Page 71 of The Switch: A Friends To Lovers Romance

She studied him, slightly bewildered. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” He spoke through gritted teeth. “That’s all you have to say to me?”

Ashanti opened her mouth but no words came out. Her mind went blank. Why was Luke so angry?

Ashanti heard feet pattering toward them and spotted Tara racing down the halls. Her straight black hair rose and fell with every step and sweat beaded on her forehead. She skidded to a stop in front of Ashanti’s cot.

“You’re here too, Tara?”

“Are you okay?” Tara’s eyes flitted over the bandage on her hand and the bruise on her jaw. “What happened?”

Ashanti tugged on her ear lobe, embarrassed by all the attention. “I was meeting with one of my informants when the dealer I was investigating popped up out of nowhere. He figured out who I was and what I was doing. As you can see,” she gestured to herself, “he didn’t take it well.”

“Why the hell did you go alone if it was that dangerous?” Luke demanded.

Ashanti blinked. “Since when did you use the word ‘hell’ in all your sentences?”

“Ashanti,” Tara put a gentle hand on her shoulder, “Luke was worried about you. He barged into the office and almost got kicked out by Byron and the other security guys.”

Her eyes widened. “Really?”

“Why didn’t you call me?” Luke asked, acting like he hadn’t heard anything Tara said. “Even if you had to go investigating alone, you should have called me the minute you got hurt.”

“My phone died. And, anyway, it wasn’t that big a deal,” Ashanti said. She scooted to the edge of her hospital bed and winced when that harmless movement sent shockwaves of pain through her body.

Tara noticed and pounced on her. “Get back on the bed.”

“I’m fine.” She continued to push herself off.

Luke walked toward her and poked a finger to her forehead. He forced her back until she lay flat on the hard cot. His stony expression should have scared her, but instead she felt her heart flutter.

He leaned over her, his eyes shooting flames. “Stay.”

Ashanti wanted to disobey him. After all, she was not a robot who functioned on his commands. Unfortunately, her limbs had turned to mush and she couldn’t move even if she wanted to.

Their gazes locked and held in a heated exchange that needed no words.

Tara whistled under her breath. “Should I give you two a minute?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Ashanti said. She tore her gaze away from Luke and eased up on her elbows to make it easier to talk. “The doctor said I could leave after a couple hours. It’s not as bad as it looks.”

“It looks like someone punched you in the jaw.” Luke sat on the edge of her bed. His nearness made her heart pound even faster.

What was wrong with her? Had the doctor given her some wonky meds?

He reached out and softly grasped her cheek. His gaze was on her bruise so Ashanti knew that his touch was just out of concern, but it gave her a distinct flashback to their kiss.

She pulled her face away before the heat consumed her. “I got punched and slapped a few times. That’s all. I’m fine.”

“Where is he?” Luke got slowly to his feet, looking more dangerous and livid than she’d ever seen him. “Where’s the punk who did this?”

Tara slid in front of him. “Calm down, Luke. The police already have him in custody.”

“It’s the one good thing to come out of this mess,” Ashanti said with a sigh. “The cops didn’t want to arrest him on the drug charges without evidence, but now that he’s assaulted me they can get the ball rolling on a new investigation.”

“That’s good,” Luke said.

She agreed wholeheartedly. Ashanti had a feeling that—had the dealer not been apprehended—Luke would have gone after the guy himself.

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