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“You were attacked,” he explained carefully. “You chased a man into the women’s restroom and stopped him from assaulting a customer.” His voice trembled, as if he were suffering the same near-debilitating migraine as I was.
I didn’t like the way his shakiness sent a ripple of fear through me. “Are you okay?” I asked.
A heavy sigh sounded as his blurred head dropped. “My concern is for you at the moment. Can you tell me what hurts?”
On the surface he was even and attentive, and I leaned into that confidence, allowing myself to finally come undone as the chaos of emotion swirled through me like a ravaging tornado. Flashes of a bright red dress danced in my mind, and it all came back. My brows pulled together, though the motion nearly made me black out. “My head. The . . . the right side of my head. I hit the wall . . . when he hit me.”
Leo’s hand gently lifted from my cheek to push my hair away from my face, and I winced. “Fuck,” he muttered in a tone that dripped with anger. Was he angry with me? If he was expecting any sort of apology, he’d be waiting a very long time. “Frank, tell them she has a head wound. It’s not bleeding heavily, but I can already see some nasty bruising. She might have a concussion.”
“Yes, sir,” Frank responded with a tone that was equally furious. Dammit. Frank was mad at me too? Heavy footsteps moved away from where I lay on the cold floor. I could hear more people speaking quietly amongst themselves just outside the bathroom.
A sudden thought crossed my mind. “Is the woman okay?”
Leo looked down at me intently. “She’s completely fine. Not a scratch on her, thanks to you.”
My eyes fluttered shut again as I let out an exhale. “Good.”
“You on the other hand?—”
“What about . . . what about the man?”
Leo’s thumb came up to stroke gently across my brow. “He’s in police custody. They got here about five minutes ago and took him away. He’s in rough shape . . . you broke his nose, and then I?—”
“Paramedics are three minutes out.” Frank’s voice carried from the doorway.
I tried to push myself up at that. “I don’t need paramedics! Call them off, please—I’m fine.” I got myself to my elbows, but Leo’s touch became firm on my shoulder as he held me in place.
“Mara, lie down.” His voice was gentle yet insistent. “You were hit in the head; we need to have you cleared by medical professionals before you try to get up.”
I groaned. “No, please, I—I don’t have insurance. I can’t go to the hospital, and definitely not in an ambulance. That’s like a twenty-five-million-dollar car ride!” This was all becoming too much . . . I just wanted to crawl into the comfort of bed and drift away. I needed to settle this fear, needed to calm the anxiety that made my skin feel so tight that I might burst.
“Don’t worry about the cost.”
“Easy for you to say, you fucking billionaire. I’m a bartender!” I didn’t mean to sound so angry, but I needed him to release me. Needed him to understand this was about so much more than just tonight. I needed to run . . . to escape this suffocating feeling.
“I’ll cover it,” he insisted, his tone firm.
“No!” I bit back. “I’m not letting you pay for anything because I’m not going. I’m fine . . . I just got, like, mildly knocked out. Look,” I said as I tried to push myself up again, tried not to show how bad it hurt to do so. “I’m feeling so much better. See?”
“For fuck’s sake,” he growled. “At least let them take a look at you before you stand up, okay?” He took a deep breath. “If they say you’re fine to go home, I’ll bring you home myself. But if they say you need further medical attention, you will obey—do you understand me?” His words were sharp and smoldering, and I felt them sear, burning me from the inside out.
I scoffed, ignoring the heat in my chest. I hated to give in, hated that I couldn’t push harder. But I was exhausted and weak, and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get past him.
“She’s in here!” Frank’s voice called out, and I groaned again as I heard what could only have been a medical team moving down the long hallway.
Leo muttered a frustrated curse under his breath.
“Is she currently conscious?” A woman’s voice echoed along the tiled bathroom wall.
“Oh yes,” Leo confirmed. “I’d mind your fingers—she’s quite feral at the moment.”
“Could you please step out of the way, sir?”
Leo’s body stiffened as he hesitated. “Please . . . please be careful with her.” The words were much softer as his own fear cracked through.
Something sticky and aching bloomed inside of my chest, momentarily distracting me from the pain in my head. It was the same twinge I’d felt the morning after meeting him, when I struggled to leave his bed—it felt a lot like longing. Like a craving so fierce it made my stomach twist.
Leo finally shifted away from where I lay as two people replaced the space he vacated. “Ma’am, can you tell me your name?”
