Page 78 of Knife to the Heart

Now was probably the worst time for a heart-to-heart, but her adamancy about protecting Julia meant something to him.

To them.

Easton gripped his arm and pointed to the parking lot. “Look.”

Cannon caught a dark van streaking away in a blur. In its wake, he spotted a bunch of silver balloons floating a few feet from where the toddler watched the snow falling onto the path.

“Move,” Cannon yelled.

He dropped his hot chocolate as he ran to the child and scooped her up. In his periphery, he saw Easton shove the mother. The pop of the balloons, like a dozen guns firing in rapid succession, muffled their startled cries.

Cannon ducked his head and body to cover the little girl and spun from the last of the sharp bursts. Bits of dark confettisprayed into the air along with smoke. An acrid stench burned his nose.

Two of the agents stationed at the automatic doors raced to him. One took the child from his arms. The other controlled the crowd gathered at the entrance. Cannon waved away the hazy smoke as fury burned in his veins.

Easton appeared at his side. “As soon as I saw those balloons, I knew they were a message from Malgor.”

A growl rumbled through Cannon’s body like lava-covered pebbles. He brushed off bits of confetti from his coat. The dark red and brown particles disintegrated into powder under his fingers. He thrust out his hand. More blackened bits fluttered onto his palm.

Easton grabbed his wrist. “That’s not confetti.”

Rose petals.

Dead rose petals.

Cannon raced to the two Red Snow officers securing the area. “Julia’s in danger. Send a team to meet her ambulance—now.”

He spun to Easton. “Let's go.”

Julia restedon the gurney in the ambulance, a knowing grin on her face. “Are you in love with my brother?”

Rosalie gripped the padded bench seat. No way was she ready to discuss her unprocessed feelings for Cannon, especially with his sister. She wasn’t even ready to talk to Bella about her budding love. If she didn’t focus all her brainpower on stopping Malgor before he made another move, her feelings would be a moot point anyway.

Julia touched Rosalie’s knee. “Come on, you can admit it. Ken’s focused on the road and can’t hear us over the sirens, andDean won’t mind.” She shot her thumb toward the EMT sitting at the entrance to the cab. “He loves girl talk.”

Dean shrugged. “I have a wife, three daughters, and another coming soon. I’ve learned to tune out.”

Julia laughed as he covered his ears. “Well, I’m tuned in to how good you and Cannon are together. You’ll make a great sister-in-law someday.”

Rosalie ignored visions of Julia and Bella in bridesmaid dresses as snow fell softly outside a little mountain church.

The ambulance fishtailed. Ken quickly corrected its course.

Julia pushed herself up higher on the gurney. “In case you haven’t figured it out yet, he loves you.”

The wedding scene reeled in Rosalie’s mind again. She shouldn’t ask how Julia was so sure that Cannon loved her, but she couldn’t stop herself any more than she could stop this storm from moving in. “How can you tell?”

“Aside from the way he looks at you? Cannon doesn’t trust anyone with his sick baby sister, but he trustsyou.That speaks volumes about how he feels.”

The ambulance swerved again.

“Hold on,” Ken yelled from the cab.

Rosalie grabbed the edge of the seat as the ambulance lurched to the right. Tensing, she fought momentum as the vehicle careened toward the icy, sloped shoulder. With a scream, she braced for impact. The back of her skull slammed into the panel behind her as the vehicle crashed into a ditch. Hazy dots floated in her vision as she yanked off her seat belt and fought for balance. Blinking, she drew her gun and focused on Julia. “Are you hurt?”

“No.” Julia tore off her safety belt and swiveled her head to Dean. “You okay?”

He didn’t answer as he scrambled into the cab, yelling Ken’s name.

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