Protector (Copper Mesa Eagles Book 3)

by Roxie Noir

  Just get him to stop, Garrett thought. Get Pierce to stop the car and figure it out from there.

  He dove.

  The wind whistled through his feathers and he picked up speed, going faster and faster, almost like he was cutting through the air.

  This is incredible, he thought.

  The car loomed closer and closer. Garrett could see Pierce, and then he could see Ellie, and then everything happened at once: a roar, a scream, a crunch, and he had to pull out of the dive so hard he scraped one wing against the canyon wall as everything went silent, wobbling in the air before he straightened out and saw what had happened.

  Garrett felt like it was in slow motion.

  On the left, a black car, tail lights bright red, careening off the road, its passenger door hanging open like a broken arm.

  On the right, a small human figure with long black hair rolling toward the edge of the cliff.

  He didn’t think, he just acted, diving again for the figure on the right. Garrett closed his talons around Ellie’s upper arm and then pulled up with all his might, his enormous wings beating at the air for everything he was worth, and for one second, he thought he was going to go over the edge with her.

  Then she stopped, one leg hanging over the edge, her arm hanging limply in his talons.

  Ellie’s eyes were closed, but she was on the road. She wasn’t falling.

  Garrett shifted. He forgot to land first and fell three feet onto his hands and knees, knocking the wind out of himself.

  “Ellie,” he gasped, crawling toward her. “Ellie.”

  She had a pulse. She was breathing. Garrett nearly went limp with relief and knelt over her, touching her forehead with his.

  Thank you, he thought.

  He didn’t know who he was thanking, but it didn’t matter.

  She coughed.

  “Fuck,” she gasped.

  “Ellie,” Garrett said.

  “Ow,” Ellie said, her eyes going wide.

  “You’re okay,” Garrett told her. “You’re fine. You made it.”

  “I think my arm’s broken,” she whispered, her eyes filling with tears.

  Then she gasped.

  “Maybe both of them.”

  Garrett touched her face gently, then stood.

  “I’m gonna go get help,” he said. “I’ll be right back, I promise. Don’t go anywhere.”

  “Not funny,” Ellie whispered.

  * * *

  Walking down the hallway of Blanding General Hospital, Garrett had to admit it was nice.

  At least Boudreaux’s money bought some good things, too, he thought. I bet he inadvertently saved some lives.

  He passed a few nurses and smiled. They both looked at the bouquet he was holding and then up at him.

  “She’s running out of room in there,” one said.

  “I’ll figure something out,” Garrett said.

  They both laughed.

  “Seriously?” Ellie said, laughing, when she saw him. “Garrett, you made your point three bouquets ago.”

  He bent to kiss her cheek.

  “I’ll give you flowers if I want to,” he said.

  On the other side of the hospital bed, a man cleared his throat.

  “Garrett, this is my family,” Ellie said, pointing with one hand, IVs still sticking out the back of it. “My mom, my dad, my brother Cody. Guys, this is my, uh...”

  Ellie’s voice trailed off.

  “This is Garrett,” she finished.

  “Nice to meet you,” Garrett said, shaking their hands over the bed.

  “We’ve heard all about you,” her mother said, and Ellie made a face.

  “Weren’t you guys just saying you were hungry or something?” Ellie asked her parents and brother.

  “I don’t think so,” her father said.

  “We’ll go stretch our legs for a bit,” her mother said, standing.

  She and Ellie’s father looked at each other for a moment. Then her father and brother both stood.

  “Be back in a few, sweetie!” her mother said brightly, leading the two men out the door.

  Garrett pulled a chair up next to Ellie and sat down.

  “Any news in the last three hours?” he asked, brushing his fingers over her hair.

  “They want me one more night, just to make sure the concussion is healing okay. But tomorrow, I’m out,” she said with a smile.

  “It’ll be good to get home,” he said.

  “Well...” Ellie said, and looked at Garrett. “I’m not supposed to make a six-hour car ride for another week or so, with these.”

  She held her arms a few inches off the bed: one was in a full-length cast, and one was in a forearm cast.

  “If it suits you, I know a place right outside of Blanding,” Garrett said. “Up in the mountains. It’s got a hot tub, too.”

  “As long as it’s got somewhere my mom can sleep, too,” Ellie said.

  “She can take the bed, I’ll take the couch,” Garrett offered.

  “Sorry that’s not terribly romantic,” Ellie said.

  Garrett grinned.

  “She can’t watch us all the time,” Garrett said.

  Ellie glanced at her casts dolefully.

  “And as long as I can get my face between your thighs, we can get up to no good,” he whispered into her ear.

  Ellie went bright red, and Garrett laughed, pulling his head back.

  “By the way,” he said, reaching into his pocket. “I brought you something else.”

  He held a check in front of her for $75,000.

  Ellie opened her mouth, but Garrett shushed her.

  “Ninety-six hours of overtime, plus expenses, plus medical, plus two weeks convalescence, and Ellie, I do not want to hear you protest.”

  “Garrett—”

  “What did I just say?” he teased. Then he let his face go serious. “You’re not working right now, and I know hospital bills aren’t cheap. Just take it, Ellie.”

