Reli leans back against the seat and closes her eyes, her face tense and full of pain. I hate seeing her like this. I need to comfort her. I unsnap her seat belt buckle and her eyes pop open, the fear in them has me fighting back a curse.
“Let me help you,” I murmur, and she just stares at me as I reach for her. I pull her into my lap and she shuts down even more. “Reli, I’m not going to hurt you.” But my words fall on deaf ears; she doesn’t know that, she doesn’t really know me.
I hold her close, needing to feel her in my arms. “Where are you sore the most?” I ask her; she’s barely able to breathe without wincing.
“My back.” She gasps as Lance takes a sharp corner and she’s jolted in my arms.
I ask her if it's okay to have a look. I need to see what’s wrong with her. She nods, turning her head away from me. I lift up her top and my jaw clenches at what I see. Black bruises run from the top of her neck to the bottom of her spine.
Oh my God, what on earth has this woman been doing to her?
“Reli, why didn’t you tell me about your back? What did she do to you?”
Looking back at me, she licks her lips, her eyes wide with fear. “I don’t know,” she whispers and I frown; how can she not know? “Yesterday…” she begins softly and my body tenses. “She hit me…”
“I saw.” I say through clenched teeth.
“I fell to the floor, my head bounced and my vision swam. She kicked me in my back and then I lost consciousness. I don’t know what happened after that.”
Tears prick my eyes. I’m seething, I should have fucking stopped it. If I had, she wouldn’t be hurt right now. “I’m so fucking sorry,” I whisper to her.
She shakes her head. “This isn’t your fault, John. I’ll be fine. Give me a couple of weeks and I’ll be back to myself.”
The fa
ct that she’s so blase about this just pisses me off further. “Reli…”
She waves me off, the movement jarring her back even more. “John, this isn’t the worst I’ve ever felt. I’ll be fine.”
“I don’t give a fuck.”
Her eyes widen even further and I feel like a fucking ass. I’m scaring her. “I’m okay,” she tries to assure me as she places her hand on top of mine. The movement making tears spring to her eyes.
“Please stop. You’re hurt, and every time you move, you’re wincing in pain. Try to relax; we’re almost at the hospital.”
Tears slowly fall from her eyes and I want to find that fucking bitch and put a bullet in her head for all the pain she’s caused Reli.
“Boss, we’re here,” Lance announces as the divider comes down. He pulls up outside the hospital entrance.
“Go in and get someone to help,” I demand as he opens my door. I slide out of the car, Reli still in my arms. I’m not letting her go, not until she’s safely inside the hospital.
Within moments, Lance is back with a doctor; she takes one look at Reli in my arms and starts barking orders to the nursing staff around her. They all move at her sharp tone, a gurney arrives and the nurses are taking her from me, placing her onto the bed.
“Mr Princeton.” I glance to Lance and he nods, letting me know that he’s told her the situation, or at least the rundown of what’s happened. He steps away, no doubt to move the car and I focus back on the doctor. “She’s in safe hands. I’m going to do a thorough examination and help her.”
“Thank you, doc,” I murmur, but she’s already moving away and taking Reli with her. I follow dutifully behind until I’m told to wait in the seating area.
Lance finds me a while later and hands me a cup of coffee. “Any word yet?”
I shake my head. “Nothing.” What the hell is taking so long?
“She’s in the best place she can be. She’ll get the help she needs and then you can take her home and help her heal.”
“Yeah, I’ll ask the doctor for recommendations for Reli to have counseling.” My cell rings and I contemplate not answering, I’m not in the best frame of mind to be dealing with work.
I glance at the screen and see that it’s Cohen. “Yeah?” I answer tersely.
“Well, hello to you too, asshole,” he grumbles. “Just thought I’d let you know that tonight things came to a head with Megan and her stalker.”