Page 11 of Ronen (Sweet Alps Legacy #1)

More like I would cover it, because I didn’t want to bother putting this on the library and risk having our insurance skyrocket. We paid enough as it was, with the building already being so old. It wasn’t like I couldn’t cover some hospital bills out of my own pocket.

Besides, everything inside me wanted to rush over to Mason and assure myself he was going to be okay, and I didn’t think it had anything to do with how much the bill was going to be.

“How about something for the pain, Sheriff,” one of the EMTs asked.

Mason shook his head and tried to push himself up on the board, mumbling something unintelligible. Luckily, they had him strapped down tight. With the collar around his neck, he wasn’t going anywhere and he couldn’t move his neck to look anywhere but up.

He tried though, finally giving up and shouting, “Ronan, come back here!”

“I’m right here!” My voice sounded as exasperated as I felt. Hurrying down the steps I stood practically over him so he could see me. My hands itched to reach out and touch him, to push the hair back from his sweaty forehead, to ease the tight lines furrowed there.

What the ever loving fuck is happening to me?

“Stop bellowing,” I ordered, “You’re attracting a crowd.”

The EMT swiped a folded pad across Mason’s bulging bicep and with swift efficiency injected a needle there.

Honestly, the only person I knew that had biceps as big as Mason’s was my pseudo uncle, Gabe Carmichael.

But he was a bear shifter and worked construction.

Mason was a cop, for Pete’s sake. He must be in the gym twenty-four seven, to get arms that big.

Mason’s face relaxed a few seconds after the shot, his brow smoothing out, a cloudy look coming over his pain filled eyes.

“Ohhhh,” he sighed, his words slightly slurred, “tha’s nice. ”

The EMT laughed, “That was fast. Okay, Sheriff, we're gonna get you loaded up and transport you. You need that elbow and ankle looked at.”

“Brok…” He seemed to have trouble forming words, moving his tongue in and out of his mouth, in some bizarre way. Finally, he managed to garble, “Broken. Felt it…sna..snap.”

“Well, they’ll take some pretty pictures and verify,” she tossed a wink at him, and my blood boiled hotly.

Who the fuck did she think she was winking at my…my…nope. Not going there. She could wink at whoever she wanted, but it was quite unprofessional, and I had an urge to send a strongly worded email to her supervisor.

“Not that I don’t trust your opinion,” she told him, smiling broadly and still flirting outrageously.

Honestly, there was no need for her to be so…smiley and happy. This was a medical emergency. Did the woman have no decorum? Didn’t they have rules about flirting with patients?

Turning to Hank, she said, “We have room for one person to ride with him.”

Hearing this, Mason started blinking rapidly. Fearing something was truly wrong, I was about to tell Miss Smiley Pants that maybe she should stop flirting and give her patient some medical attention, when I realized that Mason wasn’t having a seizure after all.

“He’s my mate,” he slurred, fluttering his lashes at me. Was he batting his lashes at me? Was that what the fuck was happening with his eyes? “Him. Ride.”

For. Fuck. Sake.

Every single person that was gathered around us stopped what they were doing to stare at us. No, to stare at me .

“Well, this is an interesting turn of events,” Gigi seemed quite pleased with herself.

“How romantic!” Miss Rose crowed, clapping her hands. “Just think, Ro, if William hadn’t pushed him, who knows when you might have discovered you were fated!”

William sighed heavily. “He’s not good enough for my grandson. He’s a civil servant. And we don’t even know what kind of shifter he is. He’s certainly not fully human.”

Swiping a hand over my mouth so that I didn’t scream at, well, everyone, but most especially my ghostly companions, I realized that everyone was still staring, waiting on me to do…something.

“Oh, I didn’t know.” Did Miss Flirty McFlirty Pants sound disappointed? Good. “You want to come with, Ronen?”

“No, I don’t want to come with!” I exclaimed, feeling my face scrunch up like she had asked me something distasteful. “We aren’t mates. Don’t listen to him, he obviously doesn’t know what he’s saying. Clearly, he can’t hold his drugs. Lightweight. Are you sure you gave him the right dosage?”

Mason pushed out his bottom lip in an epic pout. Why the fuck was that adorable too? When had Mason Caldwell gone from annoying the ever loving fuck out of me to being the most fucking adorable thing on two legs? “So… mean. All…time…mean. Won’t even…tell me…tell me…”

We all waited with bated breath for Mason to remember what it was I wouldn’t tell him.

“His middle name,” he finally finished, looking extremely proud of himself.

“I mean, I feel like you should tell your mate your middle name?” Hank gave me a disappointed look. “Kinda like you should go to the hospital with your mate. ”

Heaving a put upon sigh, I rolled my eyes and snapped, “No one asked your opinion, now did they, Hank? Besides, I can’t go to the hospital with him.”

Three sets of disapproving eyes met mine.

Mason was probably looking at me the same way, as well as the folks gathered on the street, as well as the patrons from the library, but I was choosing to ignore them all.

“I’m here by myself. I’ll try to get someone to come in early and cover, but that’s the best I can do at the moment. ”

A look passed between the two EMTs and Hank, that told me they felt like I was making excuses. Like I was ignoring the bystanders and looky loos, I ignored their judgy faces.

Mason’s sudden off-key singing at the top of his lungs had all of us visibly wincing and turning our attention back to him. Truly, the man couldn’t carry a tune to save his life.

