But all along he’d been a fool to get involved with her in any form. Everything that had occurred today was the perfect example of what could go wrong because of her association with him. This time she might survive. But what would happen next time? Because with his work, there would always be a next time.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Otis attempting to wiggle out of his binding. No doubt about it, the man was sly and would come up with any angle he could find to free himself. It was for the best Ivy was gone, away from Otis and any further danger.

Besides, without Ivy around distracting and worrying him, maybe now he could finish the job he’d come to South Park to do.

He swiped up a log and made his way to Otis. Without saying a word, he knocked the fellow unconscious. Then Jericho dragged him to the litter, tied him in place, and started on the way to town.

Chapter
24

Burning heat prodded Ivy awake. Her stab wound throbbed, starting at her shoulder and pulsing down her arm. But it wasn’t as awful as it had been at first.

She pried her eyes open only to feel the room spinning around her.

“How you doing?” Tender fingers combed back her hair.

A glassy haze made her vision fog up, but she tried to focus on the face hovering near hers. “Jericho?”

“Nope. It’s me. Brody.” His hand was cool against her hot face.

She didn’t want to be disappointed, she adored Brody, but the letdown came anyway. She hadn’t wanted her time with Jericho to end. She’d wished to go on being with him forever in a world where just the two of them existed. It was irrational, she knew. But she’d loved every second together in the cave.

He’d all but come out and admitted he loved her.

Brody’s hand slipped behind her head to lift her up. “You gotta drink something.”

Her throat was dry and her lips cracked. And she was hot. All over. As Brody pressed the brim of the cup against her lips, she drank greedily. When she finished, he situated her again, and this time she could see that she was lying in the big bedroom on the main floor of his house, a bright, airy room he and Savannah shared.

“How’d I get here?” Her voice cracked.

“We found Jericho dragging you down Kenosha Pass. Flynn and me brought you here, while Wyatt went on and fetched the doc.”

She tried to recall the faintest smidgen of the trip, but her mind was shooting with an empty chamber. The last thing she remembered was her attempt to escape from Hance. “How long have I been out?”

“Since we got here late last night.”