Total pages in book: 54
Estimated words: 50402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 50402 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 252(@200wpm)___ 202(@250wpm)___ 168(@300wpm)
This time, she seemed to focus on him, but didn’t answer. Her gaze fastened on his face as if she were memorizing his features. He continued to talk to her as the police and ambulance pulled up.
“Here come the good guys. They’re going to take care of you and find whoever did this to you.”
“What’s going on?” the senior patrolman asked, as he tried to size up the threatening crowd.
“I found her in the dumpster. She was bound and tied in that sack,” Steele said, beckoning the medics forward.
“We’ll take good care of her,” one paramedic assured Steele as he reached forward to take the woman from his arms.
“Steele,” she croaked, holding on to him with one hand locked like a death grip on his vest.
“Baby, they need to check you over. I know you’ve hurt your head.” Steele talked to her quietly as the paramedics watched.
Almost immediately, her head banging started again. Steele cupped her jaw, preventing her from hitting herself against his chest. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”
“This is how I found her. I heard the noise of an impact against the metal sides of the dumpster. They’d hogtied and thrown her into the far corner. She was on automatic pilot, banging her head to make a racket. Who knows how long she was there,” Steele explained.
“I think you need to come with her, sir. Would you put her on the gurney so we can assess her condition?” the female paramedic asked.
In an awkward position with her in his arms, he’d never be able to stand up without jarring her or putting his precious cargo down. “Boost me,” he requested with a nod at the club members behind him. Bear and Talon moved forward to haul Steele to his feet. He thanked the burly guys for their help with a nod. Now standing, he carried the woman to the waiting stretcher and laid her on the crisp sheet. Her hand never loosened, and Steele wasn’t about to pry himself loose.
“We need to take her to the hospital, sir. Perhaps you’d like to come with her?”
“Definitely.”
Steele looked over his shoulder to throw his keys to Storm, his second in command. “Get my bike back to the compound.”
He ignored Talon’s wicked shout of triumph when Storm tossed them on to him. The younger man’s bike was in the shop getting a new paint job. He was the only one there without a ride and the obvious choice to drive Steele’s pride and joy home. The smartass better not scratch his chopper. A thought sparked in his brain. “Talon, stay here in the shadows. I need to know if someone comes back for her.”
“Like all night? I’ve got a hot date tonight.”
“You had a hot date tonight,” Steele corrected, fastening a deadly look on him.
Talon took one look at the disheveled woman on the stretcher and agreed. “On it.”
“Thanks, Talon. I owe you one.”
Stepping up into the ambulance, Steele left everything in the hands of his club. Bonds forged in welded pipes and throbbing motors, Shadowridge Guardians would always have his back just as he would give his life for theirs.
CHAPTER
TWO
Blinking her eyes open, Ivy clutched the callused hand in hers. Her gaze searched her surroundings as her heart rate skyrocketed in alarm. Light filtered in through the window, alerting her that the dreadful night had passed. She seemed to be in a hospital.
“Whoa, Little girl. Don’t panic. You’re okay now,” an equally rough voice matched the hand she held as if it were her lifeline.
A name burst from her lips without conscious thought. “Steele!”
“That’s me—I’m Steele. Do you remember what your name is?”
“Sir, if you’ll move back from the patient, I need to assess her. Her heart rate just alerted me.” The firm, no-nonsense voice made them look at the arriving nurse.
“No,” Ivy refused, hating the shakiness she heard in her voice.
The nurse stared at her patient lying on the white sheets. “No?”
“I can’t let go. He saved me,” Ivy explained.
“I see.” The nurse looked quickly at the machinery, probably noting that all indicators had settled once again into the safe zones. “I think I can check everything from this side.”
Focusing on her patient, her demeanor softened. “I’m Annie. You’re at Shadowridge Hospital. Can you tell me what your name is?”
“Ivy? My head’s all messed up. I know he’s Steele. He saved me,” Ivy answered, pressing a hand to her throbbing head. “It hurts. Could I have some medicine?”
“I bet it does. You have an enormous bruise on your temple.” The nurse checked her blood pressure and listened to her heart. “Everything sounds good. I’d like to get you up to walk. They cleaned you up the best they could in the emergency department, but I think you’d feel a million times better if you took a shower.”
She nodded eagerly and then held her head. The motion made her head hurt worse and her stomach did flip-flops. “Maybe not.”