Page 29 of Protecting Chaos

“Go,” Ashton prodded. “If you see any signs of trouble, you run. I’ll find you.”

She nodded and hurried out the door and down the stairs toward the front of the building. Sirens sounded in the distance as she ran through the trees and stepped out into the hospital parking lot.

She waved her arms, jumping in the air until they noticed her.

The ambulance pulled up in front of her, and the paramedics jumped out and grabbed their things.

“This way.” She ran, glancing over her shoulders to make sure they were following her.

The homeless people in the camp scattered like oil in water as Stella jogged into the building and up the stairs.

She moved aside and gestured into the room.

“From what I can tell, he has a laceration in his abdomen and swelling on the side of his head as if he’s been struck with something,” Ashton said, moving out of the way.

“Was he awake when you found him?” one med asked.

“No. I haven’t been able to wake him, even with the pressure I put on his wound. When we found him, he was unconscious and hasn’t revived yet. His heartbeat is faint but there.”

Stella held her hand over her mouth.

“He’s lucky you found him when you did. Judging by all the blood, he looks like he would have bled out.”

They were ushered out of the way when Detective Morrison showed up. The room turned into that of an active crime scene when forensics and others appeared.

Detective Morrison rode in the ambulance across the parking lot to the emergency room entrance.

Outside, some homeless that hadn’t scattered fast enough were being detained and questioned. They took Marcus’s trench coat and put it in an evidence bag and were scouring the area and Marcus’s car for additional evidence.

If Ashton hadn’t called in to have the phone turned back on, Marcus would most definitely be dead.

Ashton was talking to another detective in the distance. He kept glancing her way as if afraid to take his eyes off of her. He shook the man’s hand and headed in her direction.

“Are you all right?”

“You saved his life,” Stella said.

“You saved his life,” he corrected. “If you hadn’t pressured me into calling in that favor, he very well might have died.”

His face softened as he stared down at her. He was a good man. The years hadn’t changed him, nor had they changed the butterflies in her stomach taking flight every time he was near. “You really are a knight in disguise.”

She cupped his cheek and kissed him with more heat and passion than she had years ago, leaving no room for him to question the chemistry they shared.

He broke the kiss first and stared at her with intensity in his eyes.

“Thank you for believing me,” she whispered.

“Always,” he said, staring into her eyes.

Clearing his throat, he stepped back, putting some distance between them. “If you were right and he was another victim, then there’s still a threat.”

“It’s been over an hour since they took him to the hospital. Do you suppose he’s woken up yet?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Let me call Detective Morrison and see if he has an update.” He glanced at the building. “It looks like they have everything else covered here.”

He took her hand in his and escorted her out of the trees and toward the car as he called. He opened her door, and she climbed in. Ashton remained outside the car as he spoke to the detective.

A worried look filled his eyes as he met her gaze through the front window.

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