Page 89 of Love in the Storm

“It’ll take more than one shot to keep me down,” Asa joked.

Lyric was by his side in an instant. “Hey! I’ll call your mom and let her know you’re awake.”

Asa lifted his hand, but the motion took way more effort than he expected. “No rush. I’m sure I’ll be stuck here for a while.”

Lyric was already lifting the phone to her ear. “Still, she’ll want to see you awake.”

Asa reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “I’m fine.”

Lyric propped the phone between her shoulder and ear to quickly raise a finger in the air. “No, you are not fine. You are seriously injured, and she’s been worried sick about you. We all have.”

“That’s a true story,” Dawson added. “Dude, if you wanted attention, you could have just said so.”

Asa tried to shift in the uncomfortable bed and grunted. Everything hurt. “Yeah, I thought about just letting a dog bite me.”

Dawson’s eyes widened, and he pointed at Asa. “Are you mocking me? I can’t help it if dogs like to bite me!”

Lyric ended the call and pushed her phone into the back pocket of her jeans. “She’s on her way. What’s this about dog bites?”

“Dawson has been bitten twenty-three times.”

“Why are you counting?” Dawson asked.

“It’s not me. The news stations keep count.”

Dawson hung his head and sighed. “I love dogs. Why don’t they love me?”

Lyric gently brushed her fingertips over the bandage on Asa’s shoulder. Her nostrils flaredslightly with every breath. “I can’t believe someone did this to you. It makes me so… angry.”

“Welcome to the club, sister,” Dawson said before taking a seat next to Asa’s bed.

“It’s part of the job. At least I’m still breathing.”

“This isn’t funny, you two!” Lyric almost shouted. She was really fired up.

“Hey,” Asa said, squeezing her hand again. “It’s part of the job. I knew that when I started. Though, I can’t say I expected to be shot in Blackwater.”

Lyric pressed her teeth into her bottom lip, and a crease formed between her brows. He hated to see her worried, but she sure looked good doing it.

“You’ll be happy to know we caught the Wilsons,” Dawson said.

“Oh yeah. It’s all over the news.” Asa had gotten wind of that part.

“Speaking of news crews. They’re still swarming this place. They might have cornered your mom and Jacob,” Dawson said.

Lyric pulled out her phone. “I’d better check on them. She said she was on her way from the cafeteria.”

“No one needs to rush. I’m stuck here,” Asa reminded them. “Hey, did we hear anything about Mason?”

“Who?” Lyric asked.

Dawson sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Nope. He’s still MIA.”

Lyric had a white-knuckle grip on his hand now. “Who is Mason?”

“The other Wilson brother,” Asa said. “He wasn’t there. At least, not that we know of.”

She blinked a few times before whispering, “There’s another one?”

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