  She frowned at the check.

  “I’ll take that as acceptance,” he said, then reached behind him and took a single rose from a bouquet.

  “Now,” he said, handing it to her. “When can I take you to dinner?”

  Ellie laughed.

  Epilogue

  Ellie

  “Seriously, you two, go sit down. I’ve got this,” Seth said.

  “I’M AN AIRPLANE!” squealed Violet, arms spread, as she ran full tilt toward Garrett, her ruffled blue dress flouncing.

  “And I’m an AIRPLANE MONSTER!” Garrett growled, catching the three-year-old and heaving her over his shoulder until she screamed with delight.

  He grinned and winked at Jules and Ellie.

  I think I just spontaneously ovulated, Ellie thought.

  Behind Seth and Garrett, wearing matching suits, their youngest brother Zach just looked nervous.

  “C’mon,” whispered Jules. “You heard the man.”

  She and Ellie left the dressing room and sat in the reserved for groom’s family section.

  “She’s gonna sleep great tonight, at least,” Jules said. “She hasn’t talked about anything besides how she’s gonna be Uncle Zach’s and Aunt Katrina’s flower girl for a month.”

  “It’s ridiculously cute,” Ellie said. “I hope someone still pays attention to poor Katrina.”

  Jules laughed.

  “I don’t think Katrina minds,” she said. “I think she’s a little tired of having all the attention on her, anyway.”

  Before Ellie could say anything, music started playing through the speakers, and a hush fell over the crowd. A few last people hurried into their seats.

  They waited.

  Then, finally, a small red-haired girl emerged from a door at the far end of the room, beaming.

  “C’mon, kiddo,” Jules whispered to herself.

  Looking perfectly angelic, Violet walked down the aisle tossing flower petals as the guests cooed and snapped her picture. When she got to the front, she turned around and stood, hand
s folded over the handle of her basket.

  Jules gave her a subtle thumbs up.

  “I never know with her,” she whispered to Ellie.

  Next down the aisle was Seth, Katrina’s sister on his arm, followed by Garrett escorting Katrina’s best friend. When they got to the front and stood to the side, Violet sidled over to Garrett and whispered something.

  He crouched down, very slightly, to give her a high five.

  Ellie had a lot of feelings just then, between Garrett looking seriously good in a suit, Garrett being at a wedding, and Garrett being beyond adorable with his niece.

  Jules glanced over at Ellie, a smirk on her face.

  “Down, girl,” she muttered.

  Ellie stuck her tongue out, and then the music kicked up again.

  At the end of the aisle, standing next to an older man, was Katrina, wearing a long, strapless white dress and beaming.

  * * *

  After dinner, Ellie wandered outside to clear her head. She’d been dancing for an hour, not to mention the couple of drinks she’d gotten at the open bar.

  Okay, and a couple more.

  That’s what weddings are for, she thought, taking in a deep breath of the cool night air.

  Inside, the DJ had moved from a fast dance song to something much slower. She didn’t recognize it, but she could hear the bass thumping through the glass doors that led out to the patio. Jules sat at the table, talking animatedly to Katrina’s sister, while Seth spun Violet around and around and around on the dance floor.

  That kid’s gotta be battery-powered or something, Ellie thought. She’s been cutting a rug nonstop.

  The patio doors opened, and Garrett stepped through.

  “There you are,” he said.

  “Just taking a quick break,” Ellie said.

  “Me too,” he said. “I had to escape before Violet demanded another dance.”

  Ellie laughed, and he slid his arms around her neck.

  “I’m sweaty,” she warned.

  “I’m sweaty too,” he said. His sleeves were rolled up, his suit jacket and vest left behind at their table.

  “You and Violet are the cutest,” Ellie told him. “I about died when she high-fived you at the ceremony.”

  Garrett chuckled, and she could feel the vibration through her back.

  “That kid is a live wire,” he said.

  They stood like that for a long time, looking out at the night. The song inside ended, and the DJ announced something. Ellie glanced back, past, Garrett.

  “I think they’re cutting the cake,” she said. “We should go in.”

  She turned around and leaned against the railing, facing him.

  “What’s the rush?” he asked, taking her hands.

  “No rush,” Ellie said. “But we should be there.”

  Garrett flipped her hands over and moved his fingers up her forearm, seeking out the surgery scar where she’d had pins put in her broken arm. It had faded from purple to pink to white months ago, but it was still sensitive when he touched it.

  “You know what today is?” he asked.

  “What?” Ellie said.

  “It’s the first anniversary of when I found your name in the yellow pages,” he said.

  “I can’t believe you made a fortune from a tech company and you used the yellow pages,” she said.

  Garrett bent down and kissed her, still holding her hands, the kiss slow, sensual, and unhurried.

  “Happy anniversary,” he murmured.

  “I wasn’t even there,” Ellie murmured back.

  They kissed again, and Ellie felt the tingles start. Garrett’s hand moved to the hollow of her lower back.

  “Keep it up and this could get inappropriate,” Ellie said.

  In the dark, Garrett grinned.

