Page 55 of Shielded Hearts

“Fuck. How hard did he hit you?” He’d seen head injuries before, and Gray had one.

“I’m okay.”

“Neither of us is going after that motherfucker tonight. You need medical care, and I’m taking Aspen back to the ranch. Come on.” With his weapon in hand, Colt took Gray by the arm and led him out to the vehicle.

Through the windshield, he met Aspen’s wide-eyed stare. He gestured for her to unlock the SUV, and by the time he reached for the back door handle, she’d hit the locks.

“I got it.” Gray slashed a hand through the air in protest as Colt insisted on aiding him inside.

With another quick scan of the empty cabin yard, Colt jumped behind the wheel and took off into the night.

“Colt! Gideon got away!” Aspen’s raspy tone sent an ache into his chest.

“I know.” His jaw flexed with anger about Gideon’s escape, but he had more important things to concern himself with at the present time. Like getting his brother checked out and Aspen to a place where no one would ever be able to get to her again.

He shot her a look. Fear burned in her eyes, and he reached out to squeeze her arm in reassurance. “Gray’s injured. That fucker hit him hard enough to give him a head injury.”

“Oh no!” She twisted in her seat to look at Gray.

“I’m fine,” Gray muttered.

Colt stepped on the gas. “It could have happened to anybody, brother.”

A humorless laugh burst past Gray’s lips. “All those years you were the quiet brother, the guy who didn’t get involved. Now you’re giving me a pep talk?”

“If we could defeat every villain, the world would be perfect and we wouldn’t have to fight anymore.”

Aspen twined her fingers with his. Her shivers telegraphed into his arm, and he steeled his muscle to absorb them. If hecould take on every tremble of her fear, he damn well would. And he’d take on his brother’s injuries as well.

Dammit. He blamed himself for Aspen getting snatched in the first place. He should have gotten her out of the cabin before the avalanche. He shouldn’t have left his brother alone, locked in hand-to-hand combat with a man who had nothing to lose and everything to fight for.

He gently extracted his hand from Aspen’s and pulled out his phone and dialed Willow. As soon as his baby sister answered, he growled out, “Willow, I’m coming in hot with Aspen and Gray. Aspen was kidnapped.”

She gasped.

“Gray has a concussion.”

Gray’s low groan followed. “Dammit, Colt. Why did you have to tell our sister? You know how she fusses.”

“What do you need me to do?” Willow’s voice was calm and cool despite what he’d just told her.

“Get the ranch doc to meet us in…” He glanced at the dashboard clock, checking their ETA. “Two hours. He can check out Gray and then the therapist can talk to Aspen.”

“Two hours? You sure you don’t need to get them to a hospital now?”

“No,” Gray spoke up loud enough for Willow to hear. “I’m fine. If I can’t handle a little concussion, I’m too weak to return to the military.”

Amusement tinged Willow’s tone. “Well, you’re a pilot. Don’t you have the softest hand in the military?”

“That’s the Coast Guard,” Colt spoke up.

“We don’t even count them as military,” Gray ground out. “And no, my hands are not soft. Why are we even having this discussion? You’re not in the military, Willow.”

She issued a low chuckle. “Sounds like you’re going to be okay, Gray. All right, I’ll get things rolling now and have everything in place when you arrive.”

“I’m going to drop you a pin. Get the police out to the location to hunt for a man named Gideon Page. About five-nine. Two hundred pounds. Muscular build. Brown hair, blue eyes. Last seen wearing a black coat.”

“Got it. I’ll have my phone on me, but I’ll be in the barn most of the night. One of the horses is colicky.”

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