maybe I can help.”
He assessed Archer, and from what Skye heard, he might live. They began to get him ready to load into the SUV. Apparently, they wanted to take him to a nearby clinic and meet an ambulance there.
Her gaze went to Tucker, who now stood with Stevie, his hands on her shoulders.
Skye could nearly feel Rio’s hand in hers.
And then Tucker kissed Stevie. Sweetly, as if she really meant something to him—and of course she did, because Tucker always followed the rules, always did the right thing.
The right thing. Following Rio wasn’t just about following her heart. It was about doing the right thing, aboutjustice.
Tucker eased away from Stevie and grinned. “Fun date. Let’s do it again.”
Really, boss?
“Maybe without the shooting?” Stevie said. “The runaway prisoners?”
Skye would have liked to have known what exactly had happened between them over the past twenty-four hours. But they had no time. “Speaking of prisoners…” She came up to them, not caring that she might be interrupting their clench.
“They’re still out there.” Skye glanced at the other two marshals, then back to Stevie. “Rio and Darryl and Thorne. They’re out there, and…well, Rio is in big trouble.”
“Yeah, because he’s on the run,” Stevie said. “Our guys will find him.”
No—no. And suddenly she realized Rio had bigger problems than she thought. Because the marshals had no idea he was one of thegoodguys. She shook her head. “I know—that’s the problem. He’s not who he says he is. And he’s in big, big trouble.”
Stevie might as well have rolled her eyes for the way she looked at Skye.
And sorry, but she wasn’t going to walk away. Or do nothing.
Not when the man she loved—okay, maybe not loved, but she probably could love Rio Parker. Wanted to love Rio Parker.
Oh, who was she kidding? He made her feel bold and strong and not afraid of doing something that might end up with her in over her head. So she cut her voice low, stepping closer. “Somebody is trying to kill him—a guy named Wayne Buttles.”
That name clearly rang a bell because Stevie paled. “Wayne Buttles?” She glanced at Tucker, then back to Skye. “Buttles is on our Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. He’s…yeah, he makes March look like a small-town hood. Human trafficking, weapons, drugs—he’s a real prize. Why is he trying to kill Rio?”
Oh shoot. Because if she thought Buttles might be dangerous from Rio’s—and Darryl’s—description of him, hearing about him from Stevie turned Skye cold. She swallowed and, because they were running out of time, tried to find the simplest answer. “Because Rio—and this guy Darryl—can testify against him.”
Stevie raised an eyebrow.