Page 93 of Last Chance Love

“Fuck,” I repeated, holding my hand to my chest and forcing a deep breath. “That’s…that’s just great. I mean, great because they’re alive and not fucked up, but…shit.”

“It could have happened to any guys who went out there,” Max said, surprising me by clocking what was going through my head. “You volunteering them was a good thing, don’t go kicking yourself over it.”

It felt easy for him to say, he hadn’t made a decision that had got one of his charges hurt. The incident with Riley and the donkey had been an accident, and other than Reno hitting Riley that one time, Riley had never been in serious danger because of Max’s choices. However, I was the reason the two of them were out there in the first place.

“I thought the reports all said things were clear,” I snapped at Mona, who didn’t bat an eye. “If I had known they were in that much danger?—”

“They weren’t,” she told me calmly. “As far as we knew, there was some elevated activity, which you knew, but nothing close to our or the neighboring ranches. We should have known there would be trouble before there was, but nothing alerted me to any threats.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’m more than willing to let you review the reports to decide for yourself.”

“I…” Stopping there, I stared at her in surprise. “Seriously?”

“Seriously.”

That was…odd, to say the least. The reports she received weren’t casually shared, especially with people still in the program. Sure, I was coming up on graduating, but it was still something I shouldn’t be able to see. Just what was Mona doing?

“I’ll take you up on that after I get things sorted,” I grunted.

“Alright,” she said, but if she had anything else to say, it was cut off when the door opened. Reed entered, looking between the three of us, mildly surprised when he saw Max. He didn’t close the door behind him.

“Okay, so the two of them will be fine—just bumps and bruises, a few cuts. They fought for their lives and managed to get out. Reno got the worst of it, but all he’ll need is to take it easy for a few days.”

“So, they’re okay?” I asked, the relief beginning to flood in at his words. It wasn’t just because the man was a professional and knew what he was talking about. This was Reed. I couldn’t think of one thing I wouldn’t trust him on, and that went double for his patients.

“We’re going to keep them overnight,” Reed explained, giving me a small smile. “But unless we missed something, they’ll be fine.”

“I’ll make sure they have the few days they need,” Mona said. “And it’s important I hear what happened to them out there.”

“Ah, hell no,” I said, glaring toward her. “You’re not going to start drilling them after theyjustgot back.I’mgoing to talk to them first, you hear me?”

She raised a brow. “Oh? It’s my job to ensure the ranch's safety and security.”

“And it’s my job to ensure they’re taken care of,” I huffed. “They deserve to rest and maybe have a friendly face before going through whatever happened out there.”

“Are you doing this because of that or because you feel guilty that you’re the reason they were out there?”

“Mona,” Max warned, but Reed growled.

“If I’m responsible for this, then so are you,” I snapped, jabbing a finger in her direction. “You’ve been constantly pushing me to stand up for myself and my ideas, and that’s what I did. And I’m doing that right the fuck now because they don’t needyouin there grilling them. I’m their mentor, the one who needs to keep an eye on them, and that’s what I’m going to do. Reed?”

“Yes?”

“Are they in the same room?”

“Not at the moment.”

“Is it alright if they are?”

“I can arrange it. Reno should probably be resting completely, but Elliot is…physically okay.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means that something happened out there that’s really…I don’t know. He’s quiet, and…talk to him and find out.”

“Fine, Max?”

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