“Why do I need to leave? Oh, of course. You need someone to watch over Jeff.”
Zane sucked in a breath. “Not exactly. As I said, his wolf will heal him—eventually. Our concern right now is that the man responsible—or who I am certain is guilty of attempting to hurt you—may decide to come after you again. Jeff and I gave him and his two men quite a thrashing.”
“You fought three men?” She pushed aside the fact that her life might once more be in danger.
“Yes, but we’re trained. I took on one man while Jeff battled the other two. I only stepped in at the last minute.”
Her mind swam as she tried to understand everything. “What about Avery? They might harm her if I’m not here.”
“I agree. It’s why the sheriff said he’d follow Avery home and then drop you off at the loft.”
The nightmare wasn't over. “I’ll lock the front door now and wait for the sheriff. And how are you doing?” Darn, she should have asked first thing.
“Better than Jeff. I’ve cleaned up and hope by the time you get here, you won’t see any evidence of my wounds.”
She could hear the occasional intake of his breath, implying he must have been hurt badly too. “Okay. See you soon.”
Once Blair locked the front door to the model home, she called Avery and told her what happened.
“That sucks,” Avery said.
“It is, but I’m trying to stay positive. If none of this had happened, I wouldn’t have found Jeff and Zane.”
“Way to turn a negative into a positive.”
Blair chuckled. “By the way, Zane said you need to go home too."
“What? Why?”
Blair thought it obvious. “If they want to punish me for what we think is some payback for my dad hurting Daryl’s brother, they might come after you if they can’t find me.”
Avery let out a long sigh. “Fine. Stop by the Ranchero on your way out.”
“Will do.” None of this was fair to Avery, but until Blair's attacker was stopped, she wanted to be sure her friend remained safe.
Less than ten minutes later, someone knocked on the model home's front door, causing Blair’s nerves to flair. When she looked out the window and spotted the sheriff, she let out a breath. After grabbing her gear, Blair turned off the lights and headed out.
“Blair. Sorry about this, but we’re working on getting a search warrant for Daryl’s place. I’m assuming Zane filled you in?”
“More or less,” she said.
The sheriff held open the door for her. The Granger men sure were polite. “Where’s Avery?” he asked.
“At the Ranchero Model.”
“Good. We’ll follow her home and then I'll take you to the loft,” he said.
“Thanks. Have you arrested Daryl yet?”
“No. Even though Zane sent pictures of the side panel of a blue truck that appears to have been in an accident, until we confirm it, we can’t arrest him.”
“And to get the side panel, you need a warrant.”
The sheriff looked over at her and smiled. “You got it. Don’t worry, this will be over soon.”
“I hope so.”
Avery was standing in front of her car when they arrived. The sheriff spoke to her and said he’d follow her home. During the short trip, Blair kept checking the side-view mirror expecting to see the blue truck again, even though she was in the sheriff’s cruiser.