Page 57 of A Risk Worth Taking

“Actually, it’s not,” I tell Lincoln, fed up with his shit. “You and me, we’re done. Done fucking, done living together, and done beingfriends. There, now it’suncomplicated.”

Pushing him away, I take off out the back door, needing to get some fresh air. It’s a beautiful day out, so I chose to walk here since the restaurant was close. After rounding the corner of the building, I step onto the sidewalk to head back to the hotel.

I’m pulling my phone out of my back pocket to let Sienna know I left when someone bumps into me. I’m not expecting it, so I stumble to the side, trying to catch my balance. But before I can, I’m shoved again, this time harder.

“Ow,” I hiss, unsure what is happening. In a flash, someone grips my bicep tightly, shoving me toward the street. Just then, my name is called, and when I try to turn to see who it is, I’m catapulted forward, losing my footing in the process. In an attempt to protect my belly, I twist my body, praying I land on my side. My butt hits the cement first, and for a split second, I think I’m going to be okay. But the force is too strong, and I bounce off the ground, my head smacking against the concrete. Then, everything suddenly goes black.

As I lose consciousness, my last thought is that I hope my baby is okay.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

LINCOLN

The second thewordsit’s complicatedcome flying out of my mouth, I want to take them back, but it’s too late, and now I need to do damage control. But before I can try to explain to Micah what’s going on, Ellie snaps on me, telling me we’re done, and then takes off out the back door.

“Fuck!” I bark, knowing I messed up. I wasn’t expecting to have a goddamn family gathering the morning after telling Ellie I want more with her. I thought we’d discuss shit further once I got back, and then shortly afterward, I’d sit down and have a conversation with my brother and parents.

“What the hell is going on?” Micah asks. “Are you fucking Ellie?”

The door slams closed, and I run after Ellie. I can deal with Micah later. Right now, she needs to be my priority.

When I get outside, the brightness of the morning momentarily blinds me, but my vision adjusts just in time to see Ellie turn the corner. The hotel is only a couple blocks away, so she must’ve walked here. I pick up my pace so I can catch upwith her, and when I turn the corner, I spot her on the sidewalk, only she isn’t alone.

My first thought is that she ordered a ride, since the black town car’s door is open, but when I get closer, I see the hooded figure isn’t helping her into the car but dragging her toward it. And he’s got company. Another hooded figure is standing by the door, and someone else is in the driver seat.

She screams out in pain, confirming my thoughts: they’re trying to kidnap her. I yell out her name, hoping to get her attention. Only instead, it gets the attention of her would-be captors. The guy holding onto Ellie shoves her in the opposite direction, and since I’m not close enough to catch her, I can only watch helplessly as she stumbles backward, her body hitting the ground while her head bounces against the cement like she’s on a trampoline and not the hard, unforgiving sidewalk.

As I watch the guys who did this pile into their car and peel away, my gut tells me to chase them down so I can torture the fuck out of them until they tell me why they were going after Ellie. Then, slowly and mercilessly, I would end their lives. But with Ellie lying on the ground unconscious, both her and our baby at risk, I have no choice but to focus on getting help.

“Ellie, baby, can you hear me?” I ask once I’ve reached her. “Ellie, please,” I beg, needing her beautiful eyes to open and look at me, for her to tell me she’s okay.

When she doesn’t respond, I pull my phone out and dial emergency. As I explain to the dispatcher our location and the situation, I run my hand along Ellie’s face and body, trying to check her out without moving her. Thankfully, when she fell, she landed on her back, but that also means she hit the back of her head.

Once I hang up with the dispatcher, who assures me that an ambulance is en route, I dial Micah’s number.

“Are you coming back?—?”

“Ellie’s hurt!” I bark out. “Meet us at the hospital.”

There are a few different hospitals in Tesoro, but in this part of town, there’s only one they would take her to.

There’s a crowd forming around Ellie, who’s yet to wake up, but I ignore them, focusing on trying to comfort her until the ambulance arrives. I’ve never felt so damn helpless in my life.

When the paramedics finally show and check her out, her lids flutter, and I pray to whatever God is up there that Ellie and our baby will be okay. After placing a neck brace on her, they work together to lift her onto a gurney, while one of them asks me questions. I only know so much, but their main focus is on her pregnancy.

Since there isn’t enough room in the back of the ambulance, they offer to let me ride in the front, but I opt to drive myself instead, so I’m not at the hospital without a vehicle. I arrive right behind them, but I’m stopped from entering the emergency entrance, so I walk around to the front where Sienna and Micah—and Sienna’s bodyguard, Ricardo—are already waiting.

“What the fuck did you do to my sister?” Sienna shouts, tears streaming down her cheeks as she throws herself at me, punching my chest repeatedly until Micah pulls her away.

“Someone tried to take her,” I tell her honestly, not having the time or inclination to filter what I say to keep from scaring her. Between what transpired earlier this morning and having just witnessed Ellie’s near abduction, Sienna needs to know what we’re up against.

“If I hadn’t shown up...” I swallow hard, not wanting to think about what would’ve happened had I not gotten there in time. “When I called her name, they got spooked. The guy dragging her to the car, pushed her, and she lost her balance and fell.”

“Did you recognize them?” Micah asks, his face devoid of any emotion. He’s in boss-mode.

“No. There were three guys, all in black hoodies that hid their faces, driving a black town car. I was too focused on Ellie to chase them.”

Micah immediately pulls his phone out and starts barking orders, demanding the cameras to be accessed and to find the guys who did this. As he does, he holds Sienna, comforting her so she’ll calm down. With her only a couple of months away from giving birth, the last thing she should be is stressed.

---