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Rueben’s blinding smile was immediate. “Deal. I’d shake your hand, but mine is pinned down.”
“I’ll take your word, sweetie,” Shawna said. “Catch you later, big brother.”
Cash followed the paramedics and placed a hand on Rue’s shoulder when they reached the ambulance. “I’ll be there as soon as I can. Do you want me to call your abuela?”
“God no,” Rue replied. “I really believe I’m fine, boss. Let’s not upset her unless it becomes necessary.”
Cash leaned closer to Rue’s ear. “You just don’t want her showing up and ruining your seduction plans.”
“Gross,” Shawna said. “I heard that.”
Rueben winked, and Cash stepped back. When he returned to Nick’s side, he was deep in conversation with Burke, Hart, and the tow truck driver. They were discussing plans to haul the truck back up to the road.
“I need you to be as careful as you can,” Burke said. “That truck is evidence in a criminal case.”
The tow truck driver nodded. “Was the driver intoxicated?”
The assumption pissed Cash off. He was about to let the guy know it, but Burke spoke up first.
“No, Cal. The driver wasn’t at fault for the accident.”
Cal looked down the side of the hill and back at Burke. “How so?”
“Someone cut the brake lines on the truck.”
Burke’s words landed with the same intensity as an uppercut to Nick’s jaw, and he staggered back a step or two. Cash grabbed his hand and squeezed tight. The touch settled him but not by much. It had been Cash’s truck and Cash’s brakes someone had cut. Anyone who’d paid attention would know who drove the only black Redemption Ridge truck. Cash had told Rue he’d have to park in the public lot and walk into town to get the pizzas. Had someone cut the lines there? Had they meant to kill Cash, or would they settle for anyone driving a truck from the ranch?
Cash wrapped his arms around Nick and backed him up a few more steps. He put his mouth to Nick’s ear and said, “I’m right here. Rue is going to be okay. We’re going to take these assholes down.” Of course he knew exactly where Nick’s mind had gone.
“No,” Burke said firmly. “we’re not doing anything. I am going to take these assholes down.”
Seth Burke looked every bit the badass hero standing in the middle of the road with the emergency lights acting as a spotlight. The man’s square jaw and chiseled cheekbones looked more pronounced in the harsh illumination. He seemed bigger, broader, and badder. As intimidating as all that was, the hard expression in the sheriff’s gray eyes held Nick’s attention. Seth Burke had taken this affront personally. Maybe because of his friendship with Cash or perhaps because he’d bonded with Rueben while waiting for help to arrive. Nick got his answer when the tow truck driver asked Burke if he was certain about the brake lines.
Seth forced his attention to the man he’d called Cal. “I saw the entire thing with my own eyes. The truck was out of control as it entered the curve. It was coming straight for me. I swerved to the left out of instinct to avoid it, and the truck continued on a trajectory that took it straight over the side of the road.” Seth shivered hard before pulling himself together. “It happened in horrific slow motion. I recognized the truck and had just come from the ranch. I knew who was driving.”
Nick wondered if Burke replayed Rue’s flirty interaction with him as he helplessly watched Rueben go over the side of the hill.
Burke briefly closed his eyes and shook his head. “I slammed on my brakes and looked over the edge. I saw where a large tree limb had penetrated clear through the truck cab and…” Burke’s words trailed off as if he couldn’t bear to finish the thought.
He’d feared the worst.
Burke cleared his throat and said, “I carefully made my way down to the wreckage.”
“Not too carefully,” a male deputy added as he joined the small gathering. “Your pants are shredded in places, and you’re bleeding.”
“Fine,” Burke said gruffly. “I mostly slid down the hill on my ass, but I’ll worry about my injuries after I clear the scene. They’re a minor annoyance, not life threatening.”
“Yes, sir,” the deputy replied.
They stepped to the side to discuss something about the accident before Burke returned.
“Where was I?” Burke asked. “I didn’t even realize I was banged up until someone mentioned it. Now it hurts like a son of a bitch.”
“Adrenaline,” Nick said. He’d worked with an agent who’d gotten shot and didn’t realize it until someone made him aware. It had been a flesh wound, but it still would’ve burned like hellfire.
“You were telling us how you scaled down the steep hillside in mostly one piece to check on Rueben,” Cash said.
Burke’s mouth quirked at one end. “Yeah, that was it. Rueben was conscious but shaken up. His life must’ve flashed before his eyes.” Burke took a deep breath and placed a hand on his sternum. “What a short fucking slideshow it would’ve been.” The man pulled himself together again by his figurative bootstraps and squared his shoulders. “Rueben told me the brakes had felt spongy when he left town. There aren’t many stops after leaving Last Chance Creek, but he’d lost fluid each time he pressed the pedal. Rueben said they were completely gone by the time he entered the hairpin curve. That’s when I knew to check the brake lines for signs of tampering.”
