Page 39 of Ambush

Paradise put her hand to her throat. “What situation?”

“A very dangerous one with the hyenas.” He told her about the unlocked gate and being circled by the animals. “A bad bite was imminent.”

“Or worse. Such carelessness doesn’t sound like you.”

“It isn’t. I checked out the inside lock before I entered the perimeter, and it appeared secure. Someone tampered with it.”

With anyone else she might not have believed he’d followed safety precautions. “Sabotage?”

“I didn’t get a chance to examine it yet. Lacey made her move.”

What had happened with Lacey would have to wait for her to assess later. Paradise rose and brushed the dirt and straw from her hands. “We’d better check it out. If someone exposed you to that much danger on purpose, we need to know why.” The rejection on his face told her he’d taken note of the distance in her voice and stance.

She brushed past him and marched toward the hyena enclosure. Was it wrong she was almost relieved to find a reason to stop her headlong rush into his arms again? What a fool she was.

***

Blake’s chest ached at the sight of Paradise’s pale, set face. Talking more about it would get nowhere. He’d have to show her he hadno interest in Lacey. One thing was sure—he intended to avoid being alone with the vet tech if he could. She’d made no secret of her interest, but he’d thought he’d managed to make it clear it wasn’t reciprocated.

The sun beat down from a blue sky, and he backhanded the moisture from his forehead as they reached the hyena enclosure. The humidity shimmered in the air and heightened the odor of the dominant females crowding the fence line and watching their approach with laughing faces.

He’d only allowed himself to consider a nasty bite, but it could have been worse—much worse. If Lacey hadn’t been there, he could have been a bloody stain on the grass right now. Though she’d caused him personal grief with Paradise, she’d saved his life.

The gate between the inner and perimeter enclosures stood open. He stopped and grabbed a pail of food from the food shed. “I’ll coax them into the other enclosure with food.”

Paradise put her hands on her hips and studied the fencing. “But even if you coax them over there, how can you shut and lock the gate? Is there a pole around here somewhere? I could push it shut while you distract them with meat.”

He gestured to her right before he started toward the back enclosure. “There’s one in the utility shed by the food hut.”

The cackle moved closer to the fence as he skirted it. They paced him step-by-step until Clara stepped through the open gate and led her group into the back enclosure. Where was Paradise? He didn’t see her with the long pole yet, but maybe she was having trouble finding it. There was still half a pail of food left, but he doled it out slowly, piece by piece.

She should have been here by now. The shed wasn’t that large. Foreboding shivered up his spine. “Paradise?” Clara snarled andsprang back at his loud voice, so he tossed her another piece of meat.

When Paradise still didn’t answer, he set the pail on the ground and headed toward the shed. What could have delayed her? He paused to rinse the blood from his hands at the outside spigot, then wiped his hands on the grass before touching the entry handle. The metal hinges complained as he pushed open the heavy wooden door. It only opened six inches before it resisted his shove as if something was in the way.

He spied a hand stretched out on the cement floor, and his pulse shot up. “Paradise!”

Shoving the door hard might hurt her, but there was a window on the back side of the building, so he went that way. Had she tripped and fallen? He reached the window and peered through the fly-speckled glass.

Fear seized his muscles. Paradise lay stretched out on the floor with one leg crumpled under her.

He shoved the window open, though it was a tight squeeze to maneuver his wide shoulders through the opening. He let his arms dangle, and when his fingertips brushed the cool concrete, he lowered the rest of his body onto the floor. The coppery scent of blood was in the air, and he crawled to her side. “Paradise?” He ran his fingers over her head and found blood oozing from a lump on her scalp. He checked her pulse and breathing and found them reassuringly steady.

A quick assessment of her limbs didn’t indicate any broken bones. He touched her cheek. “Paradise, can you hear me?” She had to be all right. He couldn’t lose her.

She moaned and reached a hand toward her head with her eyes still closed. “Hurts. Something hit me.”

“I’m going to call for an ambulance.” He whipped out hisphone and called 911. The dispatcher promised to send one out immediately. Blake ended the call and placed his hand on her forehead. “Help will be here soon. Try not to move.”

She opened her lids in a squint and reached for his hand. “Something hit me on the head when I opened the door. That was the last thing I remember.”

Her grip on his hand was just shy of painful, but he relished it. At least she needed him right at this moment. He held up two fingers. “How many fingers?”

“Two.”

He changed to four. “Now how many?”

She squinted. “Four.”

---