retrieve his phone but stopped and turned back just as the officer hung up one phone and picked up another line ringing nonstop. He tuned out the deputy as his voice grew tense and focused on Ty. “You know her?”
Ty nodded. “It’s been a few years. When I was a kid. I’d seen her around town.”
“Could she be connected to Justice or Chance Bear?”
Ty hesitated before answering, but Logan missed his first word because the harassed deputy was barking out an order to get to Ennis on an assault call at Big Sky Saloon. One dead and one injured female en route to the hospital by Life Flight.
Logan bolted from the station and headed to the coroner’s office with Ty trailing behind him, with his phone to his ear. The door was locked when he got there, so he raised his foot and kicked it open. His cell was sitting on a desk. When he turned it on to call Skylar, there were ten missed calls from Jamie in the past thirty minutes. And five missed calls from the mayor.
The female victim had been Life Flighted to Bozeman . . . Life Flighted. Christ Jesus, please don’t let her die.
His hand shook as he hit redial. He would never forgive himself for leaving her side. He’d calculated wrong. Thought Max would be enough of a deterrent for Bear if he got close.
Jamie answered on the first ring. She was shrieking so loudly he couldn’t understand a fucking thing she said, so he roared, “Jamie!” down the line so she’d stop. When she was silent, he swallowed and asked the one question he needed answered. “How bad is she?”
On a shuddered breath she destroyed Logan’s hard-fought control. “Bad. Oh, God, Logan, they stuck a tube down her throat so she could breathe. He strangled her and broke her hand. Jared said . . . he thinks she’ll live, but he’s not certain about oxygen deprivation. Her throat swelled from being strangled close to death and he doesn’t know . . . doesn’t know how long she went without oxygen. If she lives, she could be brain damaged or worse.”
Logan’s knees gave way and he sank to them with his head bowed as Jamie cried in his ear. “Who did this to her?” the question was strangled. He could barely speak. He knew the answer, but he wanted it confirmed so he could hunt down Bear and kill him with his bare hands.
“One of the guys from Saturday night. That drunken brawl you and Ty broke up. Max ripped out his throat after Skylar blinded one of his eyes.” Jamie hiccupped through tears. “He bled to death before paramedics could arrive, Logan. There’s blood everywhere.”
Logan was shocked silent, but a blurry image of the man he’d drawn his weapon on popped into his head. Not Chance Bear, but some unknown and unforeseen danger to Skylar instead. He remembered the man had leered at her before Logan had stepped in. He should have seen it coming. Should have known. Bile rose in his throat and he silently prayed to God she hadn’t been violated on top of everything else.
“Jamie, did he vio—” Logan couldn’t bring himself to say the word.
“He didn’t have time,” she whispered, “but her shirt was torn open.”
Logan squeezed his eyes shut to control his rage. “Where did they take her?” His voice matched hers. He could barely speak as images of Skylar’s battered and bruised body invaded his mind. When he’d lost his brothers, he’d kept his composure. He’d been all business and carried out his orders without question, until he was alone. But he was crippled where he kneeled. Unable to move. Skylar had become his world in the blink of an eye, and he couldn’t function at the mere thought of her being injured. He had to pull it together.
“Deaconess Hospital in Bozeman. They left by chopper less than ten minutes ago.”
Ty walked in and stared at Logan. His face was pale, but rage clouded his features. It was time to shake off the shock so he could handle the aftermath. After a deep breath to clear his head, Logan’s training kicked into autopilot and he stood. All business now, he moved toward his truck with Ty following. “Call the school and get Jake and Josh to the hospital. I’m headed to Bozeman now. Keep Max at the bar until I return.”
“Jordan called the school as soon as the 911 call went out. Jake and Josh took