Page 27 of Protective Assignment (Warrior Peak Sanctuary #1)

Cade lifted his hand to try and keep the snow off his face. The blizzard was really starting to set in now, and he wasn’t sure how much longer they would be able to make it out here in the cold.

River wasn’t saying anything, but that didn’t surprise him. God knew what they had done to her since the last time he had seen her. He would get to the bottom of it once they were safe again, but right now, all he wanted was to get her back to the lodge and make sure she was okay.

He couldn’t believe he had found her. His instincts had been right—the two people breaking away from the larger group were Ryker and River.

Cade didn’t know where Ryker had been planning to take her, but he was glad he had managed to get to them in time.

She seemed to have broken free from Ryker’s grasp, at least for long enough to put some distance between them, but Ryker had trained a gun on her by the time he reached them.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” he told her over and over again, as he guided her through the forest and back to the freedom waiting for her beyond.

He still couldn’t believe what he had seen, but he should have known she was capable of something like that—of showing that strength.

She had fought so hard to get away from the Shepards, and she had proven herself willing to do anything to make sure she never had to go back.

All at once, he spotted Xavier in the woods, weaving in and out of the trees along with a few of the other guys from the lodge.

“Cade!” he yelled out.

Cade lifted a hand to acknowledge him. “How far are we from the truck?” he called back.

“A few minutes,” Xavier replied, and he glanced over at River. “What happened? Is she okay?”

“I’ll tell you once we get back,” he replied. “I need to get her to the lodge and out of the cold. And she needs to get checked out. I want to see if they’ve done anything to her.”

“Right,” Xavier agreed, and he looped an arm around her waist and helped Cade carry her the rest of the way back through the forest. Cade knew from the heavier snowfall and the cutting feel of the wind that it must be below freezing by now, but he could hardly feel it.

The only thing he felt was her, and the only thing he could think about was getting her back to safety as fast as possible.

The guys around them spread out to fill the woods, probably planning on catching the rest of the Shepards who had scattered earlier. They wouldn’t get far, not in this weather. And when they found out that their leader was dead, they would surely give up once and for all.

Finally, Xavier, Cade and River broke the tree line, and Cade found himself opposite the truck once more. The guys had set up a makeshift tent to hold off the weather, and he noticed a few medical personnel inside. Cade rushed River toward it.

“I need someone to check her over,” he told them, not speaking to anyone in particular. He didn’t care who helped him with this, he just needed to make certain she was all right.

“Okay, bring her in the tent,” one of the medics, Lawrence, instructed him. “I’ll take a quick look at her so we’ve got an idea of what we’re dealing with.”

A couple of guys with Lawrence approached and Cade turned River over to them and watched as she was guided into the tent. Cade stopped and took a deep breath, pulling the cold air into his lungs, and Xavier finally followed up on his earlier question.

“So,” he asked, as Lawson emerged from the truck to join them. “You going to tell us what happened out there?”

“I was right—the two people separated on the heat sensor were Ryker and River,” he explained, sighing. “When I got to them, she was standing at the edge of the cliff and he had a gun on her. I thought she was going to jump to get away from him.”

“Damn,” Lawson muttered, glancing over at the tent where River disappeared.

“But he…when he heard me coming, he took his attention off her for a second, and she hit him with this huge rock she had hidden in her hands,” Cade continued. “He’s dead. Ryker is dead.”

The two fell silent for a moment, clearly stunned by what they heard. Cade couldn’t blame them. Looking at River now, it was hard to believe she would have been capable of something like that just a little while ago.

“Is she going to get in any kind of trouble for it?” Cade asked, lowering his voice. If he had to cover for her, hide the truth of what she had done, he would.

Lawson shook his head. “I doubt it,” he replied. “After everything she’s been through with that guy, I can’t imagine anyone is going to bother pressing charges. They’ll just be glad to get rid of him.”

Cade nodded in relief. He had thought as much, but with River having been part of the Shepards in the past, he wasn’t certain that they would be so quick to let her walk away from this without some kind of pushback. He hoped she’d be free and clear of it all.

“Where are the rest of the Shepards?” he asked.

“We’ve got our guys tracking them down in the forest,” Xavier explained. “Once they figure out their leader is done for, I think it’s going to be a hell of a lot easier. They’ll give up. They won’t know what to do with themselves when they find out he’s not there to call the shots anymore.”

Cade closed his eyes and rubbed a hand over his face.

He was exhausted, but it was only really just hitting him that she was safe.

She was going to be okay, and he couldn’t think of anything else that mattered right now.

Even if there were still Shepards out there, he had managed to get her out—no, she had managed to get herself out.

She had fought and found a way to freedom, despite everything she had been through.

He just hoped she hadn’t been hurt in the process.

“Go check on your woman, Cade. The rest can wait,” Lawson directed. “There’s nothing you need to do now but get her home and take care of her.”

“And rest,” Xavier added.

