Page 4 of Ozzie

I wrap my arms around his waist. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about John. It’s something I’ve tried to forget.”

We stand there until the police arrive. Yes, John will likely be arrested, but he knows where I live, and he’s never going to stop coming after me. When Durango helped me leave Montana, I went willingly because I’d never told John about my cousin.

How the hell did he find me?

CHAPTER 2

Braxton “Ozzie”Zavala

The cops came,along with an ambulance. Since that asshole was unconscious, the medics decided he needed more urgent care than Piper, which left me to drive Piper to the hospital. She’s silent the entire way.

I have so many questions. Was her ex always abusive? Is she still in love with him? Is that why she kept putting me off all this time?

As for the ex, I want to kill him. But I can’t. Why didn’t Durango tell me a crazed ex might come after Piper?

I pull up at the emergency room door.

“Sorry, I got blood all over your car,” she says as she leans back.

It looks like she might pass out, so I race around to her side and open the door. After unbuckling her seatbelt, I lift her out of the car and carry her inside.

“She’s been shot in the leg,” I tell the nurse behind the desk.

“I’ll get a gurney.” She walks through the doors and comes back with one.

I lay Piper down. When I first saw her wound, it appeared the skin was grazed, but there’s a lot of blood on her leg, and I wonder if it’s deeper than I thought.

“Ozzie,” Piper mumbles.

“You’re in the ER. They are going to patch up your leg.”

She nods, then closes her eyes.

“Wait here. I have some paperwork you need to fill out,” the nurse says before she wheels Piper back behind the doors.

I want to follow her, but I can’t. The “some” paperwork turns out to be a lot, and most of it, I have no idea how to answer. Durango would know. Damn. Durango. He’s on assignment, and we have a strict policy of no communication on assignments. It can cause problems with concentration, and depending on the mission, that could be deadly.

While I can’t call Durango, I do call Stormy, and he gives me the insurance numbers they needed. He says he’ll tell the guys who are in town about Piper. I debate calling Coff, but then I remember they were heading out on vacation.

Instead, I sit and wait. After an hour, Axel walks through the doors.

I stand, but I have no words. He pulls me in and gives me a bear hug.

“How is she?”

I shrug. “I thought the bullet grazed her leg, but there was a lot of blood. No one has talked to me yet.” I nod toward the doors to the back.

“I’ll see what I can find out,” he says.

He returns a moment later and sits down next to me. “She’s still in surgery. That’s all the nurse could tell me.”

“Thanks for asking.”

“No problem.”

We sit in silence until a doctor in scrubs walks out from the back.

“Piper Moreau?”

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