Sleep, she whispered, somehow making it an order he had no choice but to obey. Sleep for now. We'll talk later.
You bet we will, he thought, and then sleep overtook him and he knew no more.
* * * *
Savannah took a deep, shuddering breath and sat back on her heels. Forcing him to change shape had a number of good affects—it had proven there were no white ash barbs in his flesh, and it had stopped the blood pouring from the wound. And the hole in his leg, while still bad, had at least partially knitted. Another change or two and he'd be able to put some weight on it. But for now, it was enough to get him to the hospital and have further tests done. She wouldn't put it past the bitch who'd fired the weapon to have tipped it in poison, just for the fun of it. Hell, what better way was there to make him suffer than to double the action?
She brushed the sweaty strands of hair from her forehead and mentally reached for her sister. Thanks for the help.
Anytime. But he's going to be angry.
Nothing new in that.
Neva's sharp snort made Savannah wince. She hadn't gone that deep into someone's mind in ages, and it had taken a toll. Her head was booming, she felt kitten weak, and sweat still dribbled down her forehead. All she wanted to do was go home and rest, and she couldn't see that happening for a while yet.
Take care, Neva said. And remember to have full shields up when he wakes.
I've had full shields up since he arrived.
Good. Neva faded from Savannah's mind. She glanced at the still-slightly-shocked Tane. “Thanks for helping."
"I didn't do much, except hold his leg steady.” Tane's gaze skated down her body then leapt away again. Heat flushed across his cheeks. “Damn, Savannah, you should dress like that more often."
"Hardly practical for a ranger, is it now?” she said, gently reminding him of who she was. She reached for the coat he'd retrieved for her only minutes ago. “And since my reason for being here is official, I'll have to ask you to keep my presence here to yourself."
He glanced past her for a moment. “We've drawn a crowd. Someone will figure out who you are.” He smiled slightly. “Especially given the way you yelled at them all to shut up and just get back."
She smiled. “Since I'm dressed like a nasty biker chick, maybe not."
He grinned. “You may be right. Want me to do anything else?"
"Yeah, call the goddamn ambulance and ask them what's taking so long. And tell the crowd the action is over and to get back to dancing before the sheriff gets here and decides to arrest them all."
He raised an eyebrow. “Would she do that?"
"If she's pissed off enough."
His grin widened. “Tell me again why we fooled around a little but never officially went out?"
"Because you decided you preferred Genny with the legs that didn't seem to end."
"More the fool me, then."
He trotted off before she could reply, which was probably just as well. Glancing down, she brushed the sweaty hair from Cade's forehead, smiling a little when she saw the streaks of red staining his skin. The hair dye was coming out already, which was good, because she really did prefer his regular brown. On him, it was totally sexy. She let her fingers trail down his still heated cheek. Even in his sleep, he looked angry. Didn't the man ever relax?
Her fingers dropped to his lips, her smile growing as she remembered the way he'd kissed her, devoured her, only hours before. What was it between them that made sex so far beyond just good that it was almost off the Richter scale? Hell, she'd always enjoyed sex, there was no doubting that, but with Cade there was something else. Something special.
Lights swept into the parking lot, and she looked up. Relief ran through her when she saw it was the ambulance. A second car followed the emergency vehicle in, and her relief was replaced by annoyance as she recognized the gray Ford. Trista. That woman was not someone she wanted to see right now. According to Kel—the office's unofficial gossip collector—the relationship between Cade and his second was more than just the friendliness of constantly working together. If that were true—and Savannah wasn't sure that it was—how would Trista react seeing Cade bleeding and out of it?
Cade's assistant climbed out of the car. Savannah rose, getting out of the ambulance crew's way as they tended to Cade.
"Could you tape off the area?” she asked, before Trista could say anything. “A square up to that blue car should do it."
Trista's eyebrows rose. What that meant, exactly, Savannah wasn't sure.
"He called me here to check out a crime scene. Didn't sound like he was a part of it at the time."
"At the time, he wasn't."