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The alarm in his voice and his use of my name has me shooting up out of bed. “What’s wrong?”
I glance at Phoenix’s bedroom window, but it’s dark.
“She’s hurt.”
I bolt into the hallway. “Did you call an ambulance?”
“No. She doesn’t want me to.”
“How bad is it?”
“Just get here.”
I’m already out the door and sprinting across the lawn. When I get to her porch, I burst through Phoenix’s front door. “Where are you?”
“Up here,” Leo’s voice calls, as light spills into the hallway from the bathroom.
I take the stairs by twos and hear Phoenix’s feeble voice say, “Why did you call him?”
I don’t know what I expected to see when I got into the bathroom, but the sight of her lying in Leo’s arms on the tile, covered in blood and bruises wasn’t it.
A strangled groan slips out of my throat, and my stomach lurches. I drop to my knees beside my brother. “Who did this to her?”
Leo swallows. “It’s my fault. I took her to the fight—”
“Youwhat?”
“She wanted to go. We were only supposed to watch.”
“I’m okay,” she croaks out. “Just have a headache.”
My eyes roam over her injuries. Most of the blood is coming from a cut above her eyebrow, but she’s hugging her midsection, curled in a ball. She might have a broken rib, or internal bleeding.
I could kill my brother for taking her to a place so dangerous. But now’s not the time to lay into Leo about the dangers of underground fighting. I need to focus on helping Phoenix.
I cut a glare at my brother. “Go home.”
His eyes widen. “What? No. I can help.”
“You’ve done enough. She wouldn’t be in this situation if it weren’t for you.”
He drops his chin, but Phoenix slips her hand inside mine. “Let him help, James. Please.”
I stare down at her small swollen hand in mine, and it’s in this moment I realize I’ll do anything she asks me to.
“Fine.” I heave a sigh and jerk my chin at my brother. “Get ice and wrap it in a dish towel. Then find something for the pain.”
Leo jumps up and dashes into the hall.
“He needs to do this.” Phoenix’s eyelids droop closed, her split lips barely moving when she speaks. “Don’t push him away.”
I brush her hair away from her face. “I’m gonna need you to stay awake, babe.”
She blinks a few times, and then her eyes trail down my chest. “Where’s your shirt?”
I glance down at my gray sweatpants. “I came as fast as I could. I didn’t think about clothes or shoes.”
She shakes her head. “I told him not to bother you.”
