Up close, she didn't look drunk or drugged; she looked terrified. The possibility that she had just been assaulted seemed more and more likely.
“Ma’am, can you tell me your name?”
Large green eyes finally landed on him, and she took a step back, swaying unsteadily.
He obviously wasn't reassuring her, and he didn't know what to say or do to put her at ease.
“My name’s Fin,” he told her. “Dr. Fin Patrick.”
She went still.
He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Hearing he was a doctor was either enough to engender trust or freak her out more.
“D-doctor?” she repeated.
“At the hospital … I work in the ER,” he elaborated. It seemed like the knowledge he was a doctor was comforting to her. “And you are?” he prompted.
“Taylor. Taylor Sallow.” Although she hadn’t bolted and did indeed seem reassured now, she hadn’t relaxed. Her eyes still roved back and forth behind him as though she suspected a monster to come crashing in at any second. If he was right and she had been attacked, he needed to know. It might not be safe for her here, but Fin was wary of attempting to take her inside; she was likely to freak out again at the prospect of being alone ina house with a stranger.
“Are you all right, Taylor?” He gave her an assessing once-over. Even in the thin light of the streetlight, he could see that she was very pale; it didn't look like she spent much time outdoors. There was a small smudge of what he thought was blood on the inside of her right elbow. She stood with most of her weight on one leg, her other she held stiffly like it caused her pain. He needed to know what injuries she had and how bad they were.
She hadn’t answered his question, and she still looked unsure about whether or not she could trust him. He wanted to assure her that she could, but how could he do that? Taylor was obviously afraid, and anything he did or said could scare her even more. She had answered his direct question, but not his open-ended one, so perhaps if he focused more on yes or no questions, he would have a better chance of getting information out of her.
“Is your leg hurt, Taylor?”
“Broken,” she murmured.
If it was broken, it wasn't a recent break—there was no way she’d be able to walk on it like she had been when he’d first seen her. But if it wasn't recent, then how did that fit in with what had happened to her? “And your arm?”
She followed his gaze to the small patch of blood on her dress and gave a small nod.
“Did someone hurt you, Taylor?”
She had calmed a little, but her breathing was still ragged. “Yes.”
“Are you running from him?”
“Yes.”
With her admission, the last of her energy dissipated, it seemed to be the only thing keeping her on her feet and as it disappeared she pitched forward. Fin moved and caught herbefore she hit the ground.
He had intended to just steady her, maybe ease her down, so she was sitting, sure that her reaction to his touch would be the same as it had been before. But this time she didn't fight him. She didn't struggle. She didn't recoil; instead, she curled into him, wrapping her thin arms around his neck and pressing her small body against him.
“I … I hit him, and … and I ran … he must know I'm gone … he’ll be looking for me. I ran for as long as I could … but I don’t know how far I came,” she said brokenly. Her tears were back, and she cried quietly into his shoulder.
If what she’d said was true, and Fin had no doubt that it was, then he needed to get her someplace safe. The man who’d hurt her could have followed her here. He could be lurking nearby. He could even randomly stumble upon them if he was searching for his lost captive.
First things first. He had to calm down the weeping girl in his arms enough that she would let him bundle her into his car and drive her straight to the hospital. He’d just come home from his shift when he’d seen her floundering on the sidewalk, and he hadn’t expected to be going back there so quickly, but he couldn’t turn this woman away. She couldn’t be more than twenty-two maybe twenty-three, she was injured—someone had hurt her—and he couldn’t just turn his back, ignore her, and walk away. He needed to see her safely to the hospital, then call the cops and let them handle things.
She was shivering in his arms, her thin dress offering no protection from the cold, and her feet were bare. She was no doubt suffering mild hypothermia, especially if she’d been out here for any length of time. Fin was wearing a coat over the hospital scrubs, so he shrugged out of it and wrapped it around her, unhooking her arms from around his neck and sliding them into the sleeves, then easing her off his chest so he could buttonit up.
“I'm just going to check your vitals,” he informed Taylor as he reached for her wrist. He took her pulse, found it racing, no doubt from panic and running for her life. His stethoscope was still around his neck. He often forgot about it and wore it for hours, sometimes even falling asleep with it on, finding it buried under the covers in the morning. He listened to her chest. Her lungs sounded clear, her heart was pounding, and he wondered if it was just fear that had it racing or whether she hadn’t exerted any sort of major energy in a long time. He still didn't know the details of what she’d been through. Who had taken her? When? How long had she been with her attacker? What else had he done to her? As much as he wanted answers to all of those questions, they weren't his priority right now.
It was time for them to move. Taylor’s injuries didn't appear to be too serious, although he’d make sure her leg was properly examined. It wasn't her medical condition that had him on edge, it was her safety. The longer they stayed here, the more danger she was in.
Fin didn't quite like the idea of getting mixed up in whatever had happened to Taylor, but for the moment, there wasn't much he could do about it. He would help her. It was the right thing to do, but he had no intention of waiting here for some lunatic to come and reclaim his victim, most likely killing anyone who got in his way.
“Taylor.” He stroked her back in an attempt to soothe her. “Will you let me take you to the hospital?”