Page 72 of Wicked Devotions

“I think so. I need her to stand up, so I can check her out. Do you see a bag of treats on the bench out there?”

He disappears from view as I run my hand along her flank. Her tail swishes back and forth calmly, so I think she’s okay.

“These?” He holds up the bag.

“Yes.”

As soon as she hears the treats rustling in the bag, she’s up on her feet. I grab the bag and feed her one before handing them back to Cy. There’s just enough light for me to walk around her, checking her for injuries. When I’m absolutely positive that she’s unharmed, I wrap my arms around her neck and break down into sobs.

She rests her head against my back, embracing me in the only way she can as I breathe in her scent. I’ve never been so grateful for anything in my life. She tenses against me as Cy comes into the stall.

“It’s okay, girl. I’m not going to hurt you,” he says softly as he approaches. “I brought treats.”

“Put them in your palm.” I wipe my eyes as I let go of her.

“Like this?” He holds his hand out, and Annielooks at me first before hesitantly accepting the biscuit.

“Perfect. Bribing her with treats is always the best plan.” I wipe my nose on the sleeve of Declan’s hoodie. “Why would he make a threat like that? What kind of monster even considers hurting an animal?”

“I don’t know.” He looks around the barn. “We should probably go before someone finds us and you get fired.”

I don’t want to leave her. If it were up to me, I’d sleep in here tonight. I lost her once, I won’t let anything happen to her again. After a few kisses to her nose, I finally let Cy drag me away. Once again we stick to the shadows and he boosts me over the fence.

It’s not until I’m back on the bike behind him that I start to think about everything that could have gone wrong. Was it smart to just take off the way we did? Absolutely not. I’m sure that the guys are going to be pissed. They’ll have every right to be.

Goosebumps race along my legs as we drive back home. The days in late September are still warm, but the nights are getting cooler. I slide my hands under Cy’s shirt to warm them and am surprised when I feel a gun tucked into the front of his pants. I was insuch a rush to get to Annie that I didn’t even notice him carrying.

Part of me was hoping that Emerson would have convinced Declan to go to the hospital and get stitched up while we were gone and that they’d still be there. Unfortunately, they’re both home, sitting on the couch and looking furious when we walk through the door.

“What the fuck were you thinking?” Declan roars as soon as Cy walks through the door.

I look over his shoulder at Emerson, wondering if he’ll tell Declan to calm down, but his face is just as serious. Both of their mouths are set in hard lines and aggression seeps from their bodies. Declan’s muscles are tightly coiled, as if he’s ready to lunge across the room and knock some sense into us.

It occurs to me that this is usually something that would frighten me. Walking into a room this charged with male anger used to make me wilt. But I’m not afraid. I can see all their emotions swirling around them, but I know I’m safe, even in their maelstrom.

“You could ask about Annie.” I step out from behind Cy.

“I don’t really give a fuck,” Declan snaps.

“How is she?” Emerson asks at the same time.

“Fuck you!” I toss back at Declan, anger getting the best of me.

The whole room goes pin silent as the three of them stare at me like I grew three heads. All of a sudden, I feel like shrinking. Fear wars with shame as my cheeks flame and my heart beats erratically.

“I’m so sorry,” I whisper, stepping away with my head down. “I can’t believe I said that. I was so out of line.”

“Stop.” Cy grabs my shoulders. “Look at me.”

I slowly meet his gaze.

“He deserved every bit of thatfuck you.” He looks over his shoulder at Declan.

“I probably do,” Declan confirms reluctantly. “But truly, I care about you. I can replace a horse. I’d buy you an entire herd, a hundred herds if I had to. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.” He turns his attention to Cyrus. “Same goes for you, asshole.”

Cy puts a hand over his heart. “You’d buy me a herd of horses? How sweet.”

Emerson shakes his head and stands. “What you two did was incredibly reckless. Whoever threw that brick could have been waiting outside. It could have been a trap.”

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