Page 6 of Where We Found Our Home
“I’m not. I thought I saw somebody I know.” Nevaeh gives me an incredulous look. Get your too-smart-for-your-age eyes off of me, little girl.
She looks like she’s going to say something else, but we both whip around at the sound of screeching tires. A black Mazda is racing down the street. The driver starts swerving, and it’s clear they’re impaired or distracted.Idiot. It’s the middle of the damn day.
I pull my cell phone out, prepared to make a call to the police to deal with this guy when I notice Ciara take off running. It takes me a minute to realize she’s running toward the little girl she was talking to earlier. I look over and realize the car is heading straight for her.Shit.
I turn to the man sitting behind me at one of the hightops watching with his jaw on the ground. “Sir, call 911 now.” He snaps to action.
“Sasha! Call Dominic, tell him we’re gonna need a unit.” She shakes off her worried gaze and grabs her phone.
“Linky, you gotta help her!” I’m already at the door on my way to try to help. Hopefully I won’t be too late. Again.
Not now, Linc.
“I got it. Stay here.”
I rush across the street, keeping Ciara in my sight the whole time. She reaches Candice in enough time to dodge the car, but when she snatches the girl up she turns her body so she can break the fall for them and slams her head on the concrete as they go down.
The sound of her head hitting the concrete sends chills all the way down my spine, and I feel it in my toes. I spare a glance toward the driver, who has crashed into the light pole a few feet away.Good, at least he won’t be getting away.A quick scan of the scene tells me everyone else had cleared out of the way without issue.
“See if he’s okay. Don’t let him leave,” I demand of the bystanders closest to his car. They immediately get to work. I love my community.
I reach Ciara and the little girl. Ciara isn’t moving, and the little girl is crying.
“Is she okay?” the girl screeches.
“Candice!” A woman runs over to us and scoops the kid off of Ciara.
“Mama, that woman grabbed me. I landed on top of her, so I’m not hurt at all. But she hit her head so hard. Is she okay?”
“It’s okay. I’m here to help. She’ll be okay.” I hope. She’ll definitely have a concussion but hopefully that’s the worst of it. “Ma’am. Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?” I ask.
She opens her eyes slowly and her eyes knock me on my ass. She has deep chocolate eyes with a gray ring around the edge of them that completely captivates me.
Focus, Linc. Jesus, she’s injured.
I clear my throat and speak again. “There you are. Can you tell me your name?”
“That’s some pickup line.” She smirks. Good Lord, this woman is trouble. Her plump lips are saying one thing, but her eyes tell a different story. A story packed with vulnerability and rawness. One I’m suddenly desperate to read.
“It works with all the ladies. Why don’t we try again?”
She takes a deep breath before answering. “It’s Ciara.”
“Hi, Ciara. How are you feeling?”
“Like I slammed my head on the ground. How are you?” What a smart-ass. I like it. She isn’t slurring her words, so that’s a good sign. I feel the back of her head and it’s not bleeding, but I can already feel the knot forming.
“I’ve been better. I wish I didn’t have to meet a beautiful woman by getting her to a hospital but such is life.”
“Yeah, but this way is more fun, right?” She smiles again, and even though it’s clear she’s smiling through the pain, it’s still the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen.
I need to get to safer topics. “Can you tell me what day it is?”
“It’s Thursday. I think. I was just complaining that my days are starting to blend together so I could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure it’s Thursday.”
It is Thursday. I can’t tell if her “days blending together” comment is due to her head injury or not, so I probe further.
“Do you feel nauseous or anything?”
