Page 72 of Cornered

“Seriously?”

“Yes, seriously.”

“When I broke up with you, you acted like it didn’t matter! You were icy and calm and I thought I’d misread everything. I thought if you really cared about me, you’d put up a fight or at least be a little upset. But you weren’t. You didn’t eventryto get me to change my mind. I know it was my decision, and I broke us. But when you just let me go? It hurt. And it confused me. And I thought that maybe it was for the best because clearly my feelings ran a lot deeper than yours did.”

She shoved at his arm. “I was faking it, you idiot. You crushedme. If you didn’t want me, I certainly wasn’t going to let on how much it hurt! A girl has to have some pride!”

Donovan’s phone rang.

Cassie closed her eyes and turned her back to him, attempting to hide her threatening tears. She wasn’t sure if she’d ever been as angry as she’d been at Donovan Bledsoe.

But she wasn’t angry anymore.

He’d walked away from her when he answered the phone, but his voice grew closer as he returned. “Yeah.” A pause. “Okay.” A longer pause during which he came to stand a foot away from her. “Got it. I’ll be there in fifteen. Yeah.”

He tapped the screen and his shoulders slumped. “I have to go. There was a fight at The Dry Gulch. Brick and Tony arrested half the people there. Gray had to call in everyone available.”

Fights at The Dry Gulch weren’t uncommon. But it didn’t usually require this much manpower to handle them.

“Someone got stabbed.”

That would explain it. Fights were usually more about people needing to sleep it off and property damage and everyone agreeing not to press charges for assault.

“Brick says the knife was a fancy knife—smaller than a chef’s knife, but definitely something from a kitchen.”

Cassie couldn’t stop herself from reaching for Donovan’s arm. She grabbed him and held on. “Was it...”

Donovan placed his free hand over hers. “The description matches, but I won’t know for sure until I see it.”

“The person who was stabbed?”

“On the way to the hospital. Dr. Shaw is riding with the ambulance.” He hesitated. “They aren’t sure if he’ll make it.”

Cassie couldn’t get her mind to settle on anything. Thoughts. Emotions. Questions. Fears. Everything was a maelstrom in her mind.

“Hey.”

She looked up into Donovan’s face.

“I have to go, but this, you and me, us, we aren’t done. I’m going to fight for us. Fight for the right to love you the way you deserve to be loved. Fight to be a man worthy of you. So be careful. Stay here. Keep someone with you if you leave. We’ll figure out what’s going on, but until I know for sure, please promise me you’ll do everything you can to stay safe.”

Cassie couldn’t do anything more than nod.

“I need to hear it, baby. Because for all I know, you’re just nodding to get me to leave.”

Donovan’s voice held a touch of humor, but mostly it was concern.

“I’ll be careful. You be careful too. I’m...” Cassie swallowed. “I’m not through fighting with you.”

He ran a thumb across her cheek. “Don’t you mean fighting for you?”

She shook her head. “Not yet.”

Her intransigence should have been frustrating, but his smile was glorious. “I like this feisty version of you, Cassie. I really do.”

Then he was gone. And Cassie stood in the woods alone until Mo found her.

“You okay, kiddo?” He put an arm around her and led her back to the firepit.

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