Page 97 of Outside The Wire

Angry and terrifyingly strong, he picked the man up and tossed him against my SUV with such ease that I wondered how he hadn’t broken my body during sex. Each time he hit the man, my attacker’s head snapped to the side. A tooth went flying, blood filled his mouth, bones cracked…I had to close my eyes to fight the nausea swirling in my stomach. I wasn’t sure if it was because of what I was witnessing or because of the massive amount of pain I was in.

Then I heard the sirens and my heart stopped for just a second.

Asher.

My eyes flew open and I pushed up with everything in me, crying out when my body protested the movement. But it was enough. It caught Asher’s attention and he dropped the man to the ground, leaving him in a bloody heap as he raced over to me.

He was on his knees in seconds, his face slanted in worry as he held me up, cradling me in his arms. “Baby, tell me where it hurts.”

I couldn’t speak. It hurt everywhere. I just wanted him to stop hitting that man before the cops showed up and he got arrested. I buried my face in his chest and took a shuddering breath, trying my best not to panic at what I had just witnessed. I shoved the attack to the back of my mind and focused on the man holding me because whatever I just saw, I knew there was something about him he was hiding.

23

ASHER

I staredat the double doors, clenching my fists as I waited to be let back to see Holly. I had calmed down considerably since I drove up and saw her being beaten on the side of the road after being dragged out of her window. I didn’t even think twice about what I did next. Beating the shit out of that guy and sending him to the intensive care unit was the least of his problems because if he could ever walk again, he’d end up right back in the hospital from an unknown fall down a flight of stairs.

“Mr. Stone,” the cop said, drawing my attention back to him. “You were saying?”

I shook my head and focused on his curious face. “I drove up and he was attacking her.”

“Yeah, you said that. What happened next?”

I shrugged. “I intervened.”

“Uh-huh. What I need to know is how he ended up nearly dead.”

“We fought. It was self-defense.”

“You’re not injured.”

I pointed to the bruising on my knuckles. “I’m injured.”

He raised an eyebrow at me.

“I’ll swear to it in court.”

He sighed, putting away his notepad. “That’s all I have for now, but I’m sure it’s not the last you’ll hear from us. Do yourself a favor and have a few more bruises for the next cop that shows up.”

“I’ll do my best.”

He slapped me on the arm and walked away, leaving me pacing the hospital waiting room by myself. I couldn’t believe I was here. I shouldn’t fucking be here, not with Holly. She wasn’t supposed to end up in the hospital—not her. She was innocent. So fucking innocent.

I sat down and tucked my head into my hands, trying to push away the memories of a life past. I couldn’t go there. She wasn’t Jade. She didn’t do this to herself, and there was nothing I could do about this. Well, that wasn’t completely true. There was a hell of a lot I could do. I could drive her to work. I could make sure she had security at the shop. I needed to install an alarm at the house. I needed to think about getting her some self-defense classes and?—

“Hey, is she alright?”

Surprised by the voice, I looked up and stared at my boss for a moment.

“Holly. Is she alright?”

“You’re here.”

“I know that. You called and sounded like you were about to murder someone.” His eyes wandered over my hands and he sighed. “Did you murder someone?”

My jaw clenched as I remembered tossing that fucker against the SUV and the sound of his bones breaking as I twisted his arm behind his back. “Not yet.”

He huffed out a laugh and sat down. “Well, I guess I should be relieved to hear that. Can’t lose you to prison.”

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