Taking the turn from the parking lot onto Main Street was a slow process, but Rori didn’t want to take any chances with the cake. Just as she pulled onto the main road through town, Raptor yelled to stop. She pushed on the brake pedal, but nothing happened. Then she stood on it, but the van kept moving.

“There’s something wrong. It won’t stop.” Thank God it was Eagle Rock, and there was never a lot of traffic, or they’d have hit someone already. The traffic light was approaching fast, and panic churned in her stomach, and she broke out in a sweat. “What do I do about the light?”

“It’ll be okay, angel. Just hold on. I’ll tell you when you need to turn.” His hand covered hers on the steering wheel, and that with his calmness helped ease some of the fear coursing through her. They were going to die, and poor Mrs. Evanston was never going to have her wedding cake. “Angel, concentrate. I swear you’re going to be okay. Just focus on my voice and do what I ask.”

“Okay. I’m trying.”

“I know, and you’re doing a great job. Just hold on for a little longer. I’m going to pull the emergency brake. The van should slow down, but it might pull. Are you ready?”

“I think so.”

“Okay, hold on. I’m pulling it now.” Rori held onto the steering wheel for dear life as the van jerked to the right. It slowed a bit but didn’t stop.

“It didn’t work. Now what? What are we going to do?”

“Easy, angel. It’ll be okay. Do you trust me?” She was afraid to look away from the road in front of her, terrified that someone would step into the street and she’d hit them. She’d just had the van checked a week ago, and everything was fine. How could this be happening?

“It was done deliberately.”

“What?” She hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud, but he only cemented the answer that had been running around in her head. Who could hate her so much that they were trying to hurt or worse kill her?

“Stay calm, watch the road, baby. Do you trust me?”

“Yes, of course.”

“Good then when I tell you to turn right, don’t think just do it. Okay?”

“Okay.” Her hands gripped the wheel so hard they started to cramp, but she was afraid to ease up. It’s when she realized that she was still almost standing on the brake pedal.

“Now. Turn now, angel.” She turned, the tires squealed on the pavement as the van took the turn going much faster than was safe, and then slammed head on into a huge steel dumpster.

The airbag went off, and she slammed her head into the side window. She couldn’t move, and everything seemed fuzzy, but she was still alive.

“Raptor?”

“I’m here, angel.” His voice sounded so far away, and the throbbing in her head felt like it was being pounded with a sledgehammer. “I’m here. Can you turn your head away from the window?”

She was able to shift over just enough so she wasn’t leaning on the door. Raptor pulled open the driver's door and reached for her. But she was still pinned behind the airbag which wouldn’t deflate. “This day is messed up. Is the cake okay?”

“Don’t worry about the cake. I need to make sure you’re okay.”

“I’m fine, but Mrs. Evanston…”

“Shh, angel. Let me get you out of there, and we’ll worry about the cake later.” Sliding his arms around her, he gently pulled her from the seat. She didn’t think anything was hurt except her head, and could already feel the knot forming, no doubt it would leave a bruise. The impact of her head against the window had been hard enough to shatter it.

“I think I hear sirens. Are they real?”

“They’re real. You need to get checked out I’d bet you have a concussion. I’m so sorry, angel.”

“I’m fine.” He grunted but didn’t put her down. Instead, he walked over to the curb and sat with her in his lap. Then he turned her face so he could look more closely at her head.

“You’ve got a nasty bruise forming already.”

“Yeah, well you should see the other guy.”

“I’m glad to see you still have your sense of humor. Does anything else hurt?”

“I don’t think so. Maybe my chest a little, but it’s probably from the airbag.”

“Maybe. We’ll get you checked out to make sure.”

The sirens were closer now and finally stopped. If they’d gotten any louder, she was going to scream. The pain in her head was excruciating, and her left eye refused to stay open.

“Are you both okay?” Great, the sheriff was there. She’d seen him more than Sadie over the last week. She should get up, but it was too comfortable lying in Raptor’s arms, her head against his chest. He was warm and safe. Nope, she wasn’t moving unless they made her.

***

“I’m fine, but Rori banged herself up pretty good. I think she needs to be checked out.”

“We don’t have a hospital, but the doc can take a look at her. He has a small clinic where she can stay if she needs to.”

Before he could say anything, Hank showed up. “What the hell happened? I thought you were supposed to be taking care of her?”

“I am/was. I’d bet a month’s salary that someone cut her brake line.”

“We’ll have it towed and look at it.”

“Wait, you can’t take the cake,” Rori mumbled.

“What is she talking about? the sheriff asked, looking at Raptor for an explanation.

“We were delivering a wedding cake to Ruby’s for the Evanston’s vow renewal.  She’s more worried about the damn cake than herself.”

“Where is it?”

“In the back of the van. It was secured pretty well, but I doubt it survived the collision with the dumpster.”

Hank pulled open the back of the van and stepped back so Raptor could see. The cake’s top had slid off with the impact, but it didn’t look all that bad. He’d expected to see cake plastered all over the inside of the van. So it was a hell of a lot better than he figured.

“Let me see,” Rori said as she squirmed to get up.

