Page 29 of Rock

Her teeth rattled as he continued to shake her. Her vision grew blurry. She feared she might pass out.

The sound of a motorcycle engine infiltrated her mind. Or maybe she was imagining it. She’d been hearing bike engines all day. She doubted many people on this residential street ownedbikes, which meant she’d been conjuring the sound from her subconscious. After all, for the last two years she’d lived here, she’d heard a bike engine coming and going frequently. It had been Rock visiting Jackson every time. She wished to fuck he would show up now.

A loud sound, like a door slamming against the wall, made her flinch a moment before a deep voice rang out. “Get the fuck off her!”

The man instantly dropped her and dashed into the kitchen.

Lyla fell to the floor, landing on her hands and knees, shaking and gasping for breath.

New hands were on her a second later, making her cry out once more.

“Lyla, it’s me. Rock. I’ve got you.”

Rock?

She lifted her head to find the man she’d spent countless hours of her life thinking about squatting next to her. She blinked several times. Her mind was playing tricks on her.

Rock glanced toward the kitchen as another door slammed.

Lyla jumped. That would be her attacker getting away out the back. Another glance at Rock told her he was debating taking off after the guy. Part of her wanted him to catch the asshole, but she didn’t want him to get hurt. She had no idea what shape he was in.

He turned his attention back to her and eased her onto her butt so she was leaning against the wall. “Are you hurt?”

She lifted a hand to rub the back of her head and winced as she tipped her head forward. “Is there any blood?”

Rock carefully guided her head forward more and gently moved her hair around. “No blood. You could have a concussion, though.” He lifted her chin with a finger until she met his gaze.

His expression was fierce. It was the same expression he’d had that last night she’d seen him, the night he’d been waitingfor her to come home from the prom and she’d told him how her date and his friends had spoken about her.

She wrapped her hand around his forearm. “I’m okay. Thank you for… Why are you here?”

“I wanted to see you. Good thing because apparently, my timing was impeccable.” He pulled his phone out of his pocket.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling the police.”

She nodded. Right. Of course. She started trembling, feeling cold for no reason. She vaguely heard him speaking to the dispatcher, and then he hung up.

“They’ll be here in a few minutes.” He stared at her some more, stroking her cheek. “You haven’t changed.”

She gave him a wan smile. “Your hair is gray.”

He chuckled. “I’m old.”

“You’re only two years older than me.”

“So I didn’t age as well as you. Do you need to rub it in?” he teased.

She set her hands on the floor, wanting to stand.

Rock helped her to her feet.

Fuck, her head ached. She rubbed it, wincing when she reached her arms back to do so. They hurt, too.

“Let’s get you some water,” Rock said.

She nodded toward the kitchen. “There’s a cooler.”

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