“You sure?” Cade asked. “I can stick around, help with rounding up the rest of the Shepards—”

“No way,” Lawson replied as he shook his head. “You’ve done enough. You need to get her back home and warmed up.”

“Thanks, guys,” Cade replied, and turned toward the tent.

He noticed there were more vehicles around, including law enforcement, as he approached the tent where Lawrence was checking her over. This area was going to be active for a while, and tonight’s activities were going to be the talk of the town and the lodge come morning.

Cade saw one of the men from the lodge pointing a couple of officers in the direction of the tent and he picked up his pace to get there first. Lawrence noticed his approach and walked out to meet him and fill him in on River’s condition.

“She looks as though she’s mostly fine,” Lawrence confirmed.

“She’s got a bruise forming on her face from where she said he hit her, her wrists are a bit raw from the bindings, and she’s got a few bumps and other bruises from being taken and dragged around.

Nothing that won’t heal. The big thing is the cold.

You got her back here before it turned critical, but she’ll need to get warm as soon as possible, and a hot meal wouldn’t hurt, either. ”

Cade glanced over his shoulder to see how close the officers were and watched as Lawson went to intercept them.

Cade breathed a sigh of relief. All he wanted to do now was get her back to their cabin, see for himself that she was okay, get her warmed up, and then sleep for a week.

Everything else could wait. After the range of emotions he’d experienced in the last several hours, he was beyond exhausted, and he could only imagine how River was feeling since she’d been through so much more.

“Cade, before you go, these officers need a statement from you and River,” Lawson said with a frown, clearly not happy that they were being detained.

“I asked them to wait until later so you could both rest, but they said it had to be done now. Sorry, man.” He shook his head and stepped to the side as two officers took his place.

“Hello. I’m Officer Baker and this is my partner, Officer Dobbs. We need a few questions answered before you go,” one of them said in a polite but firm voice.

“Later, man. Go as soon as you can.” Lawson clapped Cade on the shoulder, then walked back in the direction of Xavier and the others. Cade motioned for the officers to follow him into the tent.

River looked so small sitting in one of the chairs where Lawrence had left her. Someone had given her a couple of blankets and she was so wrapped up you could hardly see her beneath them. She saw him approach and stood to meet him, a wariness in her gaze as she noticed the officers behind him.

“We’re going home?” River asked in a quiet voice, as she leaned up against him. Her shivering seemed to have abated some, and her skin didn’t feel as cold, but she clutched on to him like she was hanging on for dear life.

“Yeah, soon,” Cade murmured to her, pressing a kiss on the top of her head. “We have to give our statements, then we can go.”

“Am I in trouble?” she whispered into Cade’s chest, her eyes slightly wide.

“You’re going to be fine,” he assured her and pulled her firmly to his side. “I promise. We’ll be out of here soon.”

One of the officers stepped closer and River startled. “Sorry, ma’am. We need to ask a few questions, like Mr. Thatcher said, then you’ll be free to go.” Officer Dobbs offered her a friendly smile and pulled out a notepad. “Shall we sit?” He directed them back to the chairs.

Cade listened as River told the officers everything that had happened. He was so proud of her. Her voice held strength and confidence as she recalled every detail with Ryker, even going back to her father’s death and her running and ending up at the lodge.

The few questions had turned into an interview that took an hour and a half, and River was fading.

Her words were sounding like mere whispers when Cade finally put a stop to it all.

“Guys, I need to get her home. If you have more questions, you can reach us at the lodge in a couple of days. She won’t be available until then.

” Giving the officers no time to respond, Cade whisked her up in his arms and carried her out to the truck.

Carter appeared as he was tucking River into the seat and offered to drive them back to the cabin. Given how tired he was, he wasn’t going to turn down the offer. Any chance he had to just be with River without having to worry about anything else, he would take.

He climbed in and River cuddled into him. He draped an arm around her, pulling her in closer to share some of his body heat with her.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he murmured to her.

She looked up at him, biting her lip. “Do you really think everything’s okay?”

“You did what you had to do, River. No one will fault you for that. And if it hadn’t been you, it would have been someone else. You just saved the authorities the trouble of having to take him in.”

“You think so?”

“I know so,” Cade promised her, and she rested her head on his chest, seemingly satisfied by his answer. He ran his fingers through her hair, and watched as she drifted off to sleep against him.

Soon enough, he found himself following her. He felt his body relax for the first time since he found out she was taken. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen next with the investigation or the Shepards still on the loose, but at least she was back with him and safe.

She was the only thing that mattered to him, and he was amazed by her at every turn—her bravery, her strength, her willingness to fight for herself.

Even faced with one of the most formidable criminals in the country, she hadn’t let him get the best of her.

No, she had stood up for herself and fought back.

And now she was calling the lodge home. It was home for Cade, had been for a while, and he was so glad she was starting to see it the same way he did. He hoped it would be a while before she decided to start on her way again.

Slowly, sleep crept up on him, and he let himself drift off with the woman he loved in his arms.