Page 29 of Riding Danger

I didn’t know how the numbing agent worked but my arms still hurt like a bitch. It wasn’t the first time I’d had stitches. This wasn’t even the most dangerous situation I had found myself in. Still, as the adrenaline started to wane, I could feel myself getting restless. While I was good in a crisis, my body didn’t respond well to its aftermath.

By the time the doctor was done and allowed my friends back into the room, my crowd had grown substantially.

I frowned at the small gathering. “Who let you know?”

Harry rolled his eyes as if the answer was obvious. “Your captain called me. And I let Maggie know. She told everyone else. Your mom has gone to Ryder’s to tell him what is happening. She says to call when you get home.”

Shit. I hadn’t even thought about Ryder. He wasn’t prepared for Ethan to sleep over. Hopefully Tess would sort him out.

Tiffany and Maggie followed close behind Harry.

Neither of them said anything as Harry stood watching over me. They both knew what I needed and I had no doubt they had already decided between the two of them who would be on Shiloh duty.

13

RYDER

It had been a long time since someone had actually knocked on my door. At my apartment in Los Angeles, I had a buzzer. But even that was rarely used. Normally if someone visited me, the doorman would ring my apartment before they would send the person up.

Of course, nothing was like what I was used to in this town. I’m sure if I left my door unlocked, whoever was there would’ve just walked in. I imagined it might get tiresome after a while but it was a small-town thing. And I was embracing that.

As I jogged up to the front door, the person knocked again. I checked the peephole to find Tess standing on my porch. Without any hesitation I opened the door and the worried look on her face gave me pause.

She wasn’t small, but she was on the slender side with a mop of dark curly hair sprinkled with gray. Her straight cut jeans and striped button down added to her unfussy appearance.

I moved back so she could step inside. “Is everything okay?”

She nodded. Her voice was all but a whisper. “There was a shooting.”

Every cell in my body went on alert and my muscles grew tight. Fear like I’d never known gripped my insides.

“Where is she?”

“Calm down, Ryder.” She shook her head and stepped inside. “You have a little boy to consider.”

I took a deep breath. She was right. I needed to be there for Ethan. “What happened?”

“I don’t know all the details.” Tess never raised her voice. “But from what I could gather, her partner is in critical condition and she needed stitches. Harry is with her now. And I imagine so are Maggie and Tiffany.”

Maggie was her foster sister, and Tiffany was the pushy friend who looked like she wanted to kick my ass the morning of the obstacle course. And that was great, but I needed to see her. I needed to make sure she was okay. It wasn’t a feeling I wanted to explore.

“Tess, could you watch Ethan?” I would need to be the one to explain what was going on, but, as Shi reminded me, this would be the time to rely on the support structure she had put in place.

I told myself that whatever news there was, it would be better for Ethan if it came from me. That was why I needed to see her for myself. And as long as I was doing it for Ethan, everything would be fine. No one was muddying the waters or acting on whatever was happening between us.

Tess nodded. “I’ll take him to my place. And make sure he gets to school in the morning. I have Maggie’s kids, so they’ll make a party of it.” She smiled at the thought of having all her grandkids together. “Maggie or Tiff will likely want to take her home. Or that’s what they’ll say. They think I don’t know what she does on days like these. You need to insist that she comes with you.”

There was no way Shiloh would be going anywhere with anyone else. That was never going to be an option. Still, thatcryptic little lecture had me worried. What usually happened when Shi had a difficult day at work? How often had she been shot?

“Ethan. I need to talk to you.”

My son walked in from the bedroom he had claimed as his own. “What’s—Oh hi, grandma. Is everything okay? Did something happen to Mom?”

I knelt down in front of him and made him face me. “Your mom got hurt, but she is going to be fine. I’m going to get her and bring her back here.” I took his hand to stop it from shaking. “I will text your grandma as soon as I lay eyes on her and I will get her to call you as soon as we get here. But I need you to go with your grandmother. Grandma will take care of you, so I can take care of your mom.”

Ethan gave me a slow nod. “Mom’s not good with anyone taking care of her. So good luck with that.”

I imagined the kid wasn’t wrong. I would probably have a hard time convincing her to come home with me. “I will make sure she listens to me.”

---