Returning her gaze back to Gavin’s, she forced a smile to her lips, ignoring the pain the movement made. “I’m good. It barely hurts.”
“Shut up.”
About to chastise him for being rude, she decided it wasn’t worth the pain it would cause, especially when he went down the first step. Gavin was right; it did hurt like a mother. Her body was already on fire, and as he continued down the steps, it was like adding gasoline to the flames. She was too weak to even lift her head when she heard a metal door being swung open.
As Gavin went through the door, her eyes collided with Desmond Beck’s as he held the door open for Gavin.
“This way … hurry … I have a Moke waiting,” she thought Desmond said but couldn’t be sure, her thoughts becoming fuzzy when Gavin started running with her.
The blue sky, palm trees, and beach umbrellas swirled in a dizzy mesh of colors until everything coalesced and she couldn’t make anything out. She tightened her grip on Gavin’s shirt when he came to a stop and then she could tell from his movements that he was getting inside the Moke.
“I’m … Throw up.” Feeling the bile rising in her stomach, she flared her hands out to throw herself away from Gavin.
“No, you’re not. You’re too tough to throw up.”
She desperately gulped lungsful of air, battling the nausea down. “I … hate throwing up.”
The rocking motion of the Moke when the other men jumped in made it even worse. She was going to lose it, make a mess all over Gavin and her, and he would never let her live it down.
“Then don’t,” Gavin told her matter-of-factly.
The welcome rush of air when the Moke began moving dulled the rising tide of nausea welling inside of her.
“I’m dying.” All thoughts of being brave in front of Gavin deserted her. She was hurting more than when Allerton had beat her, unaware that she was even talking out loud.
“You’re not dying. You’re losing the adrenaline rush.”
Was the jerk laughing at her?
Disgruntled at the thought, she managed to lift her head. “Are you laughing at me?”
“No.”
Ginny laid her head back down. “You better not,” she warned.
“Or else?”
“I’ll throw up on you.”
“You wouldn’t. You hate throwing up, remember?”
“I’m becoming comfortable with the thought.” She tried to smile at him, then wished she hadn’t when he grimaced at her.
“How bad do I look?”
“Nymph, the same as you did the first time I saw you. You look beautiful.”
“Aw … that’s so sweet. I do feel better. Where are we—”
The Moke came to an abrupt stop, wrenching a startled, high-pitched scream from her throat. Nothing had ever hurt so badly in her life.
Opening her mouth, Ginny thought she said something but didn’t know what or if she’d succeeded in speaking before a thundercloud burst in her head, releasing a flood of darkness that swept her away into oblivion.
A bright light shining in her eye had Ginny trying to turn her head in the other direction.
“Stay still while I finish checking you out.”
Thankfully, the light moved away from her eye and she saw Train leaning over her.
“What happened?” Had Train shoved cotton wool in her mouth to keep her from screaming again? Ginny thought dazedly.
“You fainted.” Train twisted a narrow, plastic bag in his hand, then laid it gently over her lips. “That should help with the swelling.”
“I’ve never passed out before.”
“There’s a first time for everything.”
As he ran his hand carefully over her body, Ginny felt uncomfortable under his exploratory touch.
She lowered the ice pack from her lips. “Where’s Gavin?”
“You’re sitting on him,” Train answered as he moved his hands down her side, traveling to her back.
“Oh …” Ginny jumped in pain when Train touched where Allerton’s cane had struck her.
Gavin gently curled his arms around her waist, holding her still when she would have tried to evade Train touching her again. “Stay still.” His stern voice held her in place. “He’s making sure you don’t have any broken bones.”
“Do I?” she asked with interest.
Train’s grim profile turned toward her. “Can you move your leg?”
“Do I have to? It’ll hurt.”
“Gavin won’t let me take off until he knows you’re stable enough to make the flight home.”
“We’re going back to Treepoint?”
“That’s the plan … if Gavin ever lets me get the plane off the runway.”
“Oh … okay.” Ginny looked down at her leg, willing it to move.
“Are you sure you’re trying?” Gavin asked skeptically, looking over her shoulder.
Bracing herself for the pain, Ginny gingerly lifted her thigh an inch before bringing it back down. “I’m good. We can go.”
Train ran both hands over her thigh. When he was done, he gave Gavin a curt nod. “I wished she had stayed out longer. There’s no swelling in her hands, and her feet have good blood flow. We good?”