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She was angry at Poppy for going with Oliver, but she was absolutely livid that the reason Poppy had tied herself to a man like her husband in the first place was because of their father and his da there and figured I would just do my best when it finally crested For now all I could do was hold her, tell her everything would be all right, and give Royal silent pleading looks over the top of Salem’s head as she held on to me and alternately cried and cussed out the world

I was scared for Poppy as well I had seen how unhinged her husband was up close and personal The fact he had pulled a gun on two innocent woht showed he didn’t care about repercussions or getting caught He was zealously focused on clai what he determined was his and that made Poppy less than human in his eyes She was trapped in a car with an ar more than property To him she was just a possession and people broke and destroyed their possessions all the ti on the inside of me want to shut down and I couldn’t do that and take care of Saleht not love Poppy the way I loved Salem, but she was still important to me She still held a place in my history and in my heart and she was undoubtedly part of h people I cared about in this lifeti to lose another

I was sitting on the couch in Sale and she had just fallen asleep after pacing the floor for what see and restless I was rubbing htlessly at the television Across the botto with the information to be on the lookout for Oliver and the sedan It was absolutely surreal to see Poppy’s description there It er, just one more unknown face that ended up in a bad situation I hated that and hated that this was happening to her and to those that loved her

Ji too big to be allowed on the furniture but he hadn’t left Salem’s side since the police had cleared out and I think the poor guy was feeling bad he hadn’t been able to help The dog’s big, golden eyes were locked on Salem as she murmured in her sleep and twitched I reached out with my other hand and petted him on the top of his wide head

"It’s okay, fella It’s hard to keep your lady safe" He blew out noise through his nose like he knew exactly what I was talking about and the tip of his tail flipped back and forth

I looked down at Salem and saw that her broere furrowed and that she had deep lines etched between the raven arches I used hed

"It’s probably the worst time ever to tell you this, but I" She suddenly turned so that she was lying on her back and looking directly up at aze had my past, my future, all my secrets, and every drea into forever and knowing that she was always going to be there right at the center of it "love you I will love you unendingly and forever"

Her long lashes swept down for just a ht sky I could see her feelings for ht depths

"I love you, too I couldn’t do this without you You always er than I ever was alone I’ve always needed a reason to stay; with you that has never been the case With you staying is the only option I have because the only place I want to be is wherever you are at"

That was the only thing I had ever wanted her to say to ht have taken ure out the difference between first love and real love, but, Saleto respond but her cell phone went off and we both went stiff and stared at each other with big, nervous eyes I reached for the phone and winced a little when I saw that Royal’s was the number on the screen I couldn’t believeas I swiped across the screen to answer the call

"Hello"

"Rowdy?" Her voice was low and I could hear a lot of co me from

"Yeah, I’m with Salem Do you have any news?"

Salem pulled herself up and clutched my free hand with both of her own She was pale and her dark eyes looked like they were sing up her entire face The fear shining out of theut andfor her

"Maybe I should talk to Salem" Royal’s voice stayed steady and low but her words shook like an earthquake through ers curled around Salem’s hands reflexively "I’ll just put you on speaker"

"Okay" She waited a second as I moved the phone away fro on the speaker

"Go ahead, Royal"

She sighed over the line and I heard sirens and coht She’s in an ambulance on the way to a hospital in Albuquerque"

Salemon my shoulder "Thank God"

"Yeah The State Patrol picked up on the alert for the car her husband was driving after he had already crossed the state border It looks like he was headed back to Texas with her"

"Figures" I was relieved, but there was so, the distant, professionally s I could literally feel the other shoe waiting to drop

"Uot to her I don’t knohat the extent of the injuries is but I know it isn’t good" I could tell she was glossing it over for Sale on Sale between the lines as well

"What else, Royal? Just lay it all out so we can work on getting to New Mexico as soon as possible"

She sighed again and finally her cop persona cracked just a little Her voice quivered just a little bit and there was just enough of a thread of emotion in it to turn her froo easily The cops cornered him at a rest stop after a forty-five-un" She paused for a second and I froze as Saleh to break the skin "There was a standoff"