Page 58 of Ranger Belief
He released her, and she took shelter with little Alli behind a thick copse of trees. Garrett was still screaming. Fierce growls broke through the sound of the rain. Then Jonah ordered Garrett to shut up. The sound of his command, spoken in the quintessential grumpy Jonah way, sent tears spilling over her cheeks.
“Good girl, Scout. Now let go…” The growls grew louder and Garrett hollered in pain.
“Release.” Jonah huffed and then hollered. “Laney, call your dog off. She won’t listen to me.”
“Release, Scout! Come!”
Two seconds later, her lab bounced through the foliage to Laney’s side. She cried tears of joy, unbidden, and wrapped an arm around Scout. “Good girl. Good girl.” Scout licked her face and sniffed Alli, her tail wagging. “Yes, you found us. Good girl.”
With extreme difficulty, Laney opened the pocket of her cargo pants and removed Scout’s reward. The lab grabbed hold of the stuffed squirrel and made it squeak.
Tate appeared in front of Laney, concern etched on his features. He crouched down. “Are you hurt?” He lightly touched Alli’s back. She whimpered. “Alli?”
“We’re okay. But Brett was shot. He might be dead, I don’t know.”
“We found him already. He’s alive.”
Thank God. Laney may have suspected Brett, but she believed he hadn’t been working with Garrett. His eager-to-please attitude had landed him in danger, and he’d panicked. While running for his life, he’d gotten turned around and lost.
“Help Jonah secure Garrett.” She didn’t want the love of her life to get shot because he didn’t have someone to cover him.
Tate gave a sharp nod and moved in the direction of Garrett’s cursing and Jonah’s growled commands.
“If you don’t shut up, I’m gonna leave you here to bleed out.” Jonah’s tone was laced with barely controlled rage. “You’re lucky I don’t have Scout come back here and take another chunk out of you. Although from the bruises on your face, it looks like Laney gave you a run for your money too.” Tate must’ve joined them because then Jonah said, “About time you showed up. You forget how to run?”
“I was busy making sure Ryker didn’t bleed to death. He’ll be fine, by the way.”
“I know. He’s too annoying to die.”
There was a slight scuffle, and then Tate said, “I’ve got him. Go see to Laney. I think she’s hurt but too stubborn to say so.”
She waited with bated breath until a moment later, Jonah appeared next to her. His expression was tender and worried as he placed a warm hand on her cheek. The feel of his touch ignited a firewall of emotion inside her. Fresh tears blurred her vision. “You’re alive.”
“So are you.” He glanced down at little Alli. “You saved her.”
“No, we saved her.”
“EMS is on the way. Andy is tracking my phone. Where are you hurt?”
“It’s nothing that won’t heal.” She reached up to take his hand. It was the worst timing, but Laney could not let another minute go without saying the words in her heart. “I love you, Jonah. I’ve loved you for ten years, and been too scared to admit it. My mom and dad…well, it doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t want fear to hold me back. I want a life with you. Forever.”
“I know.” He leaned forward and brushed the sweetest kiss across her lips. “I knew it the moment you kissed me by the car.” Jonah backed away and smiled. “You know I’m never going to let you live it down that it took several life-threatening events before you finally admitted that you loved me.”
A laugh bubbled up. “Watch it, Foster. No one likes a know-it-all.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
Six weeks later
Jonah straightened his green tie before settling his tan cowboy hat on his head. In half an hour, he was going to be marrying the woman of his dreams. He turned around to face Ryker. “What do you think?”
“You’re still ugly.”
Jonah snorted. “You’re just mad because you’re still stuck in that sling for another two weeks and it doesn’t go with your suit.”
Ryker had taken a bullet to his left arm during Alli’s rescue. The impact had fractured bone, requiring surgery and weeks in a cast. Now, the doctors had cleared him for light movement, but he still had to wear the sling until his next evaluation. With rehab, they promised, he’d regain full strength and range of motion.
Thankfully, little Alli had also fully recovered. The sedative Mitch had given her wore off with no lasting effects, and she remembered nothing of her ordeal. Her parents had sent a gift, along with Alli’s handmade thank you card, several weeks later. Laney kept the card on her bookcase in her office.
