“Do you want dessert?”
Hope was spreading from ear to ear, showing the bit of tomato wedged in between his front two teeth. So I sighed and agreed that a piece of tiramisu sounded delectable. Apparently, Kris’s great-grandmother had learned the recipe from a woman she’d met during her stay on Ellis Island, so I did not feel that I should turn that part of history away. And God, was he right about it being mouthwatering and Heaven sent. Even with the terrible company, the whole evening was not a complete waste because of how amazing the food had been.
After I’d practically licked the dessert plate clean, Kris grimaced and sighed. “Well, I guess it goes without saying that I am an ass and blew this whole evening.”
Every bit of me wanted to scream a huge, “Thank you, Captain Obvious!” slap-in-the-face remark, but I bit my tongue. Why do I have such a soft spot for tainted, douchebag men?
I leaned over the narrow table to put my hand on his shoulder, feeling how soft his button-down was. “Look. We all make mistakes, and we’re just not cut out to even be friends. But thanks for trying. This dinner was amazing.”
He glanced over at me through saddened eyes and a half grin. “Truce then?”
I nodded and smiled warmly. “Truce. Now take me home!”
Once we scooted out of the booth, I noticed that a bill had never come to our table and that Kris was not leaving a tip. I figured that his meals were comped, but that did not give him the right to stiff the awesomely kind server who’d begrudgingly taken care of his boss’s dick of a son. Without even giving it too much thought, I reached down into my bag and wrestled a twenty out of my wallet. I knew that it was not even close to the appropriate tip for how expensive our meal must have been, but it was the only cash I had.
Kris’s brow creased with a twinge of anger and discomfort. He asked, “What are you doing?”
I shoved the twenty under one of the dirty plates still resting on the tabletop and shrugged, “You treated, so I thought it was only right for me to leave a tip.”
I smiled and winked at him to defuse the situation. When his expression did not change and his eyes remained locked on the bill, I grabbed his hand and started to nonchalantly make my way to the door. I was so thankful that Kris dropped this issue and started to follow me away from this terrible evening. Even though I knew that he was staring at my ass the entire time, at this point I had no energy left to care.
Flashes of Kris’s amazing body and how great our time together locked away in the cruise’s cabin came to mind as I trudged to the car. If he hadn’t been such an ass all night, I probably would have been willing to stumble down memory lane with Kris in my bed, but after that little episode, I wasn’t planning on even letting him escort me to my door.
Fifteen
The ride from the restaurant to my house was a tortured mess of silence, awkward glances at one another, and too many red lights. Once we finally turned down my road, I unbuckled my seatbelt right away, ready to make a mad dash for my front door.
When the Shelby was put into park in my driveway, I yanked on my handle, but the door would not give way. I tried the manual lock, but it refused to open. A panic settled into my chest as my eyes shot over to Kris, whose eyes had turned black, and a devilish excitement was infecting each cell on his face, spreading rapidly into a fire that was burning me through his glare.
I shrieked, “Kris, what the fuck! Let me out of this damn car.”
Without even a word, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me close to him as hard as he could. I tried to yank away from him, but his death grip was crushing my slender arm, making it feel like it was about to break. I pulled and screamed and hit his chest with my free hand for a few seconds as Kris just watched with pleasure in his eyes. This fucking bastard is getting off on watching me fight! What a sick little shit!
He lunged again at me, this time grabbing my free wrist but bringing his shoulder too close to my mouth to be safe. I bit down hard, and before his could pull away, the taste of metal flooded my mouth. It was a short-lived victory over my attacker. With all his might, his cocked back and hit me right in the cheek. Sharp pains went through my entire body as a cracking noise assaulted my ears. I went dizzy, and before I knew what was going on, Kris yanked me from the front seat into the back.
His entire weight was on top of me as I cried, pleaded, and screamed in between his ripping at my dress and punching me in the head and stomach. After a loud rip of my dress, Kris’s gravelly, lust-filled voice stung my ears. “A tattoo? Very sexy. You shouldn’t have been hiding such a secret.”
