Page 42 of The Prey
“Hudson, your feet?” He’d walked over broken glass barefooted. Carrying her away from the fire.
“A few slices, but not many. A couple of burns that sting. That’s all.” He pulled her as close to him as the seatbelt would allow. Gia just pressed her face to his bare chest.
“You’ll need to call Hala. So she doesn’t hear about the fire and freak out,” she said. “Where is she tonight?”
Hala had texted Gia earlier, telling her they needed to talk, that she was a woman on a mission and needed serious helpstrategizing, when Gia was free. But…Gia had been a woman on a mission of her own. They’d made plans to meet the next day instead.
Giahadn’t told her she was on her way to Hala’s brother’s house with the intent to seduce him, though. Well, word was going to get out after this.The entire town, maybe even the entire county, would know she had been in Hudson’sbedwhen someone had set it on fire.
No escaping that now.
Not that she wouldwantto. She wasn’t ashamed of being with this man. And she never would be.
“She’s at the house. She stayed with Greer again, after you left. I can run back home after you are inside the hospital. Tell her myself you are both okay,” Grady was saying quietly. “Make sure she’s good.”
“I’d appreciate it. She tends to freak if anything happens to me and Ryan.” Hudson was just holding her close. His arms, so strong. Like he could hold back the world and all its evil. Protecting her.
Like he did Hala. Because he cared.
She leaned back. Her side burned. Her legs felt numb.Shefelt numb. It had to have something to do with a case—that was the only thing that really made sense. Someone had wanted to hurt him because of their job.
She had always understood that that possibility existed. Someone had nearly killed her and George ten years ago because George had stumbled into a crime ring.
“For what it’s worth, it didn’t look like the house will have permanent damage. But what in the hell happened?” Grady asked.
“I’m not entirely sure. Someone threw something through the window,” she said. Gia was still trying to put the sequence of events into an order that explained exactly what had happened.It was most likely someone Hudson had prosecuted, who wanted revenge. Since it was his house that had been targeted. Unless someone had followed her, but that seemed a little less likely to her. They would have had to be out at the ranch watchingto see if she left, in the first place. Which…highly unlikely, even though she had been targeted two or three times before.
She’d had someone mail her a dead robin once. To the office.
Hudson had been beyond furious that day and had gone after the man responsible himself. He’d charged him with threats and intimidation, cruelty to non-livestock animals and retaliation. The guy had pled down to two years. She had never forgotten how angry Hudson had been when he had seen that dead bird that day.
“Molotov cocktail from what I could see, Grady. Broke the window and landed on the law books we had on the bed in front of your sister.”
“Law books on the damned bed? Why?”
“That’s where I was sitting, Grady. That’s where I was sitting.”
She pressed her head to Hudson’s chest, feeling his heart beating beneath her cheek. His arms tightened again. They were as close as they could get, around the seatbelt separating them now.
Gia…never wanted to let him go.
She stayed right there, where she was, aswhysank in so fast her head spun.
She never wanted to let him go.
31
It had takenthem a few hours to get finished with the hospital and with Clay Addy, and others from the TSP. When they made it back to the Hiller Ranch, when he had herhome,that was when Hudson finally let down his guard. She was behind protected walls—Grady had called Gene and told him what had happened.
Gene had ordered a few armed ranch hands extra to watch.Just in case. The Hillers weren’t going to take chances with anyone’s safety now.
Hala was there, behind those walls. Protected. Along withhisson. Hudson was never more grateful for his friends than he was tonight. The people he loved most were safe tonight. Now it was time for Hudson to come up with a planto find the bastard responsible for tonight.
Just not yet.
There would be questions from her family, and his…though…probably not immediately. Considering what he was looking at right now.
Hudson stared at his sister, sleeping in Grady’s arms in a rocking chair by the window. This was definitely not somethinghe had expected. Not the way the two of them snapped at each other constantly.
