Page 12 of Liam
The paramedic prodded at her knee again, but she barely registered the pain because at that moment, Liam stepped out the front door, closely followed by a few of the other guys. Immediately, he scanned the throngs of people. The police. The paramedics. His gaze passed all of them to find her. And God, he looked intense.
When he started toward her, her heart thumped, and she had to remind herself to breathe. He didn’t take his eyes off her once. And the way he looked at her…like he was going to tear down the world to get to her.
He stopped beside them, his gaze moving over her face, his eyes narrowing. “Are you okay?”
“She’s going to be fine,” the paramedic answered before she could. “Just a bit bruised. I’ll get some pain medication.”
The second he disappeared, Liam stepped closer, his fingers brushing over her cheek. Surprisingly, when he brushed the pad of his thumb over her bruise, it didn’t hurt. It actually almost felt better…soothing. How was that possible?
“I’m sorry you got hurt, Ny.”
She forced air into her lungs. “I’m sorry people died. That they tried to kill your team.”
The muscles in Liam’s forearms visibly bunched. “Everyone who was a part of this is either already dead, or isgoingto die for the part they played.”
Her skin pebbled. There was so much danger in his voice. It sounded like both a threat and a vow. “Did any of your team get hurt?”
“No, thank God. And all the women are safe too. Thank you for helping Willow and Mila.”
Her heart hurt at the memory of that child being in there. “The girl looked terrified. I hope she’s okay?”
“Willow said you wouldn’t follow them out because you wanted to go back in and help more people escape.” There was a small narrowing of his eyes, like he disapproved.
“Of course. There were so many people, and they needed to find safety.”
He was shaking his head before she finished. “Leave that to us next time. You need to look afteryou.”
She pulled back at his words. Her brothers and father had said stuff like that her entire life, and she hated it. Just because she wasn’t a man, or trained to fight, didn’t mean she couldn’t be useful.
“If I can help others, I will.”
His brows flickered. Was he irritated by her answer? He opened his mouth, but then someone called his name, and his head shot around.
“Sorry, I just need to speak to my team. Are you—”
“I’m fine,” she said quickly, not wanting to keep him from whatever he had to do. “You go.”
He hesitated, then wrapped his fingers around her upper arm and gently squeezed. “I’ll be back.”
The imprint of his fingers on her skin lingered as he walked away. Then her gaze caught on other things. Men and women in uniforms pushing stretchers with covered bodies. On one gurney, an arm had slipped out. Her belly rolled, and she looked away.
“Hi.”
Nylah turned to see a uniformed officer. He had a small notepad in his hand, but he was barely looking at her. Instead, his gaze was caught on the group of men Liam stood with, like he’d rather be interviewingthem.
“I’m Officer Pierce Carlson,” he said.
“Nylah Walker.”
“Miss Walker. Can you tell me your account of what happened tonight?”
She blew out a breath, then gave him her version of events. He hardly wrote anything down, just a few brief notes. And the few times he actually looked her in the eye amounted to almost nothing.
“I can give you a description of the man who attacked me, if you’d like?” she suggested when she finished.
He closed his notepad, his gaze once again moving to the group of men. “That won’t be necessary, Miss Walker. A man seen fleeing the storage area was shot and killed. Do you have a ride home?”
“I have my car here.”
