Resonance of Stars (Greenstone Security #5) - Anne Malcom Page 0,39

grinned. “Join the club.”

He was coming back from the ride when he saw her. Duke knew it was her the second the figure cut on the horizon, and the second the pit of his stomach found a new basement.

He instantly urged his horse faster. And as if she sensed the same thing Duke did, she obeyed.

The sun was setting, and he might’ve found it beautiful had fear not been yanking at his throat the closer he got. It became more and more apparent she was injured. It was a skill that Duke was forced to acquire—to note casualties from a distance.

Although they were oceans away from the war zone where he acquired this skill, there were still many threats in the Montana countryside. His first thought was that somehow Kitsch had found her already, but he quickly discarded it.

Beyond the fact that there was no way to connect her to the ranch and there was no way for a stranger to get on without someone noting it, there would be no way she would be walking, even stumbling if that were the case.

She’d be dead in the grass.

That thought was a punch in the gut.

Duke all but leapt off the horse the second he got close enough. It had been a while since he’d ridden, but considering he’d been riding since he could damn near walk, it wasn’t something you forgot how to do.

Anastasia didn’t collapse in his arms as he expected her to. No, she scowled at him.

“You couldn’t have ridden up here on your white horse before the fucking snake bit me?”

“You don’t need to carry me into the house,” I snapped. “I can walk.”

Duke didn’t respond, but only part of it was because he was in full macho-man mode. The rest of it was because the door to the house opened and Anna rushed out. Her eyes took us in, widened, but then calmed. “What happened?”

“Snake bite,” Duke clipped, rounding his mother and walking into the living room where he deposited me like I was the most precious thing in the world.

It was a little late to treat me like I was fragile after he’d spent time breaking me.

“I’ll get the car started so we can take her to the hospital,” Anna said in a calm tone that matched her expression. This was not a woman to crack or panic under pressure. I tried to mimic that.

“No hospital,” Duke barked.

This gave Anna pause. She stared at her son as he laid me down on the sofa. I waited for her to ask more questions. I certainly would want to know why her son—who up until this point, had acted like an overprotective macho-asshole—wouldn’t want to take his girlfriend to be treated by medical professionals after she was bitten by a goddamn snake.

I was almost wondering that myself. Granted, my knowledge of rattlesnakes was limited, but I was pretty damn sure they were poisonous. But I knew as much as the man might not like me, he would’ve assessed the risk factors in taking me to a hospital. If I were a nobody with a highly connected murderer after them, it might’ve been different. As it was, Anastasia Edwards being taken into a hospital in Montana with a snake bite would be news.

And Kitsch was obviously more dangerous than a rattlesnake.

Anna had her pause, long enough for me to think all of this—but she didn’t question her son further. It said a lot about what she thought of him, how much she trusted him.

“How about I call David Hollows?” she said. “He retired this year and is discreet.”

Duke’s hands were probing the area around the two small puncture wounds in my upper calf. “Yeah, call him.”

Anna nodded once then moved to squeeze my hand. “You’re gonna be just fine, honey.”

Then she left the room.

“Aren’t you supposed to elevate it?” I asked Duke, trying my best to sound brave and badass.

It was hard. Fricking hard. I was scared. I didn’t want to die or lose my leg. But I also knew that Duke would do everything in his power to make sure neither of those things happened. Surely it would hurt his paycheck.

His eyes flickered upward, locking on mine. “That’s a myth,” he said. “Dangerous one. Raising the area only helps any blood containing venom reach your heart easier.”

I sucked in a breath. “Oh, that’s just wonderful.”

The granite in his eyes softened...just a tad. “Know this is much easier said than done, and you’re already doin’ a great job,