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Getting his first good look at Pixie’s face, Doug was livid. A fist-shaped bruise marred her perfect skin, already turning several shades of blue. He wanted nothing more than to haul the prick who’d done the damage to his feet, and pummel him again. This time Doug wouldn’t stop until the asshole passed out. He…
Doug took in a deep breath and rolled his shoulders.
Pixie didn’t need to see his anger. She needed…sympathy. A shoulder to cry on. But who would give her that? Talia was huddled in the corner, speaking in low tones to Jason.
Doug closed his eyes and centered himself. While the SPD had the situation with Zablov well in hand, having dragged him to his feet, Doug forced himself to concentrate on Pixie.
She’d asked him a question.
He replayed her words back in his head, focusing, then grew angry all over again. “You want to know why we were late?” He couldn’t keep the bite out of his voice. “We were delayed by SPD’slegalrepresentatives,” he growled. “They wanted to make sure every sentence of the paperwork we brought to them was proper; would stand up in court under a frigging microscope.”
Pixie attempted to smile, but winced instead, her eyes puddling with tears from the obvious pain. “It’s okay, Doug. They needed to be sure. And everything worked out in the end.”
Doug didn’t know what spurred him on. It might have been the brave face she was attempting, or the warble in her voice she couldn’t disguise, but before he could talk himself out of it, he crossed the divide between them, and took Pixie into his arms. He held her gently, cradled against his chest while his gut rocked and quaked. Was the knot of fear because a woman was mashed up against him for the first time in twenty years, or was it residual fear for the dangerous situation Pixie had been in?
Either way, he needed to find his voice.
“We have an ambulance on standby,” he told her, taking in the warm, honeyed smell of her hair. “Let’s get you to the hospital and have that jaw checked out,” he managed, gruffly. His hand slid from her shoulders to her waist and she gave a sharp gasp.
“What?” he questioned, leaning back to look into her ravaged face.
“It’s nothing…”
Doug couldn’t help his immediate scowl.
She sighed. “Fine. He…pushed me back into the table, and I landed hard. On my hip…” she trailed off, shrugging to make light of it.
“We’ll have that looked at, too,” he told her firmly, and suddenly uncomfortable with the closeness, he pulled away, but whether it was bravery or stupidity, he couldn’t stop himself from reaching to her right hand, firmly encasing it with his.
She looked down at where they were joined, clearly awed. “The, uh, ambulance should be for Jason,” she whispered to him, her voice trembling. “We don’t know what that monster has done to him.”
“Okay.” Doug readily agreed. “The ambulance is for him, but you’re not getting out of seeing a doctor.I’llbring you to the ER.”
“Talia…” Pixie looked over at her sister and trailed off.
Doug responded, taking charge. “The LT will ride with Jason in the ambulance back to Orono. They’ve already, clearly formed a bond, which is exactly what we aim for. She’ll accompany him to the doctor we have on call who specifically treats and assesses the abused children we bring in. I promise Jason will be well taken care of.”
“Listen to Doug, Pix,” Talia said firmly. “You need to be looked at, no argument. Jason and I…” She turned back to her small charge, who was now cuddled up to her side. Geeze, Talia was a magician. “…will go for a little adventure together, right bud?”
The little boy nodded, looking up at her, stars already in his eyes. Doug wondered how long it had been since anyone had shown the boy real love.
Doug had been looked at like that a time or two by the kids they’d rescued. It was a natural reaction, as were the ones who didn’t want to get near anyone or be touched. He remembered how he’d handled things when he was a youngster getting taken from his mother’s home. He’d been firmly in the “don’t get near me” category.
So wasn’t it odd that he was voluntarily holding Pixie’s hand? Not that he hadn’t gradually adjusted over the years to touching other adults, albeit briefly, but this was prolonged contact…after an actualhug. Didn’t that blow his mind? He’d never even been comfortable enough to hug his aunt, and he loved her like the caring mother he’d never been blessed with.
Talia didn’t miss a thing. Her eyes lit up when she noted their joined fingers, and the corner of her mouth quirked into a half-grin. “Go with Doug, Pixie. It looks like my partner will take good care of you. This time,” she added sassily.
Doug snorted, but Pixie didn’t add to Talia’s shit-giving, which went a long way toward letting him know how much pain she was experiencing. He’d been given the sharp edge of her tongue a time or two, and suddenly missed that cheekiness.
“Let’s go, sweetheart,” he urged, and…holy hell. Had he just let out an endearment?Cripes.Next thing you knew he’d be bawling beside Pixie on the couch watching movies with pink credits. And why didn’t that thought have him running out the door? The aftermath of this fucked-up day was going to require some serious Will time.
Doug gave a wide birth to the man who was being read his rights, keeping Pixie close. The prick snarled and hurled ugly words at them both as they walked out.
“If they take my son from me, you’ll pay the price,” Zablov shouted. “Both of you,’ he threatened.
Doug’s free fist twitched to knock the ugly words out of the man’s mouth, but Pixie was his priority, and he wasn’t going to let anger distract him.
Pixie didn’t so much as blink in the miscreant’s direction. And taking a page from her book, Doug didn’t, either.
