“Claire Rogers on the positive results. Louis Dunlop on the negative tests submitted to Montana’s Department of Livestock two weeks prior to the cattle being shipped.”
“Alright, so we already know Claire Rogers is dead,” Adam said. “Where do we find Dunlop?”
“Searching. It might take a—shit. That was fast.”
“What?”
“Dunlop died in a skiing accident on Turnbull Mountain three weeks ago. Head-on collision with a pine tree resulting in a broken neck. That’s two for two, both vets involved in the cover-up dying undertragic circumstanceswithin months of each other. Looks like the Wagners were cleaning house.”
“Thanks. Send me a copy of everything on the flash drive and include the autopsy reports on the vets.”
“Will do. So, what’s the plan?”
“Don’t know yet. Keep monitoring the satellite feed until Grant and Cody clear.”
“Roger that,” Jay said. “Tell Summer I’m glad she’s okay.”
“She can hear you,” Jamie replied because she couldn’t. Overwhelmed, if she tried to speak now, she’d break down. She’d known the Wagners had meant to kill her once they had the memory stick back. But hearing it—having the proof they’d already murdered two people to cover their crimes—brought the reality too close to home. “We’ll be back in a couple of hours, and you can tell her in person.”
“I’ll be waiting,” Gray said from somewhere in the background.
“Me too,” Davis added.
“We love you, Summer.” At the sound of Eve’s voice, the tears she’d been trying to hold in spilled over, soaking her cheeks as she buried her nose in Jamie’s chest and cried quietly.
“Watch the roads,” Zander warned. “Temperature’s still dropping.”
“Copy that. We’ll see you soon.” Adam disconnected, and the leather of his seat creaked as he turned to face Jamie. “Your call on what happens next. Tell us how you want to handle this, and we’ll get it done.”
“Can you give us a minute?” he replied, his arms squeezing her tight and keeping her together.
“Sure.” Car doors opened and then slammed shut, one after the other, and alone with the person she trusted most in the world, her emotions clawed their way to the surface. Guilt. Anger. Grief. Fear. Feelings she couldn’t even put a name to broke free from her chest, pouring out of her in a torrent of snot and tears.
Her body shook, her chest muscles ached, and she couldn’t stop.
* * *
His arms lockedaround the woman he loved; Jamie didn’t think he could hold Summer any tighter. Crushed against his chest, she wept, her entire body shaking with the strength of her sobs.
Jesus fucking Christ.He’d almost lost her, and if she didn’t need him right now, he’d be the one breaking down. What if they hadn’t gotten to her in time? What if the Wagners had harmed her? What if she hadn’t responded to the Glucagon? What if Halia lost another mother?
He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. The tip of his nose brushing through her curls, he breathed her scent in deep. God damn, he never should have let her out of his sight. He’d promised to protect her, and he’d failed.
She deserved better. Someone who could keep her safe. Someone who—
“Let me go,” she ordered between heaving breaths, and his lungs froze solid as she struggled to get her arms free.
“Summer—” He would have begged her forgiveness, but she cut him off.
“Let me go!”
His heart dropped six feet, his arms loosening at her command, and the moment she was free, she threw the blanket aside and scrambled off his lap.
“Summer, please—”
She launched herself at him, straddling his thighs and wrapping her arms around his neck. “I love you, Jamie.” She sat back, cupped his jaw between her trembling hands, and looked him dead in the eye. “I know it’s weird and too soon to say it, but I do. I love you, and I don’t want to waste a single second of the time we have together. We don’t know what will happen from one day to the next, but you’re my family. You and Halia. And if you think what happened today changes anything, you’re sadly mistaken.”
Declaration made, she kissed him, making a mess of both their faces, and he felt the weight of her love settle deep in his chest.God Damn.She had the power to destroy him. Stronger, braver, wiser than he could ever hope to be, she schooled him in all the things that mattered.
