Free Thunder Horse Redemption by Elle James Page A

helicopter hovered over the canyon and then landed on a flat patch of ground on the canyon floor. At the same time, a handful of emergency medical personnel descended from the rim of the canyon, carrying medical supplies and a backboard.
    Pierce pulled Roxanne away from Jim, leaving him in the care of the professionals. He stood with her hand clasped in his, his heart aching for her. Pierce knew what Jim meant to Roxanne.
    Jim Rausch was more family to Roxanne than employee. Having survived her brother’s death, she’d be devastated by the loss of her foreman.
    He prayed to the Great Spirit to spare the man’s life for Roxanne’s sake. She didn’t need to go through all that again.
    Roxanne broke away from him and followed the medical team as they carried Jim on the backboard to the waiting helicopter.
    After they loaded the foreman into the helicopter and it lifted off the ground, the technicians returned to clear their equipment.
    Roxanne trudged back, her head down until she reached Pierce. “He has to make it.”
    “Jim’s a tough guy. He’ll pull through.”
    Roxanne’s face turned up to his, her normally bright blue eyes nearly gray, shadowed. “I watched him fall all that way down.”
    Pierce pulled her into his arms. “You couldn’t have done a thing to help. It was an accident.”
    “No it wasn’t.”
    “She’s right—it wasn’t.”
    Pierce turned at Maddox’s voice.
    His brother was stepping off the trail onto the floor of the canyon.
    Roxanne straightened. “I know I saw someone, standing at the ledge right before the avalanche started. Was it him? Did he do this?”
    Maddox nodded, his mouth set in a grim line. “You’ll want to take a look at this, Pierce. From the tracks he left behind, there’s no denying it. Someone forced that boulder free, setting off that avalanche.”

Chapter Six
    Roxanne paced the corridor of the St. Alexius Medical Center in Bismarck, the acrid scent of rubbing alcohol and disinfectant burning the insides of her nostrils, bringing back nothing but bad memories.
    She hated hospitals. Every time she’d gone to one, someone she’d loved had died. Her father, her mother and, more recently, her brother. Now Jim lay in a hospital room—and it was her fault. She should have heeded the warning not to go into the canyon.
    Pierce leaned against the wall, his arms crossed. “Getting yourself all worked up won’t help Jim.”
    “I don’t need advice, I need answers.” She stopped in midstride and glared at Pierce. “Who did this? And why?”
    He shook his head. “We don’t know. We didn’t see any dirt bike tracks this time.”
    “I didn’t hear a motorcycle, but then I was at the bottom looking up....” She scuffed her boot across the polished tiles. “I should have seen more, enough to identify the bastard.”
    Pierce grabbed her shoulders and forced her to look at him. “Once you realized what was happening, you kept your eyes on Jim. And from what you said earlier, if you hadn’t been watching him, he could have been hit by a boulder traveling at top speed.”
    Roxanne’s body shook with her anger. “This psycho has to be stopped before someone is killed.”
    “My brothers are searching the canyon rim for more tracks. He couldn’t have gone far without a horse or an ATV. If there are tracks, Maddox and Dante will find them.”
    “Why Jim?” Roxanne asked, her brows drawing together.
    “Do you mean, why not you?” Pierce shot back at her. “You can’t blame yourself, Roxy.”
    “I was stupid, I should have heeded the warning.”
    Pierce frowned. “What warning?”
    Roxanne tipped her head back, running her hand through her hair. “When you dropped me off this morning, I went inside the barn and found a message spray painted across the walls.”
    Pierce shook her slightly. “What did it say?”
    “‘Stay out of the canyon.’” She broke free of his grip and walked away. “And I didn’t.”
    “Why didn’t you call me?”
    She spun to