He jerked his head in a nod. “You parked out front?”
“Yeah.”
“Give me your keys. I’ll move your truck around back. Fewer eyes.”
My teeth ground together, but I handed my key ring to my brother.
He was gone in a flash, leaving me alone with Aspen. I breathed in her smoky cinnamon scent. I let it calm the most feral parts of me. And then I stood, keeping her cradled in my arms.
“I can walk,” Aspen said sleepily.
I pressed a kiss to her temple. “Just let me take care of you. I need it.”
“Okay.” She turned her face into my neck, squeezing her eyes closed.
The moment I emerged from Lawson’s office, Nash was at my side, a worried look on his face. “What do you need?”
“Can you get the back door?”
“Sure.” He strode toward it. “Mads is freaking out.”
I bet everyone in town was losing their minds.
“Just tell her to give Aspen some time.”
Nash nodded as he opened the door. “Call or text if you need anything at all. We can bring food. Whatever.”
“Thanks, man.”
Nash met my eyes. “We’ve got your back. Both of you.”
That burn had returned. The one that reminded me just how much my family cared and how much I’d hidden from them.
I forced myself to ignore the regret coursing through me and strode toward my truck. Lawson opened the passenger door, and I lowered Aspen to the seat. She blinked up at me, almost as if she were drugged. I pulled the seat belt across her body, a hint of cinnamon tickling my nose.
Straightening, I carefully shut the door and turned to Lawson and Nash. “Text me updates?”
“Of course,” Lawson agreed.
I headed for the driver’s side of the vehicle and slid in. Aspen barely reacted. A muscle in my cheek ticked. I wanted to end every asshole who’d put her through this torture. Every person who had thrown her most painful moments in her face.
Starting the engine, I backed out of the parking spot and pulled out of the lot. It was then that I saw the reporters milling about at the end of the block. Lawson must’ve forbidden them from coming on department property, but they were still waiting for their pound of flesh.
Thankfully, they didn’t notice Aspen in my passenger seat as we drove by. The trip to her house didn’t take long, but I tensed as we climbed Huckleberry Lane. Vehicles lined the road—average cars and news vans alike.
A few choice curses slipped free, and I wished my windows were tinted. “Duck down,” I said, reaching behind Aspen’s shoulders.
“Huh?” she mumbled.
“Reporters. Duck.”
She paled, letting me guide her so she was folded over at the waist.
Thankfully, Lawson had thought ahead, and a squad car was already parked at the mouth of Aspen’s drive. Clint, one of the department’s long-standing officers, leaned against the hood. He lifted his chin, motioning me by as reporters swarmed.
Even through the windows, I heard their invasive questions, and Clint yelling at them to step back or he’d start putting people in zip ties.
I pressed the accelerator, flying down the drive. At least Aspen’s farmhouse blocked us from the road a bit. I pulled to a stop and turned off the engine. “You can sit up,” I said softly.
She glanced up at me and then slowly straightened. There was so much sorrow in those beautiful green eyes. “This is never going to end.”
I slipped my hand under her hair, squeezing the back of her neck. “It will. It might take some time, but it’ll fade.” I’d make sure it did. “Let’s get you inside.”
Aspen nodded slowly, unfastening her seat belt.
I slid out of the truck, rounding the vehicle to help her. She moved a bit jerkily as she climbed the steps, and my worry for her intensified. I slipped the key she’d given me into the top deadbolt, unlocking it and the two other locks. I held the door open as she went inside.
Chauncey was on his feet in a flash, ambling over to us.
“I’m going to let him out real quick,” I said.
Aspen nodded. “I’m going to go lie down. I don’t feel great.”
No one would after an adrenaline crash like that. “Okay. I’ll come check on you in a minute.”
She didn’t even acknowledge my words, just stumbled toward the bedroom.
I clenched and flexed my fingers, trying to find an outlet for my anger that wasn’t me putting a hole through a wall. I grabbed a leash from the hooks by the door and whistled for Chauncey. “Can’t risk you running off after one of those reporters. Though I wouldn’t mind if you took a bite out of them.”