His words sent bile up my throat as I choked and coughed, trying to wiggle and fight free from his weight and grasp. Right as I felt him shift to undo his belt, a loud crash sounded and I felt glass pepper my feet and the parts of my legs not covered in tattered clothing. Kris shot up and, by his ankles, was ripped from his car through the broken window.
I could hear Kris and another guy screaming at each other for a few seconds. Then Kris went silent and the only sound was grunting and the slap of metal hitting skin. I was frozen in the back seat, paralyzed by the shock of what had just happened and the fear of who was out there beating Kris to a pulp. I knew that the person was my savior, but what if it was just an ax murderer and I was their next victim? With the string of luck I had been having, I would not have been surprised if it was the latter.
I begged my body to move to the front seat to grab my bag, but everything felt like it was going in slow motion and I did not have enough energy to move. The sound of sirens pierced the air, and I thanked God I actually had someone coming to my rescue. My face was killing me and my right eye was already swelling shut. The metallic taste of blood flooded my mouth as I tried to scream out for help. All that came out were coughs and sobs as I gasped, trying to level out my breathing.
The door by my feet ripped open as the sirens grew closer. I cringed as I felt a large body crawl slowly back over me. Through barely open eyes, the blurring figure of a familiar build flexed, wrapping my body up and shifting us both out of the bloody back seat.
With my feet barely touching the ground, I clung to the comforting strong muscles and sobbed until flashing lights started to sting my watery eyes. A deep, whispering drawl curled into my ear. “Don’t worry, Mags. That bastard will never hurt you again.”
I cried harder into Walker’s chest, his voice the last bit of affirmation that he had come to my rescue.
“Sir. Ma’am. We’re going to need you to step away from the vehicle.” The megaphone crackled and popped as the office beckoned Walker and me to come to them.
Walker pulled me up into his arms more and started to carry me closer to the awaiting authorities.
“Evening, officers. I’m Private Eastman. I am the one who called you to report the attempted rape on this woman.” He began to set me down, but my body flexed and resisted his release. “Mags, it’s okay. Just sit here and let the paramedics check you out. Your eye is getting black and you’re bleeding, darlin’.” His low voice sat heavily, but I released him and he sat me down on the back of the ambulance.
While a sweet-sounding paramedic with a big smile and dark hair cleaned up my cuts and started to check for more injuries, Walker stood by my side.
Even when one of the officers asked him to come over to them, he declined. “I let this woman out of my sight once and look what happened. That’ll not be a mistake made twice.” His voice was stern, and to my surprise, the officers came to us and continued their conversation.
Walker went into the details of his recollection of the evening with one of the responding officers. “Well, I had just gotten back into town from visiting my folks up in Georgia. I live here with Margret. This is her home. I pulled up and saw the unfamiliar car parked out front with people in it.” His voice was thick but calm and slow, like he was making sure he was saying the right words.
Walker cleared his throat before continuing, gently rubbing the back of my arm. “Mags is my best friend, and since her husb
and died, I’ve been looking after her. So when I saw the windows fogged and heard screaming coming from the car, I knew I had to react. I took my tire iron out of my truck and bashed in his window, ripped his sorry ass off of her, and defended my best friend.”
“Thank you for your heroism, Private. I am assuming Mrs. McManus will be pressing charges?”
I knew the voice had been directed at me, so I forced my voice to work. “Y-yes. I want to press charges.” I choked and my body started to shake. Part of me was just sad that Walker hadn’t killed Kris. I saw the blurry figure of the officer walk away from us without another word.
My eyes still wouldn’t open completely or focus, and my entire face felt like it was broken. I cringed and flinched while all of my cuts and bruises were poked and prodded.
“Ma’am, we need to take you to the hospital to get you checked out, make sure you don’t have any broken bones or internal bleeding.” The husky voice that emanated from the paramedic was just as surprising as the feeling of him wrapping me up in a blanket.
