Page 113 of Badges
He sticks out his scarred lip and sets his jaw.
Billy climbs out of his truck and walks over to me.
It doesn’t take long to fill him in.
“Read him his rights, book him in. I’ll be in tomorrow, first thing. Get help before you unload him. Pull Dan or Slade out of the field to meet you.” I would go, but I need to make sure Elena is taken care of first.
“You got it.” He loops his arm through Max’s and hauls the cuffed man to his feet.
It’s only after they’re safely loaded do I go to Sawyer.
He’s been as still as a statue watching the whole thing.
“You okay?” I pat his shoulder. “That was a hell of a thing you did. You coulda been hurt, but it was mighty brave.”
“Thanks,” he says half-heartedly. “Was that the one who made Elena hurt the cows? What was that about Ford?” His blue eyes catch the lights from the bar as he blinks at me.
“He’s hurt a lot of people, kiddo. You’re a hero.” I glance down and notice the scuffs and scratches on his bare chest. “Do I want to ask about the wings?”
His mouth shifts to chew on his cheek. “I forgot to bring a costume.” He looks down and wipes one of the bleeding marks.
Shit. He almost acts like he’s in shock.
“Come on, let’s head in.” Turning him by his arm, I lead him back to the music.
As soon as I step inside I spot her standing nervously by the table.
Her arms wrap the bare skin of her belly until she sees me and a broad smile of relief splits her cheeks before she runs throughthe thinning crowd to fall against my chest. “I was worried, daddy.”
“I’m fine, little one. Let’s go home.”
One last thing in the bag
Elena
I don’t want tolet him go, but let him lead me to the truck. In hindsight, I don’t know what was worse…actually being in the grasp of the lunatic, or not knowing if Wade was okay.
“Do you think he’s actually going to stay in jail?” I’m huddled in my seat as close as I can get to him with the console in between us.
His jaw clenches. “There’s a chance. We’ll see tomorrow.” He squeezes his hand on my thigh and glances at me as he drives. “Are you sure he didn’t hurt you?”
Now that the adrenaline has faded, a few small scrapes and bumps have revealed themselves, but nothing too bad.
“Just this one on my elbow.” I raise my arm to point at the red mark right at the point of the joint.
He pulls it closer, then presses his lips to it in a soft kiss.
“Thank you for coming after me.” I can’t wait until we’re home so I can show him how grateful I am.
“I will always find you.” There’s absolute conviction in his tone.
I believe him.
When we pull into the driveway, the plastic bag that I brought his shirt in rolls heavily across the floor.
“Did you bring a drink? It’s sloshing.” He turns off the engine in front of the porch.
Nerves start to get the better of me.
