Page 22 of Silver Sanctuary
A small sniffle came from behind the register.
“Lacy?” Nash walked into the space, crushing glass under his feet. His eyes dropped to the ground. Fuck, it was blood. And it went in a straight line right behind the counter.
He forced himself to walk slowly—the last thing he wanted to do was scare her. As he rounded the side of the counter, the sight in front of him had him throwing their lunch on the counter as he dropped to his knees.
Jesus.She had her legs curled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them tightly. Tears streamed down her cheeks and his heart shattered at the sight of her so upset. But what was really his undoing was the blood he saw running down her legs.
“You’re hurt.”
“It’s nothing,” she whispered, her eyes refusing to meet his.
“You’re fucking bleeding. It’s not nothing,” he growled. “What happened?”
“I was fixing the display when a rock came flying through the window. I fell backwards on the other display—couldn’t see who did it. Some of the shattered glass cut me when I rolled onto the floor, that’s all.” Her voice shook as she pressed the palms of her hands into her eyes. Nash reached out, running his hand down her leg as he began assessing the cuts. “I have to go clean up and figure out how to cover that window. God, the price of plywood. I just… I needed a minute.”
“No.” His command came out a little too harsh, and he hated the way she shrank away from him. “No, sweetheart, I didn’t mean to scare you. I just don’t want you moving andgetting more hurt. We need to apply some pressure to that one cut. I’m going to help you up and then I’m going to take you to the hospital.”
Nash grabbed a paper towel off the counter top and pressed it against the cut he was most concerned with.
“No hospital. I can’t afford it.”
Fuck.
His eyes darted around the room, trying to locate her first aid kit. Cap was usually meticulous with his business investments, he would have made sure there was one in the building before the store could open.
“Lace, where is your first aid kit?”
She bit her lower lip, looking over his shoulder.
“Lacy?”
“There were a couple of kids that came in the other day.”
“Okay… did one of them get hurt?”
“No.”
The realization of what happened slammed into him just as her shoulders dropped. Shit. “They stole from the shop?”
“I was busy helping their dad get a bouquet together for his wife’s birthday. It was small, but it was a sale. I didn’t notice things went missing until it was too late.”
“What things?”
“The first aid kit, a few of the tools I use like my shears and floral wire. It’s nothing I can’t eventually replace, and I’m sure they were just messing around. I just… Money’s tight right now.”
Nash nodded, understanding exactly what she was saying. No money for the hospital. No money to replace those things. He was already making a mental note to call Sebastian and talk to him about the situation.
“You have the guy’s information on file? We can tell the deputy who comes to take a statement about this.” He waved toward the front of the shop.
“He paid in cash. It’s really not that big of a deal.”
“It’s a very big deal, sweetheart.” Nash pulled out his cell phone. With his one hand still pressed against the cut on Lacy’s leg, Nash worked to get help heading their way.
A rock went through the front window at Petals. Lacy’s hurt. Need Doc. Can someone run to Costillo’s and get plywood?
Hawk:
Is she okay? I’m at The Trident, but I can head back.
