Chapter 9
A swirling red light burned through her eyelids. Voices were speaking so loudly, she wanted to press her hands over her ears. What the hell was everyone going on about? A siren blared to life, pinging through her skull like a freight train. Savannah bolted upright, only to be pressed back down by strong arms.
“Just rest, little one. It’s all going to be okay.” Jasper’s deep voice was huskier than usual, kind even.
She allowed him to lower her back to whatever she was lying on. It was hard, but with enough cushion for her to realize she was not on the ground. Whatever it was wobbled and shot up a few feet, flinging her eyes open again in surprise.
A gurney! And it was moving towards the incessant red spinning lights. People crowded around her on all sides. Some were dressed in the stark white of paramedics; some were other road hands from the rodeo, but she couldn’t remember anyone’s names now; and then there was Jasper on her right side, holding her hand.
“What happened?” She barely got the words past all the dryness in her throat and mouth. Had she swallowed a trough full of dirt or something?
He bent closer, his mouth right at her ear. “We’ll talk more when we’re alone, but you really need to get checked out by a doctor. Just relax. Everything’s under control.”
She sat up, intending to jump off the damn gurney. The last thing she needed was a hospital. But a wave of nausea smacked her with the movement. Several hands pressed her back down, their voices intermingled with objections.
Mama Wedgefield sidled up on her left side. “Girlie, I don’t know what the devil you were doing or what happened, but you are not to set foot back here until the doctor clears you as good to go.” The usually harsh woman took her hand and patted it.
Funny, Mama’s voice is thin and shaky. Is the old woman actually concerned about my well-being?
Her next words sent a shiver down Savannah’s spine. “I’ll be up to the hospital later to check on you and Cody.” Mama’s voice definitely had a noticeable tremble to it.
“What’s wrong with Cody?”
They came to an abrupt halt at the ambulance as the paramedics made room for the second gurney. There was already someone in the vehicle.
Cody!
There was blood everywhere, too. His eyes were closed, and IVs were running into his arm. Another paramedic was working on Cody’s right side, where blood ran in thin rivulets across his exposed abdomen to drip onto the floor of the ambulance. The sandy-haired paramedic mumbled under his breath, continuing to press more gauze into the wound.
Tears welled up in her eyes and flowed down her cheeks. Sobs racked her body. He’d been gored by a steer! She should have been there to stop all this. Instead, she’d been playing seductress to a man who would ride off into the sunset soon without her. Guilt gnawed at her gut.
“I’ll meet you at the hospital. No worries, little one!” Jasper’s rough voice broke her attention away from Cody.
Another emotion seized her—anger. She was angry at herself for being so naive and believing that luring him to have sex with her would make him stay. Or, hell, even see her in a different light than the scared victim he’d been sent to save!
But Jasper deserved just as much fury thrown his way. One—for showing up here in the first place. Two—for succumbing to her wiles and giving her hope. Three—for distracting her so she was not here to stop the animals from stampeding.
And four—for still referring to her as little one.
***
His guardian angel senses had scanned Savi for every imaginable injury when she’d fainted, but he’d found nothing physically wrong with her. Jasper assumed the energetic toll of calming a rodeo-full of riled beasts had been more than enough to knock her out. He hoped that was all of it, but he knew hope was a futile emotion.
He strode toward his Harley as soon as the ambulance raced off into the night, with the intention of following.
“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Mama Wedgefield shouted across the pasture parking lot. He turned to find her with both hands fisted on her hips and a look that brooked no arguments.
“Thought I’d go to the hospital to keep an eye on Cody and Savi.” He purposefully used Cody’s name first in case Mama got the wrong—or the right—idea.
Her nose scrunched up as a gust of wind blew more dust into the air but continued to glare at him. The boss lady was shrewd and had figured out that when things had gone crazy at the rodeo, he and Savi had been missing—together. His ego demanded that he ignore her. It was none of her business anyway. He and Savannah were both consenting adults.
Then again, a small part of him saw why she’d be annoyed—pissed, even—that he was galivanting with one of her crew. He was supposed to be there seeking to invest in her life’s blood, sweat, and tears—her rodeo. Instead, he had taken advantage of the one young lady who worked for her. Yep, he could see how everyone would mistake him for the villain in this story.
Damn! It sure had been nice when he’d been human. Back then, he wouldn’t have even bothered to see the other side of the story that did not highlight him as the innocent, and undeniably irresistible, knight who could do no wrong. Sometimes being a guardian angel sucked.
