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in the morning.
She only nodded as he strode out. He lifted his keys from his pocket as he neared his Explorer.
It was a better vehicle for the area than the little sports car he d owned in St. Louis. He laughed
once as he pictured the little red two-door buried under a snow drift. It wouldn t have taken
much. As he started the drive to Selene s, he wondered why he was doing it. He wasn t going to
let whatever this was between them go any farther. He could forget about the kisses. If he tried
really hard, he could. Really, really hard.
He snorted a disgusted sound, his hands twisting on the steering wheel in agitation. Okay, so he
was lying to himself about forgetting them, but it didn t matter. He would find her, tell her to
call her brother before he sends out search parties for her and then go home. He killed the
engine in her front clearing next to her Jeep. So she was somewhere nearby. He searched
through his windshield for signs of life or of the dog but saw nothing. The cabin looked dark
from the outside. In fact, the whole clearing was silent. No birds, no breeze. It brought back the
eerie chill he d first felt when he d picked up the phone in his office. He got out of his SUV.
Selene! he called and waited, but there was nothing. He slammed his door, annoyed that he
was letting this get to him so much. Morgan had gotten into his head, that s all. She was a
grown woman. There wasn t anything to worry about.
He walked up to the porch and knocked. His chest tightened painfully when the door pushed
open under his hand. He edged it open further, poking in his head. Selene? His voice held a
soft echo for a split second. His eerie feeling doubled.
His sight adjusted to the fainter light in the cabin as he searched. Nothing appeared to have
been disturbed as he closed the door behind him, which offered a small reprieve of relief. He
passed by the kitchen with barely a glance. Something he couldn t name told him he wouldn t
find her there. He called again, consciously aware she wouldn t answer.
A Trust Earned Aiza Clan 02 Page 65 of 103
His gaze landed on the half-open door to her bedroom. Instantly his memory recalled the last
time he d been on the other side of that door. Her bared shoulder, her softly tousled hair, her
face warmed with a blush that he hadn t tried to place, but could remember well now. He
gritted his teeth, fighting the memory back down as he took careful steps to reach the door. He
knew she was not in the house. That much was obvious, but his hand still shook as he pushed
the door open.
He felt his world spin as he took in the carnage. Oh, God. Selene!
EIGHT
Her bed had been stripped with a dragging hand, bedding piled onto the floor in a mass of
blood and woman. His voice cracked. Dear God, what happened? But there was no answer.
He slipped to his knees, crawling carefully to reach her. He found her pulse. A bare thread of
life. Relief crashed through him as he sagged in place. God, how long have you been like this?
he whispered, his heart in his throat, unable to move for the first time in his life as he stared.
He didn t know where to begin as he took in her wounds and injuries. Her palms were
shredded, the blood long since dried to a dark red umber crust. There was a long gash that
gaped for several deep inches across her calf, bared to the bone, and if he hadn t already seen
it happen once he wouldn t have believed he was looking at another bullet hole in her side,
below her ribs. She was scratched from head to toe; there wasn t an inch of her body that
didn t show some sign of damage.
Jesus, woman, when you look for trouble you know how to find it, don t you? he gasped out
on a harsh breath. His feet were unsteady as he rose and walked into the living room, dragging
in air to get a fast grasp on his bearings. He quickly called the hospital and gave them a change
of plans. He looked over his shoulder. He desperately wanted to take her in, but he knew there
would be too many questions by people who knew her for those kinds of injuries. With a
steadying breath he marched to his vehicle to claim his bag, locking her front door to return to
her room. He lifted her as carefully as he could to put her on the bed. She didn t flinch or even
moan with the movement. He brushed the stray hair away from her pale face, forcing his hand
to stay steady as he looked once more, deciding on the course of action for her wounds. He
washed his hands as he mentally did a list, and as if he were in a surgery theatre instead of her
simple bedroom, he set to work. He started with the ugly gash on her leg, cleaning it where the
jagged, torn skin and flesh made a good suture near impossible. He winced for her when he
flooded the open wound, grinding his teeth when he washed away the old blood, until fresh
color began to appear. The white shine of bone against the newly pinked surface of flesh was a
startling contrast. He forced his hands to remain firm as he made a web of loose stitches.
The bullet was next. The way it had lodged itself, it wasn t anywhere as hard to work out as the
first one had been. It wasn t deep but had entered at an angle and had cracked a rib on the
way. No matter what she said, she was going to be in pain when she woke up. He lifted a
shoulder to wipe his brow as he meticulously continued to work, unaware of the passage of
time, unaware of anything other than the woman who lay under his touch.
A Trust Earned Aiza Clan 02 Page 66 of 103
He shifted his focus, taking in the rough treatment of her hands. He shook his head as he
wondered what she could have possibly been doing to get this cut up. The question evaporated
when he knew he couldn t even begin to answer it.
Once her hands were clean, he found a long gash down the center of her palm that
miraculously had stopped before her wrist and the arteries that lay within. It was almost as
severe as the gash on her leg. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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