After all she’d put in to it, he knew she’d drive herself crazy until she could see it. He helped her stand and supported her as she made her way gingerly to the van. She was one stubborn woman, he’d give her that.

“Oh no. It’s ruined.”

“No, angel, just a little lopsided. I bet no one will even notice.” When she turned to look at him, he winced. Anyone seeing her face would have figured she’d gone ten rounds and lost badly. Her left eye was swollen shut, but it was hard to tell where her eye began and her face ended. The whole left side of her head was twice the size it had been, and the bruising was turning her face a purple-red color. It was painful to look at, he couldn’t imagine how much she was hurting.

“Let me try to fix it.”

“How about you let Hank deal with getting the cake to the wedding and fixed up. You’ll take care of it, right, Hank?”

“Sure.” But from the look on his face, it was the last thing he wanted to do. There was no way Raptor was leaving Rori’s side again. He’d had to do it in Paris, but not this time.

“Sheriff, there was a guy hanging around the bakery earlier. He definitely didn’t look like he belonged.”

“We don’t do that profiling stuff around here.”

“No, that’s not what I meant. He was white but looked rough, leather jacket, tats, scruffy beard. He came into the bakery and wandered around then disappeared. It was about a half hour before we closed.”

“Alright, I’ll keep a watch out for him, but just loitering isn’t criminal.”

“No, but if he was the one to cut the brake line it is.”

“Like I said, we’ll tow the truck to the garage and see what we find. Until we check we don’t even know if that’s the issue.” Hank met Raptor’s eyes over the sheriff’s shoulder and shook his head. Okay, so Hank knew something he didn’t and the quicker they got rid of the sheriff, the faster he’d find out.

“How far is the doc’s office from here? Can I carry her there?”

“Down one block and over two. But the first aid bus is on the way.”

“You don’t have to carry me.”

“Humor me, angel. You’re pretty beat up.” She tried to give him the stink eye, but with the condition of her face, it was plain pitiful. Still, they’d both survived, his ribs were sore but nothing he couldn’t handle. She’d taken the brunt of it, and he’d have given anything to prevent it. It was pure luck he saw the alley and the dumpster in time for her to take the turn. There’d been no doubt that only a collision would stop the van and this had been the best possible solution. Sometimes that’s all you got.

By now they had attracted quite a crowd. Surveilling the area, he saw the same guy who’d been in the bakery. With a nod of his head, he got Hank’s attention and nodded again in the direction of the man. He must have realized he’d been spotted because he took off with Hank on his tail.

Raptor would have preferred to be the one chasing the dirtbag. What he wouldn’t give to take the guy apart piece by piece, he knew in his gut he’d been the one torturing his angel. But for now, he had to take care of her and getting her to the doc was his first priority.

The doc took one look and had Raptor carry her into the clinic and put her down on a bed. One of the nurses asked him to step outside while they examined her. He didn’t want to leave, but if she wasn’t safe there, she wouldn’t be anywhere, and he left them to their work.

Twenty minutes later, the doctor came out to get him. “How is she?”

“She’s got a concussion. No broken bones, but she’s going to be hurting tomorrow,” he said as he walked Raptor back into her room.

“He wants me to stay overnight, but I told him you’d take care of me at home.”

Raptor looked from Rori to the doc and shrugged. He’d prefer to have her where he could watch over her, and if that’s what she wanted he was okay with it.

“Tell me what I have to do. I’ve had some field medic training, and I’ll make sure she follows your directions.”

The doctor didn’t look happy, but he knew a brick wall when he saw one. He wrote out a prescription for pain meds and care instructions for the next twenty-four hours for the concussion.

“If anything changes or she begins vomiting or anything else on that list, give me a call, and we’ll admit her to the hospital in Bozeman. They’ll airlift her over. I don’t want her having to take that long drive.”

“I’ll be fine, doc. You know me.”

“Yes, I do, Aurora. I delivered you. Behave yourself.”

“I’ll take good care of her.” The doc gave him one more look and then left the room. “Now I have to figure out how to get you home. I don’t think you want me carrying you through town.”

“No, I definitely don’t want that. I can’t believe someone is really trying to hurt me.”

“We’ve been trying to explain that to you,” Hank said from the doorway. “The doc let me in, I told him I was your ride.”

“Perfect timing. I was trying to figure how to get her out of here. Do they even have Uber in Eagle Rock?”

“Sadie’s bringing over some food and meeting us at your place. There was no stopping her when she found out.”

“What about Emma?” Raptor wanted to roll his eyes. This is the second time she was in the middle of a clusterfuck, and all she ever did was worry about others.

“Sadie’s brother is back, he’s watching her. Oh, and I got the cake to the Evanston wedding. Everyone was thrilled but worried about you. You’ll probably have all the little old ladies lining up as soon as you open the bakery again.”

“Thank you. I worked so damn hard on that cake, I can’t believe it’s ruined. Wait, what do you mean again. I’ll open it tomorrow just like always.”

“Why don’t you see how you feel in the morning before you decide.”

“It was still beautiful. You should have heard all the oohs and ahhs when I carried it in.”

“But…”

“No buts. C’mon, angel. Let’s get you home.”