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As the sirens neared, I sucked in a deep breath and sagged against the brick wall, staring into the bushes lining the walk with completely oblivious eyes.
11
Nick
* * *
“Are you sure you don’t want to go to the hospital?” I asked, reaching out for Carly as she paced in front of me for the dozenth time since the cops left with the perp in the backseat. “Gemma could look you over, just to make sure…” the rest of my statement fizzled out at the flash of fire in her eyes.
I held up my hand and shut my trap.
She paced back once again, checked her phone, and then repeated the pattern. “I’m not going anywhere until I know where Alesha is. That man—no, that’s too generous—that asshole was here to get to her! She could still be out there, in danger. God only knows what she’s been getting herself into.” She stopped and heaved a pained sigh. “I’m sorry. I know you’re just trying to help. But right now, this feels a little beyond help. I just need her to call me the fuck back!” her last words were growled down at her phone.
I sat there in silence. My own nerves were just as fried. It was sheer luck that I’d even shown up at The Siren when I did. I shuddered to think what might’ve happened if I hadn’t been there to help. Once the perp got distracted, she threw in some good punches, but the guy she was up against would have gotten his way in the end.
Tough chick.
The thought of her getting hurt terrified me—no matter how tough I thought she was.
“Can you come here?” I asked, holding out a hand.
She stopped her pacing again and met my eyes from where she stood, three feet away, her hands clenched into fists. One around her phone, the other just frozen in a fist. After a second, she relented and came to my side. I wrapped my arm around her and cradled her to my side. To my surprise, she sagged into me. A second later, a loud, gut-wrenching sob broke the silence.
“Carly,” I held her tighter, bringing my other arm around her and moving her against my chest. She broke down against me, her sobs wracking her entire body. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s over.”
She nodded but her tears didn’t stop.
Inside my chest, my heart beat out a frantic pace, wanting nothing more than to take away her misery and throw it out across the ocean.
Or—at the very least—find a way to get her fuckin’ sister back in line.
Teenage girls were a mystery that was impossible to solve. When I was a teenager, I naturally found them fascinating—but now—they exhausted me. The drama, theatrics, and rebelliousness were like bottomless pits from hell from my point of view.
Heaven help me if I ever have a daughter.
Carly stilled against me, still clinging tight around my waist, but her crying seemed to have stopped. I tipped her chin up and wiped at the tears that had streaked down her cheeks with my thumb. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, shaking her head once my thumb was removed.
“For what?”
“For being a basket case.” She laughed softly.
“You’re not.”
“Well, it sure as hell feels like it right now.”
I replaced my hand on her waist, surprised she hadn’t jumped out of my arms yet. I didn’t want to take advantage of the situation, but at the same time, I wasn’t quite ready to let her go.
Despite the sucky circumstances…it was nice to hold her.
“Come on, let’s get you back home. Alesha will probably show up there anyway, now that business hours are over. You can call and leave her a message on the way so she knows where to go.”
Carly thought about it for a minute, then nodded, and let me lead her down the path that led away from the place all the shit had gone down. When the police had arrived, I’d handed over the attacker—piece of shit—and they’d gone through the myriad of questions they were required to go over, again and again. The entire thing had taken just over an hour.
When we reached the parking lot, I realized I didn’t have my truck. I’d walked down the bluff after another frustrating conversation with my little brother. And Carly didn’t bring her car to the shop. Shit.
“Do you want me to call someone to give us a ride? Aaron would no doubt come down?”
She shook her head. “Walking is fine. My place isn’t all that far from here. I understand if you need to get back though.”
“Get back? To do what?” I shook my head. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. I got nothing going on tonight. I’ll stay until you feel better.”
She didn’t put up a fight. We set off down the sidewalk and Carly checked our surroundings every few minutes, sweeping the area like a trained soldier, each glance methodical. Calculating risks. Noting the dark, shadowy places.
