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He and Phoebe followed the stretcher the EMTs had put Shane on.
Mitchell and Lucas came up beside him and Phoebe.
“You okay, baby?” Mitchell asked.
She nodded.
He and his brothers grabbed her, holding her between them.
She’s safe.
Agent Black walked up to them. “Sheriff.”
“Black, what the hell? You’re not dead?”
“Let me get this taken care of and I will fill you in on the details, Jason. I need to notify Jo Brown that all of you are okay.”
“Has she known you were alive all this time?”
“No, but I was keeping tabs on all she was doing.”
One of the agents ran up to Black. “Sir, command is on the horn and wants to talk to you.”
“I’ve got to go, but I will meet you at the hospital as soon as possible.”
Jason held out his hand. “I’m glad you’re alive, Easton.”
Black shook his hand. “Jason, the feeling is mutual.”
* * * *
Phoebe felt like she’d been holding her bre
ath since seeing the text from Shane. The waiting was killing her. Shane was still in surgery. Agent Smith’s surgery was over. He was doing fine.
Please God, let Shane be fine, too.
She sat between Jason and Lucas in the waiting room. Mitchell sat directly across from her talking to Ashley on his cell. Corey and Josh had just left to find all of them something to eat. Though it had been many hours since her last meal, she couldn’t imagine eating anything with her stomach tied up in knots.
Her parents were headed this way, but wouldn’t be here for at least a couple more hours. Hopefully, Shane would be out of surgery by then. She and Corey had called their parents with the news about Shane, but there wasn’t much to tell about his condition.
“That’s right, Ashley,” Mitchell said into his phone.
Her guys were taking charge, clearly realizing that she’d dealt with all she could tonight.
Mitchell ended the call. “Ashley will be here shortly, honey.”
She turned to Jason. “I’ve been such a fool. Will you ever forgive me?”
“Forgive you? I’m the one who needs to be forgiven. Look what I’ve done to you.”
“None of us knew what Shane was doing, but I was stubborn. He kept writing and calling me, telling me to go on with my life with you, Mitchell, and Lucas. But I just couldn’t. I blamed all three of you, but you most of all, Jason. Why wouldn’t you ever tell me what happened between you and Shane at the diner?”
“Baby, I thought I was protecting you. I was shocked at Shane’s behavior. I went to the diner to try to talk some sense into him. I wanted to take him right then to rehab. He laughed at me, saying he loved drugs and the money that came with them. He told me he would never stop no matter what.” Jason sighed. “Now I know it was only an act. When I said to him that he was going to ruin you, Corey, and your parents’ lives, he hauled off and hit me. That’s when I thought he was completely lost. I made up my mind that I needed to do whatever I could to get him away from you. I knew it would hurt you, but I believed it was the only choice I had.” Jason closed his eyes. “I was scared Shane would eventually overdose.”
She squeezed his hand. “I know you care about him as much as I do.”
“I love you, Phoebe,” Jason said, opening his eyes. “I’ve always loved you.”
