Lawe's Justice - Lora Leigh [100]
They had searched for months for a Breed who had known the assassin. One who could give them some sense of the Breed they were searching for.
He wouldn’t have expected Malachi.
He wouldn’t have expected Gideon to protect a human, especially another Breed’s mate.
But he sure as hell hadn’t expected the vivacious, energetic and completely efficient Ashley to ever have been targeted or caught off guard by a stalker.
God help him if he ever had to face the day Diane became such a victim, because Lawe knew that if it happened, the animal would control him. And the animal was by far more savage than the man could ever be.
•CHAPTER 13•
Ashley Truing’s perpetually tanned flesh looked so pale, washed out and dull that Diane could actually detect the dark roots that were beginning at her scalp.
Normally, the professional color she had applied to her hair looked so natural, so well colored and streaked that it was impossible to tell it was artificial.
It was also not natural to see her this quiet, almost lifeless, as though the exuberance and vivacious life force that was so much a part of her had drained out with the blood she had lost from the laser-shot wound.
All but silent, almost always deadly when set to its highest setting, laser hand weapons could emulate the old-fashioned bullet-loaded weapons but with much more deadly results.
Thankfully, Ashley had had a med tech well versed in immediate care of such wounds. It had kept her alive long enough for the Breed doctors to get to her. Just as her Breed genetics and amazing inner strength had helped her live through a wound a mere human wouldn’t have had a chance of surviving.
Diane watched through the window of the ICU room as Lawe stood at Ashley’s bedside listening to Dr. Armani and Dr. Sobolov fill him in on her condition.
The Pride alpha and his prima, Callan and Merinus Lyons, had already been there and were currently in their suite awaiting Lawe and Diane at the Navajo Suites along with the Wolf Breed alpha and lupina, Wolfe and Hope Gunnar, and the Coyote Breed alpha and his coya, Del-Rey and Anya Delgado.
The nurses had reported that the Coyote alpha had to force the coya from the hospital. Ashley was one of her dearest friends, and she was inconsolable with worry.
“They lost her twice during surgery.”
Diane swung around to face Rule, the current commander in charge of the teams that had been sent to Window Rock ahead of them.
“Will she be okay?” Diane turned back to the glass looking into the dimly lit room as she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans and watched Lawe.
His expression was pulled into lines of worry as he stared down at Ashley. His arms were crossed over his broad chest, his eyes burning with fury.
Ashley looked like a little doll tucked into the hospital bed. A pale, still, lifeless little doll.
“The doctors say every hour she’s breathing is a reason for hope,” he said with a sigh. “It was a bad hit. Too close to the heart, and she’s small.”
The reflection of his casual shrug was at odds with the heavy sadness in his voice and in his expression. It was rare that she saw Rule showing any tender emotions. He was good at anger, sarcasm and mockery, but it wasn’t often he allowed himself to feel anything more.
“He’s going to get worse.” The quietly spoken words had her tensing as her gaze touched on Lawe again.
“What do you mean?” Was he aware of the struggle she and Lawe were involved in?
“Lawe saw you almost broken when he rescued you in Syria,” he said softly. “I saw his face when I and the team met him at the hospital you were flown to. He knew you were his mate. He saw you at your weakest. You’re not going to take that image out of his head.”
She glanced at his reflection once again, her gaze meeting his in the glass as she recognized the emotion that swirled in the