AllFreeNovel
Share Us
My first priority was to make sure I wasn’t followed. I drove in a zigzag pattern for a while, but I was getting more and more light-headed. Eventually, I had to pull off the road before I blacked out.
The last thing I remembered was confirming the car was in park and deciding that once I got a little rest, I was going to find Paradise Ranch.
34
ROGUE
Rhys and Grant kept trying to get me to go to bed and try to sleep. There was no way that was happening. I didn’t want to disturb them anymore, and I didn’t want to talk to anyone, so I headed out to the shed Rhys and I had claimed. I lay there for hours staring at the ceiling, snuggled under the blanket Ghost and I had shared.
When I heard something outside, I tensed and reached for my gun. It wasn’t Rhys—I would sense if he was close by—and whoever it was didn’t move like Grant.
Someone knocked on the door. I didn’t move. If it wasn’t one of my brothers with news, I didn’t want to see anyone.
“Rogue. Answer the door.”
It was Blade. When I pulled the door open, I saw he was holding a limp form. As he stepped inside, my heart skipped a beat. It was Ghost.
“Oh my God, is he…”
“He’s alive.” Blade laid him down on the mattress. “I can’t find any serious wounds on him other than a swollen foot and ankle. He’s lost some blood from a cut on his hand, but he’s most likely just exhausted.”
That was the most I’d ever heard Blade say.
“How did he get here?”
Blade shrugged. “He knocked on my door, asked for you, and passed out.”
I pulled out my phone and called Rhys.
“Ghost is here. He’s unconscious. He… I think he’s going to be okay. Blade said he didn’t seem seriously hurt.”
“Blade?”
“He brought Ghost here.”
“Wow. I’m getting Grant and a medical kit, and I’m on my way.”
Ghost began to stir. His eyes fluttered open, and I reached for his hand.
“Rogue?”
“It’s me.”
“I made it.”
“To the ranch? Yeah, you did.”
“To you.”
I laid a hand on his head and was relieved that it wasn’t hot. I began to examine him. He wasn’t wearing a shirt, and there were cuts and bruises on his torso but nothing significant. The worst visible injury was a jagged slash across his palm.
I looked down at his foot and realized he was shirtless because he’d used his t-shirt to wrap his ankle.
I glanced up at Blade. He was shifting from foot to foot, looking nervous. “Are you okay?”
“This is… Seeing him… I’m going to be okay.” He said it like he was convincing himself, and I didn’t argue with him.
“Can you help me get his shoe off?”
Ghost had closed his eyes again, but at least I knew he’d recognized me.
Blade pulled out a knife from an ankle holster. “It’ll be easier on him if I cut it off.”
I didn’t disagree. He made a neat cut through the leather, and we peeled the sides of the boot away. Ghost groaned, and I looked up to see his teeth sunk into his lower lip. I was glad we hadn’t tried to pull the shoe off because his foot was horribly swollen.
“How far did you walk on this?”
“As far as I had to. They would’ve killed me otherwise.”
“The men who came after you when you were texting me?”
He nodded. “I had to jump. It was a long way down.”
I shuddered, imagining him falling God knew how far. “You’re lucky this is all that happened. You don’t like me to put myself in danger, but look what you’ve done.”
Blade snorted, and I glanced over at him. He had more color in his cheeks and looked like he was feeling better.
It suddenly hit me that Blade shouldn’t have known I was in the shed. “How did you know where I was?”
He shrugged. “I pay attention. People don’t notice me watching. This is where you come when you need space.”
There was so much I didn’t know about the newcomer. I really hoped he would continue to open up as time went on. “Do you need to get back to your cabin?” I didn’t think he’d want to be here when everyone descended.
“Yes, but come get me if you need me.”
“I will. Thank you.”
He tilted his head toward Ghost. “He’s a good man. I’d never leave him behind anymore than Grant would leave me.” It was the first time he’d made any mention of his connection to Grant.
“I wouldn’t either,” I said.
Blade walked out and closed the door quietly behind him.
I turned back to Ghost. “Tell me what you need. Other than a doctor to look at this foot.”
He shook his head. “I don’t need a doctor. It’ll be fine.”
“Not if it’s broken.”
“Grant and Rhys can look at it. I’m not going to try and explain how this happened to some doctor.”
