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One

Mike Valenzuela was up and had his Jeep SUV packed long before sunrise He had a long drive to Los Angeles andon traffic around the Bay Area, the drive would be eight to ten hours froin River He locked up his RV, which was his horill; Jack and Preacher would keep an eye on it for him, not that Mike expected any kind of trouble That was one of several reasons he’d chosen to live here—it was quiet S to disturb one’s peace of h of that in his former life

Before coin River permanently, Mike had madeand fishing, for gathering with an old Marine squad that was still close His full-tis division That had all ended when he was shot on the job—he’d taken three bullets and had a lot of hard work getting his body back He’d needed Preacher’s robust food and Jack’s wife Mel’s assistance with physical therapy on his shoulder After six et

Since in River he’d been hos and their fa each way and five days with that crowd of laughing, dancing Mexicans Knowing the traditions of his family, it would be a nonstop celebration His ht, his brothers would stock the refrigerator with cerveza, family friends and cop buddies froood ti recovery

He was three hours into his drive when his cell phone rang The noise startled hiin River so the last thing he expected was a phone call

“Hello?” he answered

“I need a favor,” Jack said without preah he was barely awake Hesouth

Mike looked at the dash clock It wasn’t yet 7:00 ahed “Well, sure, but I’ht be inconvenient to run over to Garberville and get you ice for the bar, but hey—”

“Mike, it’s Brie,” Jack said Brie was Jack’s youngest sister, his pet, his favorite And she was really special to Mike “She’s in the hospital”

Mike actually swerved on the highway “Hold on,” he said “Stay there” He pulled off the road onto a safe-looking shoulder Then he took a deep breath “Go ahead,” he said

“She was assaulted soht,” Jack said “Beaten Raped”

“No!” Mike said “What?”

Jack didn’t repeat hio Mel and I are packing—we’ll get on the road as soon as we can Listen, I need soy, to walk uy who did this—there’s got to be an investigation Right?”

“How bad is she?” Mike asked

“My dad didn’t have a lot of details, but she’s out of eery Can you write down a couple of numbers? Can you keep your cell phone turned on so I can call you? With questions? That kind of thing?”

“Of course Yes,” Mike said “Gimme numbers”

Jack recited phone numbers for the hospital, Jack’s father, Sae on their way to Sacramento and then carry with them

“Do they have a suspect? Did she know the guy?”

“I don’t know anything except her condition After we get on the road, get the phone charged and we’re out of the h the redwoods, I’ll call otta get down there”

“Right,” Mike said “Okay My phone will be in my pocket twenty-four-seven I’ll call the hospital, see what I can find out”

“Thanks Appreciate it,” Jack said, hanging up

Mike sat on the shoulder, staring at the phone for a long ht Oh God, not Brie!

His ether A couple of in River to see her new nephew, Jack and Mel’s baby Mike had taken her on a picnic at the river—to a special place where the river ide, but too shallow for fisher boulder, close enough to hear the water whisper by as it passed over the rocks It was a place frequented by young lovers and teenagers, and that big old rock had seen sos on the riverbank; it protected many secrets So time that day, and she hadn’t pulled it away It was the first time he’d realized he was taken with her A crush At thirty-seven, he felt it was an old man’s crush, but damned if it didn’t feel awfully like a sixteen-year-old’s

When Mike one to see her brother while Jack was on leave, visiting his fanment in Iraq Mike was oblivious to the fact that his reserve unit would be activated and he’d end upunder him a second time Brie was there, of course, recently ht She was a prosecutor for the county in Sacramento, the state capital She was s, soft brown hair that flowed alirl But she was no girl She put away hardened crihest prosecutors in the county Mike had irit, not to , he’d never been particularly discouraged by the mere presence of a husband, but they were needs, and Brie was in love No other man existed for her

When Mike saw her in Virgin River right after Jack’s son was born, she was trying to recover from a painful divorce—her husband had left her for her best friend, and Brie was shattered Lonely So hurt Mike immediately wanted to take her into his ar, too But Brie, crushed by her husband’s infidelity, was deterain, and she wanted nothing of a man, especially another player who’d had more than his share of women A further complication—this was Jack’s baby sister, of whoed on ridiculous And Mike was no longer a driven, devil-may-care Latino lover He was a cripple The body just didn’t work right anymore

It had been only a couple of weeks since he’d last seen her She had coin River with the rest of her family to help erect the frae, were married in that framed structure the very next day For a iven Brie a fairly decent twirl around the dance floor at the wedding It was a fantastic party—full of that good old country food, barbecues fla, the chairs pushed back and the band set up on the foundation of Jack’s unfinished house, the fra, into his arms and whirled her around with abandon, and whenever the te in conspiratorial a at us”