Mama tapped her walking stick on the ground. “These things happen. Accidents happen. But if you’re so hot to play cowboy, you gotta roll with the punches. The injured have been tended to. It’s out of our hands. What we can do is clean up this mess and maybe find out what caused the animals to go berserk in the first place.”
Her gaze, with her head tilted to the side, roved over him. “I have always run an efficient and safe operation. And you as a potential investor should not base your valuations of my business on what happened tonight. I am sure you will want to assuage your concerns about my management of the rodeo, and you so kindly offered to saddle up as a rodeo hand for the remainder of the week then you can help me investigate how all this”—her arms opened wide—“happened.”
He admired the lady’s spunk. Running a rodeo had to be a hard life and it showed in every line around her eyes and mouth.
Jasper walked over to her and planted a kiss on her leathery cheek. “You’re absolutely right, Mama. How about I help alleviate your worries this way? You’re obviously concerned about your family—Cody and Savi. How about you run off to the hospital to see to them? The animals are all back in their respective barns and being cared for by the other guys. I’ll help where I can, but more importantly, I can start investigating what went wrong so we don’t have any more accidents.”
Her eyes cut to him with a smidge of suspicion. “Don’t think I don’t know you’re simply trying to placate me, Mr. Moreau.”
That couldn’t be good if she was already reverting to addressing him formally.
“Aww, come on, sweetheart. I thought we were on a first name basis. Please, call me Jasper.” He flashed his signature smile that had caused more than one female to swoon. Mama was a hard woman, but she couldn’t resist that—right?
Mama’s thinned lips ticked up on one side. Jasper would’ve sworn her eyes twinkled.
“Fine, then. Jasper.” A blush crept up her neck, visible even in the darkness. “I’ll get my handbag and run off to the hospital. Cody is gonna need surgery and heavens knows what is wrong with that girl.”
For good measure, he pecked her on the cheek again before heading off to the barn. He didn’t hear her moving, so he turned around. Mama was still standing there looking at him with one hand on her hip and her other hand clutching the walking cane.
The staff slightly trembled and the stone on the handle seemed to blaze with an eerie light. Jasper blinked in surprise, only to find the light had vanished when he opened his eyes again.
***
That cane! Something about it bothered him. The handles didn’t usually emit light unless built with a flashlight inside for walking at night. But Mama’s cane was sculpted with a sturdy base, worn wooden varnish, and a stone—not a gemstone, just a regular black rock on its handle. If he had to guess it was obsidian, black tourmaline, or perhaps shungite. Nothing unusual.
But stones don’t glow by themselves.
Jasper checked on all the animals, double-checked the stall latches, and checked in with the rest of the rodeo hands. All were sweaty, filthy, and completely exhausted.
Josiah came out of the office with new locks for each of the barns. The old ones had broken when the animals had burst through the doors. He mumbled, “No idea what got into those critters. Never seen nothing like that.” As he walked away, the cowboy’s hands were noticeably trembling, and he kept shaking his head.
A thorough search of the premises revealed no clues. No funny amulets or signs that someone had conjured up a demon—or in this case—a malevolent goddess, at least not intentionally.
But Manea hadn’t just appeared out of thin air! There had to be a reason she was here. Someone had to know something.
Dawn was breaking over the horizon in beautiful orange, yellow, and red hues when Jasper emerged from the cluster of buildings again.
Nothing. He had found absolutely nothing to link anyone to the rise of the Goddess of the Dead.
The noise of wheels rumbling over gravel and dirt caught his attention. Mama screeched to a halt in her fire-engine-red Ford Super Duty F-350 crew cab truck, sending dirt billowing around the monster vehicle. He ran over, anxious for news about Savi and Cody, but the passenger door flew open before he could reach it.
Jasper stood there in shock, watching Savannah jump out of the truck and stroll over as if she’d just been taking a Sunday drive. The other door slammed shut, but his eyes never left the blonde beauty. His breath caught in his chest. Was that relief, or another emotion crowding in?
Mama called after her, “Savi, get some rest. It’s been a rough night for all of us, but I’ll get Mickey to take care of your chores this morning.”
The flare in her cornflower blue eyes spoke two truths. She was pissed and she was not going to rest.
Once she stood in front of him, her head jerked towards the back of the compound where her camper waited.
“Lead the way, my lady. I will follow.”