I patted down my body to realize that my dress had been ripped almost completely off and I had been sitting in my white lacy underwear only Walker had seen before this night.
Walker grabbed my hand and helped me into the back of the ambulance, climbing in after me. I leaned into Walker’s loving embrace until we got to the hospital I had just resigned from. I was helped out of the bus and into a wheelchair. The electric doors of the ambulance bay opened, and I heard a shriek come from a woman from across the room.
“Mags?” I gripped Walker’s hand that was clutching my shoulder as the woman got closer. “Mags, it’s me, Michelle.”
I was so thankful to hear her voice. Out of all my former coworkers, she was the only one I knew who would not pass judgment on my broken state.
The paramedic who was pushing my wheelchair started rattling off what had happened to a doctor who’d just walked up to join us. Michelle gasped and Walker’s grip tightened and flexed.
“Thank you, gentlemen. We will take her from here. I’m glad I got here early today, Mags. You’re in good hands.”
I kept my eyes shut, trying to push out the pain and keep the light from making my headache worse. I could feel Michelle pushing me passed the waiting area and through the doors to the emergency room. Walker’s hand never moved from my shoulder, and it clicked that Michelle had never met him before, but before I could explain my escort, she asked in a snarky, “So, who are you?”
Walker chuckled a little. “Sorry, ma’am. I’m Walker. I live with Mags. I found her and beat the bastard up who did this to her.”
Michelle’s booming chuckle was like music to my ears. “Hell, we all could use a bodyguard like you, Walker!”
They came to a stop, and Walker put his hand on top of mine. “Come on, Mags. We gotta get you onto this bed.” He put one arm under my legs and the other behind my back, and with one swooping motion, I was in my hospital bed and waiting for x-rays.
“Mags, I’m going to text Mitch and let him know what happened. Is that okay? Cali and he would want to be here.”
I nodded yes, thankful that Walker was there, taking care of me. For that time, I let myself forget about the hurt and anger that circled around our last encounter. I knew that deep down I loved Walker. Even as fucked up as it all was, my heart beat for him just like his did for me.
I must have dosed off for a while, because the next thing I knew, my three best friends were talking feverishly about the details of when Walker had pulled Kris out of the car.
Walker’s drawl turned sharp. “Look, I know this is bad, but that bastard had it coming.”
I could hear that someone was sniffling and assumed it was Cali. Mitch’s hushed, deep voice broke out after a few seconds while Walker’s words curled in the thick air. “What were you doing there, man?”
I shoved my elbow under my back and hoisted myself up. I watched for a second while the three stood in a huddle, piecing together the entire night. I forced my shaky voice as tears started to fall. “Walker saved me.”
All eyes darted to me as they rushed to my bedside. Cali put her hand on my arm, drawing circles with her thumb. “Mags, I’m so happy you’re okay.”
“Did the doctor say when I could go home?”
Walker looked up from the foot of my bed, where he was rubbing his hands over his biceps. Seeing him there took my breath away. His green eyes were locked intently on mine, his lips pressed in a sweet, soft smile. He was so beautiful, and I was so thankful he was here, once again protecting me.
“Yeah. He said when you woke up they’d discharge you. I’ll go get a nurse.” With that, he marched to the door and exited the room.
Panic bubbled up from the pit of my stomach, the same feeling I got every time I watched him walk away. It was the worst feeling in the world.
Sixteen
After the doctor signed my discharge papers, Michelle came into the room and sat at the foot of my bed. Cali and Mitch were going to bring the car around, and Walker was down in the pharmacy filling my prescriptions.
Michelle’s eyes were threatening tears as she feigned a smile. “Look, Mags. I’m really worried about you.”
I propped up on my elbow to look at her through one good eye and one that was barely opening. “Yeah, I get that my life seems to be spiraling out of control. But honestly, Michelle, this all has just coincidentally happened at once. My luck has to change eventually.”
