Jenna Night - Last Stand Ranch

Elijah wasn’t exactly on his own. But he wouldn’t ask his friends in Vanquish the Darkness to put themselves in harm’s way. They were organized to provide spiritual comfort, particularly for veterans and their families, and to reach out to people in hospitals and other facilities who might have been otherwise forgotten. The riders had crossed paths with a few unsavory people along the way—it couldn’t be avoided—but they weren’t some personal protection group under Elijah’s direction.

“How well do you know Olivia Dillon, anyway?” Bedford asked.

“I just met her last night.”

“Why such a personal interest?”

Elijah shrugged. He didn’t want to talk about it.

“Mrs. Somerset,” Jonathan said quietly.

Bedford glanced at Jonathan and then back at Elijah as though expecting an explanation. He wasn’t going to get one. Mrs. Somerset was only one name on the long list of war casualties Elijah knew personally. In her case, she was a woman he should have protected but didn’t.

Jonathan knew the whole ugly story, yet the kid still looked up to his big brother. Sometimes his admiration made Elijah feel like a fraud.

“We just going to sit around here?” Elijah said gruffly, aware he’d started to drift into the past again. “If we move out, form a wide perimeter and look closely one more time, maybe we can find some tracks or trampled grass we missed earlier before we call it a night.”

“Worth a try,” Bedford agreed.

Jonathan nodded. “Let’s do it.”

They rode until full dark, staying in contact by phone, but found nothing. “If I hear anything I’m authorized to tell you, I’ll let you know,” Bedford promised.

When he got home, Elijah cooled down Churchill and made sure he was fed and watered. Then he got in his truck, drove to the hospital and found Olivia’s room.

Olivia lay in bed, sleeping. With her bruises and bandages, she looked as if she’d gone a few rounds with a prizefighter. In a way, she had.

She needed somebody to look after her, whether she wanted to admit it or not.

Elijah dropped his tired body into a chair at the foot of her bed to keep watch.

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