“Ronen and Mason sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S…somet’ing…somet’ing… N-G.”

“What the fuck did you give him?” I demanded, glaring at the EMT. “He’s high as a kite.”

“K-I-S…S? Somet’ing…somet’ing,” Mason warbled on, causing both EMT’s to giggle, as they loaded him into the back of the vehicle.

“There will be no kissing,” I hissed, turning to go back to the library and get this day back to some semblance of normal.

Methinks the gentleman protests too much , my badger snarked.

“Ronen,” Hank called my name and I slowly turned to face him, trying to not show my agitation.

Seriously, could the man just go already? I had patrons to deal with, meddlesome ghosts to chew out–all of whom had vanished, besides Emily who was floating in the doorway–and feelings about a fated mate I needed to sort out.

“Still got some questions for you.” He tapped his pen against his infernal notebook, an easy-going smile planted on his face.

“You can’t possibly think I actually pushed him,” I asked incredulously, hands on my hips. “Hank, you know me.”

“Mmmm,” he tilted his head, smile still in place.

The man, an ocelot beta shifter, was easy going, and good at keeping his cool, which was needed in his profession.

Still his calm, cool, smiley demeanor had me on edge.

“We went to elementary and middle school together, and then you disappeared. A few years ago, you came back and got the job as director of the library. Which is interesting since I know the qualifications for a librarian, and you seem awfully young to have those, since we are the same age. But I don’t know you, Ronen.

It’s not like we’re friends or anything.

What I do know is I have a job to do, one that I’m very good at.

I have an investigation that involves my boss being injured.

And I don’t really care what your last name is, I’m not going to just take your word for it.

No offense.” His smile was back, his eyes assessing.

He pointed to something above my head with his pen. “Those cameras work?”

“Yes, they work,” I told him. “I have my masters in Library and Information Sciences,” I added, feeling the need to defend myself. “And I didn’t disappear. My parents decided to homeschool me before I went to college.”

They weren’t all lies, but I was bending the truth into a neat little bow. If I happened to graduate high school and college before most of my peers, that was my business. Most people knew my brother was a genius. They didn’t need to know I was one too. My business was my business .

“Mmmm,” he hummed again, not saying a word.

“I don’t like the implication that I got my job because of my last name,” I tugged at one rolled up sleeve on my elbow. “I take my position, and this library, very seriously.”

“Oh, I’m aware of that. I do check out materials here. I think everyone is well aware of how serious you take your job. Now, how about you show me the video feed from that camera? Or do I need to go get a warrant.”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Ohhh, he’s getting Ro riled up ,” Emily’s voice came from behind me, and I willed myself not to turn and glare at her.

“Hank is just doing his job. He’s a very nice boy,” Miss Rose said, sounding very serious. My wayward ghosts had returned. “But Ro’s temper does sometimes get the best of him.”

“Let the man go get a warrant,” William put his two cents in. “Waste of time but never give them any info and always make them get a warrant.”

“Ronen Sawyer Sinclair, stop stalling and show the man what he wants to see. Then get on the phone and get someone to cover for you, so you can go hold your fated mate’s hand. Or wipe his brow, or whatever. Just go,” Gigi ordered.

Good grief, I was getting full named by a ghost. Even if the woman had pretty much been like a great grandmother to me my entire life, it was still unnerving.

“As a heart attack,” Hank grinned. “People do all kinds of things you wouldn’t expect them to be capable of. Look, Ronen, I believe you didn’t push him, because I’ve got two witnesses that back up your story.”

“It’s not a story,” jaw clenched, I ground the words out slowly .

“It’s a story until I see proof that backs up the witness statements,” Hank informed me.

“But Mason is pretty adamant that someone pushed him. That person, if they exist, will be on the footage. There could have been someone out here that no one saw. Or Mason could have just tripped and he thought someone pushed him. Now, are you going to voluntarily show me the footage or do I need to come back with a warrant?”

Grumbling, I told him, “I should make you come back with a warrant, but follow me. It’s in my office.”

“Appreciate the cooperation,” Hank followed me up the steps. “This shouldn’t take too long, and then you can go to the hospital to be with your mate. Wait until I get back to the department and tell them Mason and you are mates. Crazy world we live in. Fate sure does have a sense of humor.”

Shooting him a sour look, to which he just gave me another shit-eating grin, I stomped up the stone steps. The sooner I showed him I wasn’t responsible for Mason’s accident, the sooner I could tell off some ghosts, and then sit down and deal with my feelings about my mate.

My mate.

My fated mate.

Mason Caldwell was my fated mate.

Nope, wasn’t gonna happen.

I would not have it.

I absolutely refused to even entertain the thought that Mason could possibly be my mate.

Ick.

You’re so full of it your eyes should be brown, my badger chided me. You know that man is smoking hot, and he ticks every single one of your boxes. Bet he’s fire in bed too. Maybe take him for a test drive, see if you want to buy him. Try out his stick shift .

That wasn’t a bad idea. Maybe I should take my parents’ advice, and try Mason out, just to prove that we weren’t compatible, and then we could both just move on with our lives.

One and done.

I’d just tell him how it was going to be.

We’d do a hit it and quit it and then go back to hating one another. No harm, no foul, a perfect plan.

Maybe he’d even stop losing my books.

Let me know how that works out for us , my badger laughed, a full on belly laugh, that I ignored.