Page 82 of Samuel

“Evie? Is it Jellybean? Are you dizzy? Open this damn door.”

The lock clicked over and the door slowly opened. Sam waited only a few seconds before he pushed his way into the apartment, his attention immediately going to Evie. She was standing sideways in the window overlooking the back pasture. The morning sunlight cast a perfect golden halo around her and with her belly so pronounced now, she looked like a goddess. Shep ran to her, whimpering as he sat down and pawed at her leg which she ignored.

Fuck, he needed to fix what had happened the night before.

“Look, Evie, I get that I upset you last night. But if you aren’t feeling well, then you need to just take the day off.” His eyes fell to her coffee table, several of the ledgers she’d been working through were stacked near the edge. “No working up here. And if you’re just trying to avoid me, then at least tell me to my face.”

She turned so her entire back was now facing him. That wouldn’t do. Sam marched across the small living room and gently wrapped his hand around her arm. She flinched, turning towards him as she tried to step back and Sam’s vision darkened around the edges.

“Evie!” He took her face gently in his hands and cringed.

Her fucking cheek was sporting a black and blue bruise.

Someone hit Evie.

Her beautiful, soft lips were swollen, the bottom with a red split through it.

Someone had hit his Evie.

“What the fuck happened? Who did this to you?”

Her gaze hit the floor as her hand reached up to try and push his arm away.

“No one. I?—”

“Don’t you dare tell me that you walked into a wall or cabinet. I can practically see the fingerprints in the bruises on your cheek. Someone did this to you, sweetheart, and youneed to tell me what happened right now. Sit down, please. I’m about to lose my shit.” He paced in front of her sofa, but she didn’t move. Everything clicked dangerously into place. “I’m calling Hank right now. They let that asshole out of custody and didn’t even warn us! He’s a known threat to you, Evie!”

“You can’t call Hank! I-It wasn’t Dr. Bowman. I swear.”

He stared at her, waiting for her to continue, but she just twisted her fingers together and bounced her eyes around the room. If it wasn’t her former boss, then who they hell else could it be?

Suddenly, he felt like throwing up.

“That mother fucker. Was it Derrick? I fucking trusted him to keep you safe and he turned around and did this? That’s why you aren’t saying anything? You’re protecting him?”

Her face paled and Sam itched to run out of the apartment and hunt the fucker down. “Please. Tell me it wasn’t him, Evie, because I’m about to shove the branding rod so far up his ass that he’ll taste nothing but red hot iron for the rest of his life.”

“It wasn’t Derrick. He was so kind to me last night. It wasn’t him.” That’s when he saw how badly she was shaking. Tears silently streamed down her cheeks. He forced himself to breathe. To calm the fuck down and take care of her before anything else.

“Sit down. You’re shaking. Are you in pain? Do you need something for your cheek? For your lip?”

“I’m fine.”

No, she fucking wasn’t, and it was pissing Sam off that she kept saying she was.

“Bluebell, if you fucking tell me you are okay one more time before you explain to me what the hell actuallyhappened, I’m going to lose my mind.” He looked around her living room. “Where’s your purse?”

“Why?”

“I’m taking you into town. To the fucking hospital.”

“Sam, no.”

“You already went? Who took you?”

She slowly shook her head back and forth and he understood. She hadn’t gone to get checked out. His eyes immediately flicked down to her belly before searching her face again for any sign that she was hurt worse than she was letting on.

“No. I don’t need to go. I’m fine. It’s nothing a little ice and some sleep can’t fix. I just need to sleep. I’m so tired and I can’t…”

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