Chapter Eighteen
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. ”
“It’s a miracle Rue is alive.” Cash’s voice trembled with fear, but his eyes shone with appreciation when he stepped forward and hugged Burke. “Thank you for staying with him. He must’ve been terrified.”
Burke patted his back. “He didn’t let it show. He proposed marriage and…other things. Pretty sure I’ll have a permanent blush.”
“Good thing Rue isn’t here to see this,” Nick said, gesturing to the lingering hug between friends.
“He’ll get over his infatuation soon enough.” It sounded like Burke was speaking from personal experience.
“I wouldn’t bet on it.” Cash laughed and stepped back. “You need to get your wounds cleaned up. You don’t want them to get infected. There’s no telling what’s embedded in your skin right now.”
Burke winced. “It feels like I slid down a giant cheese grater.” He tilted his head toward Nick’s BMW.
“You guys head on to the hospital to be with Rueben. I’ll keep you posted if there are developments, and I’ll check in once I get there.
” Burke spoke into his radio and let the deputy stationed at the bottom of the road know they were coming down.
Nick extended his hand to Burke, who accepted it. Unlike their first handshake, Nick wanted to show appreciation and respect rather than dominance.
“I’m going to get this fucker,” Burke assured them.
Nick and Cash said nothing when they walked to the car, maneuvered around the emergency vehicles, and carefully traversed the winding asphalt to lower ground. He reached for Cash’s hand as soon as the deputy waved them through the roadblock.
“I think someone meant for you to have an accident.” Nick’s voice was thick with anger and trembled with fear.
“I know.” In contrast, Cash’s voice was soft with sadness and shredded with regret.
Nick immediately realized his mistake. Of course Cash blamed himself for Rueben’s brush with death.
If he hadn’t snitched on Mike Carson, none of this would’ve happened, according to Cash at least. And just like he’d done in the shower, Nick fast-forwarded Cash’s thoughts to a result he’d reach eventually.
“Carson’s reign of terror is over. He’s just too stupid to realize it.
He’s got his eyes locked on one velociraptor while another is sneaking up on his blindside. ”
Cash snorted. “This is what I get for falling in love with a man whose comfort watch is the Jurassic Park franchise. Not sure I dig your comparison, though I feel as old as a dinosaur.”
“Nonsense,” Nick replied. “It was a metaphor for his vengeful plans.” He glanced over at Cash and received his I-call-bullshit glare. “Maybe you should text the crew an update,” Nick suggested. “They have to be scared out of their minds.”
“Good call.”
A few moments later, Nick’s phone started pinging with one text after another. “What did you do?”
Cash’s responding laughter sounded downright wicked. “I added you to the ranch’s group chat. You’re one of us now, baby.” Cash changed his voice to sound ominous for the last part, but it infused Nick’s heart with warmth, not fear.
He hated group chats with the intensity of a thousand hells, but belonging to those wonderful people would be worth any sacrifice. “I’m honored.”
Cash cackled and Nick’s phone pinged several more times. “The guys are upset they can’t come to the hospital since the road is temporarily closed. I told them about Rue’s shameless flirting to assure them he’s okay. They’re razzing him since they know Rue will read the messages eventually.”
It seemed to help Cash too, so those notifications were a small price to pay, and there must’ve been dozens by the time they made the quick trip to Colorado Springs.
Nick couldn’t find an empty parking spot near the emergency room, so they parked in a visitor and outpatient lot farther away from the building.
Shawna and her partner were just coming out of the hospital with Rue’s vacated gurney when they reached the ER. She smiled warmly when she saw them.
“That Rueben is adorable,” Shawna said. She had gray eyes just like Burke, and they shimmered with pure mischief. “If Seth knows what’s good for him, he’ll snatch that cutie up.”
“Did you arm Rueben with helpful information?” Cash asked.
Shawna winked and said, “Maybe.”
Nick peered through the sliding glass doors and saw the emergency room was packed.
Shawna must’ve noticed his distraction because she asked her partner to load the gurney into the rig.
She gestured for them to follow her inside, and they did so without asking any questions.
Shawna took them through the EMT’s entrance and led them through a maze of curtained triage rooms.
“Knock, knock,” she said outside one. “You decent?”
“Depends on who you’ve brought to see me,” Rue replied.
Cash sighed and shook his head. “Thanks for your help.”
“My pleasure,” she said to Cash. “See you at the family Thanksgiving, Rue. Make sure you bring your abuela.”
Nick eased the curtain to the side and gestured for Cash to enter the tight space.
“Such a gentleman,” Rue said. “Just like my Seth.”
Cash rolled a stool next to the bed and sat down. “Seth, huh?”
“He told me I could call him that.” Rue’s voice and expression belonged to a lovesick teenager. “He held my hand and wouldn’t let go until the rescue crew reached us. Seth said if I went over the cliff, he’d go too.”
Rue closed his eyes and released a saccharine sweet sigh.
Nick was positive he’d have a different set of memories and emotional reactions once his adrenaline and shock wore off.
The failed brakes, careening down a steep hillside, and the near miss with the tree limb would catch up to him.
Luckily, he’d have a host of people to help him through the trauma.