“All right. Just please promise to take care of yourself and keep me posted on how you’re doing.”
I nodded as she crawled up the bed a little to where I could meet her hug halfway. She let a few sniffles escape into my shoulder before pulling away.
“Okay. So as far as aftercare. Your cheek does have a hairline fracture in it, but Dr. Emmet doesn’t feel like you’re gonna need to have it surgically repaired, so just ice it from time to time and take your painkillers as needed. The swelling should be almost gone in a few days, and if it isn’t, you have my number. You do have a few bruised ribs, but nothing too much to worry about. You’ll be sore for a little bit, but you’ll be good as new soon.”
“Got it. Thanks, Michelle. You’ve really been great to me. I don’t know how to even begin to explain what that means to me.”
“Mags, you’re a good person, and good people deserve to be looked after. Speaking of that, where’s your hunky angel in boots and the rest of your little entourage?”
I smiled as much as my sore face would allow. “Walker is getting my meds filled and the other two are getting the car.”
“All right. Then let’s get you in your wheelchair and out of this drab room.”
“Yeah, you would think they would try to make hospital rooms more happy, not this depressing.” I looked around at the bare light grey walls and white-and-blue-speckled flooring and was glad to finally be heading back home.
Walker’s large frame strode into the doorway, blocking all the light from the hallway, his tattooed arms tightly pressed to his sides, one hand holding the white bag of my medicines. His face and stance looked uneasy as he leaned against the doorway.
“Am I interrupting a bonding moment?”
I was looking at him over Michelle’s shoulder as we were letting go from one last hug. “Nope. Michelle was explaining my aftercare instructions and getting me ready to leave this dismal room.”
Walker nodded and cleared his throat. “So you’re ready to head out then?”
Michelle started to push my wheelchair over to him. “Yes, sir. She’s all yours. Get her home safe and make sure she doesn’t overdo it for the next few days or so.”
Walker’s lips pursed as he took as few steps over to us. “Yes, ma’am.” Once Michelle started sprinting down the hall after her pager beeped about an issue in the trauma area, the tone in Walker’s voice softened. “How’re ya feeling, darlin’?”
We stopped in front of the elevator, and Walker came around and pressed the button to bring us down three floors to whe
re Cali and Mitch were waiting for us. “Like I don’t need to be pushed around in this damn thing. My legs are fine.”
“Yeah, but rules are rules and I ain’t in the mood to have you getting lightheaded and passing out on me or having Michelle chew my ass out. We’ve all had enough excitement to last us a freaking lifetime.”
As the elevator door slid open, I laughed, “Yeah, tell me about it. Cali and I even have matching black eyes for fuck’s sake!”
An older woman scowled at me as my foul mouth got the best of me while she exited the elevator. Walker and I both laughed and got into the empty car.
“I’ve been meaning to ask you, Mags. What’s going on with Cali and Mitch? They seem different.”
“Well, I’ll give you the short rundown. You missed a lot in a few days going AWOL on us. Cali caught Kyle cheating. Kyle freaked out on the three of us and we all got in a fight after Cali kicked him out. Cali and I had been hiding out at Buck’s so Kyle couldn’t find us. I quit my job. Mitch professed his love for Cali and spilled the beans about where you were. And that brings us to the present.”
“Wow!”
“Yeah. Oh and I am supposed to start helping Buck out at the office day after tomorrow. So this bedrest thing is going to be short-lived.”
“I’ll talk to Buck. I’m sure he will extend your start date a few days after he finds out about all this.”
We made our way through the double doors to find Cali’s car, which was parked right in front. She was yelling at a security guard, “No! I am not moving. My best friend was beat up and I am picking her up! She’ll be out any moment.”
Walker locked the brakes of my wheelchair and jogged over to Cali’s side. The look of disgust she had for the security guard only grew when Walker came into her view. “Sir, we’re going to be leaving now. Sorry for the holdup. There was a delay in the pharmacy, but we’re leaving now.”
Falling Back Together Page 12