Page 15 of Rear View
Stan edged closer and gestured to Ryah. “Is she hurt?”
She tensed, tried to sit up again and cried out, the hand over her stomach tightening.
Shit!That pretty skin was getting pale. I moved back in. “You need a hospital, darlin’.”
“I’ll be fine—”
“Nah.” A forced smirk pulled my mouth, ’cause I wouldn’t sleep unless I knew she was good. I’d be gettin’ her ass checked, one way or another. “He hit you hard. You should see a doc.”
“Do I need to call the paramedics?” Stan asked.
“I’ll get her to the hospital,” Zoya said, slinging the heavy-looking backpack over her shoulder.
Ryah shook her head. “You’re not missing your exam for this.”
“Well, I’m not leaving you.”
I pointed with a loose hand toward my vehicle. “I can take her.”Please, Christ. Let me take her.
Zoya’s stare flicked between the two of us, then narrowed on me like she tried to see through my skull. Gauge me. Or my motives. Made sense. I was a stranger—a big-ass one on the side of the road at that.
Ryah’s dainty fingers dug into the sleeves of her coat when she offered a slow nod. “Okay.”
Zoya’s brows rose.
Okay. Best thing I’d heard all damn day…and considering the day I’d had, that said something. Bending, I moved slow as I slid my arms under Ryah’s back and legs. “Ready?”
“Ready,” she breathed, shy and soft, a hint of pink taking those pale cheeks when her arm landed over my shoulder.
“Hold tight, darlin’,” I told her, then lifted and carried her away.
Chapter Three
Ryah
The guy was huge, towering over me with broad shoulders and a densely muscled chest—the super-hot kind of muscle that came from use. The arctic blue of his eyes pierced me, but there was a depth there. Like they’d been etched with a thousand stories.
He smelled of a decidedly male musk and the hint of a cold-started engine. His arms were solid bands where they hooked under my back and legs. My face heated when I slipped my arm around his neck, and he lifted me from that ice-cold ground like I weighed nothing.
I’d never felt tiny next to a man before. Afraid and inferior in every physical way, yes, but never tiny. And I couldn’t explain why, but I liked it.
His steps were easy when he aimed for his Jeep, while Zoya grabbed my bag and scurried alongside us. Some beast of a racing car sat strapped to the trailer he towed. The thing was a neon green, black and purple hatchback, its wing double tiered and huge. Decals with logos from a bunch of companies I’d never heard of covered the hood, roof and doors.
“So,” I said, unable to stop myself, “this is what tallpeople see.” I didnotjust say that? Except I had. Maybe Iwasconcussed.
He barked a laugh.
“What hospital are you going to?” Zoya demanded.
“Edgewater General. It’s closest,” he answered.
His friend climbed into the back seat while Z popped the front passenger side open for us.
“What’s your name, stranger?” she asked in thatWhat name do I give the cops if my bestie goes missing?sort of way.
“Xavier Bosch.” Ducking, he set me into the seat so gently, I barely knew he’d done it.
I bit my lip, my body warming.
