Breaking Free: A Colorado High Country Crossover Novel, Pamela Clare [i can read book club .TXT] 📗

cleaned them as best I could. The whole time, he was saying terrible things. ‘When you’re done, I’m going to make you suck my dick. I think this pistol turns you on. Maybe I’ll fuck you with the barrel. Would you like that? I bet a bitch like you loves taking it up the ass. Do you fuck the animals?’ Stuff like that.”

“Jesus. I’m so sorry.”

“I was so afraid.” Winona didn’t realize how much her hands were shaking until Jason gently took her tea mug and set it on the coffee table. “I thought maybe I could inject him with anesthetic instead of antibiotics, but he demanded to see the vial. I gave him an IM injection of amoxicillin. Then he demanded the ketamine.”

“We catch people trafficking small amounts of that from time to time.”

“Yes. It’s an anesthetic.” Winona hugged the blanket tighter around herself. “I thought he wanted to steal it. Vet clinics get burglarized all the time by people trying to steal ketamine.”

“It makes sense you would think that.”

“He took a syringe and the ketamine and drew a big dose—more than enough to anesthetize two or three bull moose. I asked him what he was going to do with it, and he told me that firing his pistol would attract attention. He walked over to Bear and jammed the needle into his thigh. I tried to stop him, but he was stronger than I was. He shoved me away. I fell and hit the floor hard. Then he walked over and injected me. I knew Bear and I were dead, that someone would find us there on the floor.”

Winona could still feel the prick of the needle, the sting of the medication in her muscle, the racing of her own heart.

Jason moved closer, took her hand, held it, his fingers warm. “It was Lexi who found you—and just in time, from what McBride says.”

Winona blinked back tears. “He abducted her and almost got her killed.”

Jason leaned forward, cupped her face in his palms. “But you’re a daughter of this land. The very earth that raised you saw what he’d done and decided he didn’t deserve to be in this world. It crashed down on him, ending him, but sparing Lexi.”

Winona had never thought of it like that before. “Yes.”

“He’s gone, Win. He can never hurt you or Bear or anyone else again.”

“My mind knows that, but there’s some part of me inside that is still terrified.”

“I know.” Jason drew her into his arms, held her, stroked her hair, the heat of his body chasing away the chill inside her, the strength of his embrace soothing.

Chapter 9

While Winona made her rounds at the clinic, Jason loaded her bag and backpack and his duffel into his truck and went to get gas at Frank’s Pump ‘N’ Go, the only gas station in Scarlet Springs. He paid inside, tossing a pack of condoms on the counter.

What are you doing, man?

Hell, he didn’t know.

He climbed into his truck and shut the door—a bit too hard.

He was out of sorts this morning, on edge. Listening to Winona talk about her ordeal had triggered something in him, a sense of protectiveness mingled with rage. He’d done his best to comfort her, but he knew nothing could take away the horror of what that bastard had done.

God, she’d felt sweet in his arms.

Holding her had done nothing to curb his growing infatuation with her. In fact, it had made things worse. He’d wanted to kiss her, but that would have made him a world-class asshole. She’d bared her soul to him. She’d been vulnerable and upset, her face wet with tears, her body shaking. The last thing she’d needed was him coming onto her.

No matter what he’d like to believe, his dick wasn’t magic. It couldn’t heal that kind of pain.

That’s why you’re going to keep your junk in your pants.

He found Winona locking up, the bright smile on her face, a strange tenderness for her blossoming in his chest. “Ready to go?”

“Let’s hit the road.”

Jason knew the way now and followed the signs toward the Peak to Peak Highway. “It’s beautiful up here.”

“I’m sure it’s beautiful in the desert, too.”

“It’s a different kind of beauty.”

“Tell me about it.”

Jason searched for a way to put a lifetime of experience into words. “The colors are always changing depending on the light. In the mountains, you can see the different geological strata—dark gray, red, white, tan. In spring, the land explodes with life. Prickly pear and giant saguaro in bloom. Tadpoles in every puddle. Tiny yellow flowers on the greasewood trees. A sky that goes on forever. You can see a rainstorm coming from miles away, ghost rain falling like a gray curtain, evaporating before it hits the ground, the sky purple.”

“It sounds amazing.”

“Maybe you can visit and see for yourself one day.”

“I’d like that. I…” She seemed to hesitate. “I wanted to thank you for your kindness last night. I feel a little ashamed that I fell apart like that.”

“You shouldn’t. We’re friends, right?” It was too damned bad they couldn’t be more than that. “What you went through would give anyone nightmares. Look at who you are and all the good you do. You should feel proud of yourself.”

“Thanks.”

“It’s the truth. I’ve never been through anything like what you experienced, but I’ve been shot. I’ve witnessed a lot of violence and seen more than my share of dead and decomposing bodies. I have nightmares, too.”

“You do?” She seemed genuinely surprised by this.

He couldn’t help but laugh. “Hell, yeah.”

“Do you ever cry all over your guests?”

“I haven’t cried since the day we buried my parents.”

She rested her hand against his arm. “That must have been so hard.”

“Yeah.” It had been hell.

They reached the Cimarron just before nine. Jack and Nate welcomed them, took their bags, and invited them in for a quick cup of coffee.

“One of the hands will take your bags to the guest cabin,” Jack told them. “They’ll be waiting for you when