Page 39 of Reckless
Zoe’s muscles locked down for a single second before her survival instinct ripped into gear, and she thrust one foot out in a swift kick. The front of her steel-toed kitchen clog connected with Damien’s shin, the force of the contact reverberating back up her leg. He reared back in pain at the same time Alex reached him from behind, and relief flooded through every last part of her.
A half second too early.
By the time Zoe registered the increased pressure on her arms, it was gone, along with her balance as Damien shoved her backward with what had to be all his strength. Her feet left the floorboards, arms wheeling in a hard arc as she scrabbled for purchase. Vaguely, she heard clips of sound, pounding feet and voices, gruff and full of panic.
And then her shoulder slammed into the door frame, forcing every last shred of oxygen from her chest with a hard whump.
“Zoe!” After she made a series of foggy attempts to nail her focus all the way into place, Tina’s voice broke through the chaos in Zoe’s ears, quickly followed by a white-hot streak of pain lighting down her shoulder and into her fingertips as she tested out both her lungs and her limbs.
“Ow.” Zoe sucked a breath through her teeth, flattening her free palm against the floorboards in an awkward attempt to find her feet, but both the heavy tingling in her other hand and the gentle pressure of Tina’s grasp halted her before she could get more than halfway upright.
“Rochelle,” Zoe spit out, a brand-new stream of panic uncurling through her rib cage. God, there were so many people jostling around and making an unholy racket that locking in on one specific target was impossible. “We have to keep Damien away from her.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about Damien,” Tina said, catching the question in Zoe’s confused blinks before adding, “Alex just knocked him clean out, and the police are outside. The only place Damien’s going is back to the precinct.”
Zoe sagged in relief, although the sensation didn’t last. “What about the other residents? Is anyone hurt?” Her second attempt got her to her feet, although, whoa, her legs were none too thrilled at the prospect of holding her upright.
“Just you,” Tina said at the exact moment Alex appeared at her side.
“Jesus Christ, Zoe. Sit down and let me look at you.” He snatched up a nearby chair, guiding her off her feet without leeway for an argument.
Of course, she still gave one. “Alex, I need to?—”
“Do you feel any pain?” He knelt between her knees, sweeping her with a critical head-to-toe gaze, and she belatedly noticed the angry bruise blooming over the knuckles on his right hand.
“I could ask you the same thing.” Zoe reached for his hand, but the thudding protest of her shoulder cut the move short.
Alex caught her wince, and although his eyes flared, the rest of his demeanor remained perfectly calm. “Did you hit your head when you fell? Lose consciousness, or anything like that?”
“What? No.” She shook her head, but the gesture felt oddly sloppy. “Just my shoulder.”
“Can you rate the pain on a scale of one to ten?”
“I’m fine, I just—ouch!” The ache along the back of her arm went full throttle under Alex’s touch, and he pulled his hands back as if her involuntary protest had burned him.
“Rate it, Zoe.”
“It’s a bump, Alex.” It might be a nasty one, but still. “Really, barely even a four. Can I please stand up? This is my soup kitchen, and I need to make sure everyone’s okay. I don’t want Rochelle and Kenny to hear the commotion in here and get frightened.” The poor woman and her son had been through enough.
Tina and Alex exchanged a look loaded with unspoken communication. She said, “I’ll have Millie and Ellen go check on them, but, honey, you need to let someone check onyou.”
As if conjured by the words alone, a uniformed police officer arrived beside Alex, taking careful visual inventory of all three of them before politely interrupting.
“Hey, Donovan. Your perp seems like a gem according to the two witnesses my partner just got a brief statement from, but we’ve got him in custody. The rest of the scene is secure.”
Alex nodded. “Thanks, O’Halloran. You and Macklemore got here damn fast.”
“We were only about six blocks away,” the officer said, tipping his dark head at the dining room windows facing the street. “I know I don’t have to tell you the neighborhood can get a little tough.” He swung his gaze toward Zoe, indicating the badge pinned to the front of the black Kevlar vest strapped over his uniform shirt. “I’m Brett O’Halloran, Fairview PD.”
“Zoe Westin,” she said, lifting a brow in Alex’s direction. “Let me guess. You guys skydive together. Or is it rock climbing?”
The officer’s lips twitched in the suggestion of a smile as he shot a glance at Alex. “No, ma’am, just softball. How are you feeling, Ms. Westin?”
“Oh, just Zoe, and I’m fine, thanks. I’ll be even better if you tell me that asshole is going back to jail, though.” She trapped her tongue between her teeth too late, but if Officer O’Halloran was shocked or offended by her brassy statement, his expression sure didn’t betray him.
“If you’re up to telling me what happened, we might be able to work on that for you.”
“I’d be happy to.” Zoe gave the officer a succinct rundown of events, with Tina peppering in some of the details that happened after Zoe had been knocked down. After a handful of follow-up questions, Officer O’Halloran flipped his notebook closed.
