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Tony paced a few steps away from the man, keeping himself between the prick and door.
“Is she okay?” he murmured to Rhys.
Rhys nodded. “I think so.”
“J-jasper?” Jess was trembling from head to toe, clearly terrified, and all she could think about was her son. This was the second day in a row they’d found her shaking uncontrollably, first from cold and now from fear.
Never. Fucking. Again.
His jaw was clenched too tightly, rage still coursing through his veins, so Rhys responded to her question.
“He’s fine, Jess. He’s downstairs with Rocco.” As he spoke, Rhys took in her injuries with the practiced eye of a physician. He gently cupped her cheeks, peering closely at her eyes. “Your pupils are dilated,” he murmured. “Did you hit your head?”
She shook her head in response. “No.”
“Possibly just the adrenaline.” Rhys released a long breath. “God, Jess. I just lost ten years off my life.”
Tony had never seen Rhys so rattled, so shaken. His friend was a good doctor because he was calm under pressure. Strangely, to hear Rhys upset made Tony feel better…because right now, his heart was racing a million beats per second, and he still felt the uncontrollable urge to beat the ever-loving fuck out of the man who’d hurt her.
The sirens grew louder, and Tony heard brakes squealing outside. He remained where he was, keeping a close eye on the man, still sprawled out on the floor. The asshole appeared to have accepted his fate.
He turned at the sound of someone entering the room.
“Jesus,” the cop muttered.
“Kayden,” Tony said, walking over to greet his friend, grateful he was the one who’d answered the call. He was part of their Wednesday lunch group, and Jess knew him. He hoped that would put her at ease, as Kayden would certainly need to get a statement from her.
“Tony? You okay?”
Tony nodded, aware he was still breathing heavily. There was blood—not his—on his knuckles, and his long hair was hanging in his face.
Kayden took in the rest of the room, his gaze sliding from Jess, who seemed to be curling into herself on the bed, slightly bent with her arms wrapped around her waist protectively, to Rhys, who stood beside her.
“Rhys.” Kayden offered him a brief nod before turning his attention to the dick on the floor.
Another cop entered—Seth, Kayden’s partner. Like Kayden, Seth was able to size up the situation without asking a single question. “I got a statement from Rocco. At least as much as he could tell me from what the kid said,” he said to Kayden.
“Jasper?” Jess whispered.
Seth held up his hand to set her mind at ease. “He’s with Rocco. Shaken up, but safe and sound. Hey, Tony,” Seth added.
“Seth.” Tony nodded his head just once in greeting.
“Looks like you did all the heavy lifting,” Seth said in an attempt to lighten the tension filling the room.
Kayden started to walk over to Jess, but before Tony could consider his actions, he took a large step to the right, blocking his path.
Kayden’s brows rose in surprise. “Like that, huh?”
Tony nodded, unable to respond. He was a bit shocked by his own reaction. He was an intense bastard at the best of times, overprotective as fuck when it came to his sister or female cousins, but those traits had never transferred over to any of the women he’d dated.
Regardless, for some reason, he couldn’t let Kayden get any closer to Jess.
“You’re Jess, right? You remember me?” Kayden asked softly.
For the first time since Kayden entered the room, Jess lifted her eyes to look at him. “From the diner,” she said softly.
Kayden nodded. “I need to ask you a few questions, but first I need to know if you’re okay?”
