Love's Taming(96)

To Shane, they were music. “You’re safe, baby. I got you.” Rubbing her back with one hand while cupping the back of her head with the other, pressing it tightly to his chest, he rocked her as he continually assured her that it was over.

“Shane,” came a soft call from over to the side. He and Annie looked over at the same time, seeing what Matt was seeing. The unknown rescuer who had shoved Annie out of the way was Carl, his chest opened with a bullet wound directly to the heart.

“Nooooo!” screamed Annie as she lunged herself from Shane’s lap to Carl’s body before he could stop her. Wrapping her arms around Carl, trying to pull him up to her, she began to sob uncontrollably. “Nooo, nooo, nooo,” she cried over and over.

Jake and Tom stood nearby, willing to be of assistance, but knowing that Shane needed to be the one to calm her.

Shane moved over to her, taking her by the shoulders and talking softly. “Baby, you’ve got to let him go. Come on, sweetheart.” Even as he said the words, he knew she wasn’t hearing them.

“It’s not his fault. It’s not his fault,” she sobbed over and over, holding his bloody body close to hers.

Shane, recognizing that she was in shock, looked to Tom and Jake for help. They kneeled down, gently placing their hands on Carl, pulling him slowly away from Annie as Shane moved her back toward him. Her fingers tightened on Carl’s shirt at the last second before she let him go, an agonizing cry coming from deep inside of her.

“Baby, let them take him. Let them see to him now,” Shane whispered, then felt her let Carl slip from her grasp. He turned her in his arms, enveloping her as she sat in his lap on the compound ground. Holding her tightly, he allowed his eyes to roam around the area for the first time since seeing Xavier come out of the cabin.

The DEA agents had all of the gang members that were still alive on their knees with their hands on their heads. Guns trained on them, they were being searched and then handcuffed. Tony’s men had gathered off to the side near Shane while Tony reported to the DEA agent in charge.

A DEA medic came over, kneeling first by Carl’s body checking for a pulse, then moving over to Shane. “Sir, I’d like to check out Doctor Donavan.” Shane shifted her slight weight and then stood with her still in his embrace with the assistance of Tom.

Annie’s arms, still tightly wound around his neck, increased in their hold as they stood. “Baby, you need to let the medic check you out.” The only response he received was her head shake while still plastered to his chest, her breathing hitching painfully as her sobs subsided.

A garbled whisper near Matt caught Shane’s attention. Glancing down, he saw Xavier’s mouth moving, gasping. “Looks like you won after all, Stoney,” he uttered before the life finally left his eyes.

“Yeah, I did,” he acknowledged, cocooning Annie from the two men on the ground. One who tried to take her life, and one who saved it.





Chapter 29





Annie sat in the back of the ambulance in Shane’s lap while the medic cleaned her wounds and checked her out as the group of rescuers hovered nearby.

“Doctor Donavan, we will need your complete statement as soon as possible, but we understand that this has been a shock. I do need to ask you about Doctor Ogden and his level of involvement.”

Her green eyes opened wide as she replied, “He wasn’t involved. He was just as surprised as I was that this place was here.”

The agent in charge looked at her doubtfully. “I understand, Dr. Donavan, that you may not have been aware of any involvement that he had, but we are investigating him as well. Anything you can tell us will aid us in that investigation.”

Pulling away from Shane, she glared at the man in front of her. “He’s dead. He died saving my life. I assure you he wasn’t involved in this group at all.”

“Well, he may not have mentioned anything to you. If you think of anything, please let us know.”

“Don’t hold your breath waiting. I’m telling you that he died a hero and that’s how I will remember him. You want someone to pin this all on, you take that piece of…of…man lying in his own blood,” she choked out, putting the fingers of one hand to her lips to stop the quelling while pointing to Xavier lying in the dirt.

Suddenly, her eyes focused on the crates on the other side of the compound. Jumping out of Shane’s lap, she ran toward them on shaky legs.

“Fuck! Come back, baby,” Shane shouted as he took off running behind her. The dogs. Jesus, she wants the dogs. He grabbed her arm, gently slowing her down, but did not stop her completely. Keeping her steady on her legs, they walked together to the cages.