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Dark Horse

Page 163

by C.R. Jane

“Ryder,” I barked, already shoving away from the bar. “Call an ambulance. Now. Send it to my house.”

Babs had a phone in her hand before Ryder even moved, her voice tense as she started barking orders into it.

I was sprinting for the door when Ryder caught up to me, grabbing my arm. “Sterling. What’s going on?”

I tore free without slowing, the words ripping out of me as I burst out of the bar.

“Marvis—” I choked, putting the pieces together. “Something’s happened to Sienna.”

I burst through the back door hard enough to send it slamming into the wall, the crack echoing through the house like a gunshot. My boots skidded across the tile as I hit the kitchen, heart pounding as the scene snapped into focus. Sauce was still simmering on the stove. A spoon dropped next to it. Red splattered on the counter.

But no Sienna.

I froze when I saw Marvis face down on the floor, blood streaked behind her. She was no longer moving.

“Fuck. Marvis.”

I dropped to my knees beside her and fumbled for her neck, searching for a pulse. It was there. Faint and uneven, but steady enough to make my vision blur with relief.

Alive. She was alive.

Sirens cut through the open door, growing louder with every breath.

I left Marvis for only a second, tearing through the house, checking every room, every corner, every shadow that could hide her.

“Sienna!” I roared, my voice cracking as I shoved doors open and flipped on lights. “Sienna, baby, answer me.”

The house gave me nothing back, though. Only empty rooms and the echo of my own breathing.

She was gone.

I raced back into the kitchen when I heard footsteps. Three paramedics were crowding around Marvis, their gloved hands steady as they worked fast, cutting away fabric and sliding a board beneath her. One of them was already talking into a radio in a calm voice.

They lifted her carefully and eased her onto the stretcher.

Marvis’s eyes fluttered as they adjusted the straps. For a second, they didn’t seem to see anything at all. Then her gaze snagged on me, just beyond the paramedics, and recognition flared in her eyes.

Her lips moved, and I surged forward. “Marvis. What are you saying? Who did this?”

A paramedic shoved a hand out, blocking me. “Sir, we need space.”

“Harvey,” she said, loud enough this time to cut through the noise, panic flashing bright in her eyes.

Her mouth parted again, like she was fighting for one last word, but nothing came. Her eyes rolled back, and her body went limp in their arms. The medics cursed under their breath and surged forward, their hands tightening on the stretcher while they rushed her out the door.

They wheeled her out into the night, and sirens rose through the air again as the doors slammed shut.

Harvey.

No wonder the alarm had been turned off. Marvis had thought she’d been letting someone in that she knew. None of the ranch hands keeping watch would have thought anything of it, either.

I stood there, the world narrowing to a single, merciless word as I watched the ambulance pull away.

And then I raced toward my truck.

CHAPTER 45

SIENNA