Page 65 of Always My Love

ChapterTwenty

Too long. Everything was taking far too long. Tom jerked the wheel around as he put on the lights while they raced back towards Pride.

The call they’d been going out on would just have to wait. Harper was far more important than a call about a possible dead deer in the road.

Minutes seemed to stretch into hours as he kept screaming Harper’s name into the phone.

“Get someone out there now,” he told Tom. “Whoever is available. The beach near my place. She’s not responding.”

Tom nodded and called it in while he listened to the phone. He could hear Blue and Lucy whine and shuffle around. At least they were there.

Whatever had happened to Harper, they were there for her until he could be.

“David and Simon are two blocks away and heading there now,” Tom told him.

Shit. They were almost ten minutes away. Ten long fucking minutes. They stretched even longer as he worried.

When Tom finally stopped at the small park’s parking area, David and Simon’s patrol car was sitting there with the spotlights lighting up the pathway and as much beach as they could.

The second Nick stepped out of the car, he whistled for the dogs as he ran down the pathway.

When they barked, he raced across the sand to were David knelt beside Harper while Simon held onto the dogs.

“She’s soaking wet and freezing. We were just about to move her but look,” David said, motioning towards Harper’s head. A large gash ran from just above her left ear to her temple. “We’re thinking we should wait for emergency to get here.”

Nick was kneeling beside her now and felt her freezing skin for himself. Without waiting, he picked her up and started racing back down the beach.

“Nick?” Simon called after him.

“I’m taking her myself,” he called back.

“Whoever attacked her got your dog.”

Nick stopped running and turned around. “Shit, is he okay?” Worry for his dog now mixed with worry for Harper.

“I’ll take him to the vet. Go,” Simon called. “I’ve got them. Take care of Harper.”

He met Tom halfway back to the parking area. The two raced towards the patrol car just as Harper woke up.

“Nick?” Her arms wrapped around him tightly. “Stop.” She groaned.

When he did, she jerked away from him and threw up. Missing his shoes and herself.

“Take me home,” she groaned when she was done. “I’m cold.” He felt her entire body shivering.

She was soaking wet, getting his clothes wet as well. Still, he didn’t care. However cold it was making him, he knew she was colder.

“You need a doctor,” he said, firmly.

“No, just… I want to go home.” She cried and laid her head against his chest.

Nick looked at Tom, who just shrugged. At that moment, Simon and Dave came down the beach with the dogs.

“We found their leashes and Harper’s phone.” Simon held the phone towards him.

Harper held her hand out without looking.

Tom grabbed the phone for her. “Come on, I’ll drive you back to your place,” he said to them.