They were on the ground, on their sides, with fists flying.
She had to do something.She searched the ground and saw something that might work.A broken limb had the thickness of a baseball bat.Could she get off a swing and hit the correct target?
Cassie tossed the knife and yelled for Marcus and Beau to take a step back.Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed something golden moving with athletic grace through the thicket.The mountain lion?
Shit.
Locking gazes with Marcus, she pointed to the area where she’d seen it, but she couldn’t be certain it wasn’t a ghost.With an understanding nod, Marcus took off in that direction.Beau stayed with her, his face pinched in pain.
Hudson glanced over at her.The move cost him a punch in the side, but he saw the bat-like branch in her hand.She lifted it, ready to strike, and prayed he’d caught on.
In a pre-emptive strike, he brought his boot up to Jarek’s chest and kicked.
Cassie saw her opening, aimed, and then slammed the branch down on Jarek’s forehead.His head fell slack.
Hudson popped up, rolled Jarek onto his stomach, and brought his hands up behind his back.He looked at Beau.“Find cell coverage and get Travis here.”
“You got it,” Beau said.
“Thank you.”Hudson’s sincere tone brought a warm smile to Beau’s face.“I mean it.”
“No problem, Hudson.”
“Don’t you mean, ‘No problem, brother?’”
Now, Cassie was in tears.
The last drops of adrenaline must have worn off because a wave of dizziness threatened to knock her down.She sat and leaned against the nearest tree for support.
“That’s your blood,” Hudson said after muttering a few choice words under his breath.
“Don’t worry about me,” she said.“I’ll be fine.”
The last thing Cassie remembered was the look of fear on Hudson’s face before everything went dark.
Hudson paced the hospital halls.He’d taken a shower, mainly to kill time, and drank one too many cups of coffee, toggling between Cassie’s and Beau’s rooms.Beau’s injury was minor in comparison to Cassie’s.
Beau woke first, surrounded by the family.
“Where’s Cassie?”he asked.
“She’s in recovery and isn’t allowed visitors,” Kade supplied.“How are you feeling?”
“Better,” Beau said, taking in each person in the room.His gaze landed on Hudson.“You look like hell.”
“Thanks, bro,” Hudson responded, appreciating the attempt at humor.
“Do you need to take a nap?”he asked.“So you can be ready for her when she wakes up and asks for you.”
“How do you know she will?”Hudson had no idea what to expect, but he intended to tell her about her son.
“I saw the way she looks at you, bro.”
“I hope you’re right.”Hudson didn’t have a clue how she was going to react to what he needed to say to her.Minutes ticked by as they made small talk.Still no word about Cassie’s condition.He was about to wear a path in the sterile tile when a nurse peeked her head into the room.
She glanced around the room at the faces.“Hudson Sturgess?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.