  “How inappropriate?” he asked.

  “Unfit for children,” Ellie said.

  “Nobody’s watching,” Garrett said.

  They kissed once more, for a long time, and Ellie felt like the world melted away.

  Inside, a cheer went up. Garrett broke the kiss and rested his forehead on hers.

  “I love you,” he said.

  “I love you too,” Ellie said. “Come on, let’s go back to your brother’s wedding.”

  Hand in hand, they walked into the celebration.

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  North Star Shifters #1

  Chapter One

  Delilah

  1989

  Delilah drove carefully down Main Street. On the passenger seat of her little Toyota was a street map of Fjords, Alaska, and her grocery list. She’d bought the map the day before, when she’d gotten into town after nearly fifty hours of driving, but she hadn’t needed it yet — it turned out that almost nothing had changed in the town since she’d moved away nearly eight years ago.

  Even the Carrs grocery store was standing exactly where it had been while she was in high school, the biggest store in a shopping center that also had a 7-11 and a Payless Shoe Source. The stores around it had changed, but she was surprised that no new roads had been built, no new bridges from their peninsula to the Alaska mainland. When she had left for college in California, there had even been talk of building a regional airport in Fjords, but that had never happened.

  Sitting at a red light, looking at a Thai restaurant, Delilah heard the crash without seeing it. Her head whipped around and, in shock, she saw a mass of steaming, crumpled metal. For one second, there was an eerie silence as everyone stopped and stared.

  Then she realized that the mass was two cars, right in the middle of the intersection. Some kind of big SUV had t-boned a tiny car, practically driving right over it, leaving it crumpled right in the middle of the intersection in front of her.

  Delilah gaped for a few seconds — the SUV had obviously run the red light, was the driver drunk? In the middle of the day like this? — but then her training kicked in and she ran toward the wreck.

  Already, two other people were standing there, staring at the two cars now smashed almost completely together, moving their hands around uselessly as though that would help.

  “I’m a doctor!” Delilah shouted as she jogged the last few feet, approaching the two cars. The word still sounded weird coming from her mouth, but it was finally true. She was a doctor.

  Either steam or smoke poured forth from one of the cars, and for half a second, she wondered whether the cars would explode, like in the movies.

  All at once, her head cleared, and she knew she had to take control of the situation.

  She pointed at an older woman with dyed-red hair who was simply standing there, gawking. “You,” she said. The woman looked up, aimlessly. “What’s your name?”

  “Karen.”

  “Karen, I need you to go find a pay phone and call 911. Can you do that?”

  “But—” said Karen, waving her hands at the wreckage.

  “These people need an ambulance,” Delilah said firmly, far more firmly than she felt. “Go call 911.”

  Karen nodded and then ran off to the row of shops along the street, entering one and jabbering loudly to the guy behind the desk.

  Breathing deeply, Delilah approached the two intertwined cars. An instinct told her that exploding was just a myth, and she needed to see whether the drivers were still alive.

  First she approached the SUV. Inside was a thirty-something man, blood running down his face from the broken windshield, pawing at the door handle ineffectively.

  “Oh shit,” he was saying, over and over again, tonelessly.

  “Sir,” Delilah said, rushing toward him. “Sir, please just stay where you are. An ambulance is on its way.”

  “I gotta ge
t out,” he said in that same strange, toneless voice. Delilah knew it was shock — she’d met plenty of people like this during her emergency rotation. “It’s — there’s an accident — I gotta get out.”

  “You need to stay right where you are,” she said. “You could have serious injuries and you shouldn’t move.”

  Delilah went up to the car and looked inside, down at him. He was at least wearing a seatbelt. She inhaled deeply, smelling hard for alcohol on his breath, her extra-sharp senses kicking in.

  There it was. Bud light, it smelled like, or maybe Coors — some cheap beer. Delilah ground her teeth together and did her best not to get angry. The police would test his blood alcohol level, and he’d get what he deserved.

  For his part, he just looked at her, blankly.

  “Stay there,” she said, hands up, trying to sound soothing.

  Since the guy in the SUV was talking and moving, she wasn’t too concerned about him. Besides — and she knew this was un-doctorly — he’d been drinking, and whatever he got, he deserved.

  As she was checking over the guy in the SUV, there were alarmed shouts from the little Hyundai, and Delilah looked up.

  “Stay there!” she shouted to the guy in the SUV, pointing at him, and running around the little silver car that he’d smashed into.

  From the other side, it was worse than it had looked at first: the nose of the SUV had come almost completely through the passenger side of the car, and now the woman who’d been driving — who had been completely, utterly in the right of way — was trapped underneath.

  Worse, she was unconscious and covered in blood.

  The onlookers scattered when Delilah approached, and she heard mutters of doctor, not that she paid too much attention. Right away she could see that the blood was from a huge gash in her right leg, where a piece of metal had gouged her, but that wasn’t even her worst problem: the worse problem was that the SUV was practically on top of her, crushing her.

  The woman wasn’t breathing.

  Fuck fuck fuck shit fuck damn, thought Delilah, her thoughts little more than a stream of curse words.