Page 73 of Raven's Hunt
A figure moved down the embankment, looking more like an extension of the darkness than a man before Dalton moved out of the shadows, skidded to a halt at the edge of the ravine.
He stared down, shaking his head before glancing back. “I can’t leave you two alone for five minutes…” He moved closer. “You both okay?”
Buck shuffled her against his chest. “She’s still bleeding.”
“Team’s on their way. I got a signal just before you went rogue. Should be here…” He smiled as sirens wailed in the distance. “Any minute now.”
Buck held Tierney close as he scrambled up the hill, stepped over the mangled guardrail. Whitmore’s black SUV still idled on the shoulder, classical music playing inside.
His gut tightened.
Her own people had sold her out. That had to sting.
Blue lights broke the darkness, the sirens getting closer. He held her tight, silently vowing to do whatever it took to help her get through this.
To ensure she stayed in the light.
Tierney touched his face. “Stop worrying.”
He frowned. “You’re bleeding. I’ll stop once you do.”
“I’ll live. Besides, you have bigger issues to worry about.”
“What’s bigger than you not dying on me?”
“The fact we need a place to live that doesn’t require your team camped outside the door. And our first option’s sitting at the bottom of the ravine.” She leaned her head against his shoulder. “You promised me a future, Buck. No reneging now.”
“Not a chance.”
He dropped a kiss on her lips just as Avery screeched to a halt, smoke rising from her tires. She jumped out, raced over, weapon in one hand, gaze searching where the RV had punched through the guardrail.
She shook her head, holstering her weapon. “I swear, you guys are going to be the death of me. When we saw that fireball…” She focused on Dalton, slapped his chest. “More details next time. I wasn’t sure what I’d find.”
He rubbed the spot. “I didn’t have any other details.”
“Then lie, jackass, so I don’t pop a blood vessel on the drive.”
A smile. The kind that told Buck, Dalton was already smitten. Already more invested than he realized, and that it was only a matter of time before he fully surrendered.
The ambulance arrived a minute later, and Buck climbed into the back, watching every move they made as they ran an IV, headed back to Providence. The hospital had been reduced to chaos, with federal and CIA officers cramming the joint. Judson Ferris had sustained multiple gunshot wounds but would pull through. Everything else seemed unimportant compared to the pale cast of Tierney’s skin, the way she drifted off every few minutes.
They stayed just long enough for the doctor to stitch her up, clean and treat any new wounds, as he read Buck the riot act about letting her pull out her stitches.
Foster showed up in the wee hours of the morning, shuttled them back to Raven’s Cliff. Something about not trusting Buck not to attract more mercs if left to his own devices. Dalton insisted they stay at the marina again, hinting that he’d bought better ear plugs, before they’d collapsed on the bed and slept for the next twelve hours straight.
Tierney had finally felt strong enough to move to the couch as the sun began to set, painting the sky with rusts and golds as the water curled against the pier, only a few whitecaps rolling across the ocean.
Buck claimed the cushion beside her, smiling as she leaned into him, her head resting on his shoulder, her hand rubbing his thigh. “I could definitely get used to a view like this.”
She laughed. “As long as we have the occasional mercenary trying to burn it all down. We don’t want to get complacent.”
“God forbid.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry about the RV. I know you had everything inside.”
He dropped a kiss on her head. “Not everything.”
“Charmer.”
