Page 121 of Love Me Dangerous

“I don’t… understand.”

I need to get her warm,now. Has someone called for an ambulance?

“I trailed the tracks in the snow. I think Barb and Henry followed me. Maybe they called your dad. What’s important is that you’re safe now. We’re safe.”

“You… work for Dustin.” It comes out flat, like it’s been repeating in her mind over and over. She must have overheard the phone call. Damn it!

Where is that fucking ambulance? I grit my teeth to fight back the emotions crowding into my throat. “It’s not what you think.”

She sucks in a sob. “I can’t get hurt like that… again.”

When this is all over, I’ll explain what happened and my role in it.But for now, I keep it simple. “I’m here now. I won’t let anyone hurt you.”

Through the crack in the door, spinning red lights combine with the blue ones from Rowdy’s rig, splashing across the walls. The ambulance is here. Finally.

“Zach? Sofie?” It’s Rowdy, his eyes tense.

“We’re okay!” I call back.

He rushes over, his boots thumping on the thin metal floor. He crouches down and puts his arms around us both. He kisses Sofie’s head. “Thank god.”

“Do me a favor?” I ask him, my tight throat squeezing the words.

He rubs Sofie’s back, his jaw set in determination. “Name it.”

“Get my Leatherman tool off Dustin’s belt.”

Rowdy rocks back on his feet and swipes at his eyes. “Be right back.”

“We’re going to get you out of here.” I plant a kiss on her temple, but her skin is like ice.

“I’m so cold.” Sofie’s shivers haven’t eased, even wrapped in my arms. She needs a hospital.

Moments later, two men step into the trailer. They’re dressed in thick blue coats and matching uniforms. One is carrying a big orange toolbox with the paramedic emblem on the side.

Sofie shudders in my arms. “Stay with me, Zach.”

My heart thuds thick and hard in my chest. After today, I’m never letting her go.

“I promise.”

Chapter Thirty

ZACH

Outside the trailer,the blowing snow bites my face, and there are so many flashing lights that it’s hard to get my bearings.

I carry Sofie toward the waiting ambulance. Sheriff Olson’s SUV comes to a stop just as the medics open the back doors and usher us inside.

It’s warm in here—like they’ve left the rig running with the heater blasting. Gratitude flushes across my skin.

I lay Sofie down on the gurney. The medics split up. One jumps into the driver’s seat and the other starts unloading supplies from the various cupboards.

“You’re bleeding,” Sofie says, her teeth tapping together. Maybe it’s just the weird lighting in here, but her lips look blue. “You should be on this bed, not me.”

“Is your clothing wet?” the medic asks Sofie.

She shakes her head. I notice a red mark across her swollen cheek.

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