Damon (The Protectors #1)(10)
“Nicole?” Pam scrambled to her knees. “Oh God, are you okay?”
“Do you know where you are?” A woman who Nicole didn't know leaned over her using her thumb and index finger to open one eye then the other.
“Yeah.” Nicole licked her dry lips. “I'm lying on the dirty dance floor of Club Zero.”
“She may have a concussion, but I don't think a bad one. Her pupils look good and the blood on the back of her head looks more like a scrape, nothing serious.” she told Pam before putting her hand under Nicole's upper back. “Can you sit up?”
With the woman and Pam's help she sat up. A wave of dizziness hit making everything around her spin, sending a jolt of queasiness to her stomach. Snapping her eyes shut, she swallowed hard. “Wow, head rush. Give me a minute.” Once it passed, she opened her eyes slowly to see Damon's gorgeous face in front of her, his black eyes peering into hers. “Hey, what are you doing here?”
“How are you feeling?” He answered her question with a question. She looked pale as hell to him and her eyes seemed a little unfocused. “Are you sure she's alright?” He asked the woman who had been helping her.
“I think she'll be fine.” The woman smiled. “She just had three hundred pounds of male land on top of her, so I think she deserves a minute or two to shake that off. It probably knocked the wind right out of her more than anything.”
Slowly turning her head toward the woman since any fast movements seemed to cause her dizziness to worsen, Nicole frowned. “I'm sorry, but who are you?”
The woman chuckled. “I'm Debbie and I watched you get tackled by the man that was escorted out of here along with this huge fellow. Being a nurse I figured I would see if I could help out.” Debbie stood brushing off her pants. “It might not be a bad idea to have her checked out at the hospital, but I really think she'll be okay as long as she isn't left alone tonight. Also, if you begin to feel nauseated, start vomiting or have a severe headache like you want to chop your own head off, you need to get to the emergency room right away.”
“Thank you.” Damon nodded as he stood, not taking his eyes off Nicole.
“You're welcome.” The woman replied, then blushed as if just noticing how hot he was. “Ah, well you take care and stay out of the way of anymore running males.” she told Nicole, then with one last look at Damon she walked away.
Nicole snorted. “No problem there and thanks.”
Jared ran in as soon as Debbie walked away. “Good God Nicole, are you okay?” Jared knelt down. “I saw you take that hit.”
“Yeah I'm okay.” She replied, but wasn't really sure if she was or not since she hadn't tried to stand up yet.
“If we ever play football you're on my team.” Jared chuckled shaking his head amazed. “Damn, woman.”
“Unfortunately, I think I would be a one hit player.” she grinned. Putting her hands down she tried to push herself to her knees. Once there she waited to see if the dizziness would make another appearance. When it didn't she put one foot on the floor and tried to stand. Her body protested and her eyes closed as pain shot up her back. Easing herself back down, she moaned. “Maybe I'll just stay here tonight. I don't really mind the stickiness and smell.”
Damon was there in a flash picking her up then carefully setting her on her feet without letting go. “Go slow, honey.” He watched her carefully.
Jared stepped back, looking at Damon shocked, as did Pam. Jared looked at Pam with raised eyebrows asking a silent, 'Did he just call her honey?' Pam's eyebrows raised in answer.
Nicole let Damon lead her to a bar stool. Once seated, she took a deep breath and winced at the sharp pain throbbing in her ribs. Grabbing her side she bent slightly to see if that would ease the pain. “Who was that guy?”
Damon watched her closely, ready to catch her if she started to fall. “Are you sure you're okay?”
“Yeah, I'm sure. Just working the kinks out” Nicole frowned. “Now would you please stop answering my questions with questions. What's going on?”
“What the hell are you doing here Nicole?” Damon frowned hearing how harsh he sounded, but dammit, seeing her like this was killing him and he didn't know why. He hardly knew the woman and yet her pain was his pain. And it pissed him off that he had been the cause of her pain.
“I was having a beer and dancing with Pam. We come here to unwind sometimes on Fridays.” Nicole couldn't take her eyes off his face. He was so handsome. His eyes were getting lighter, but still hinted at the blackness she seen earlier. His features were strong and harsh with his midnight black hair framing his high cheekbones and square chin. “What are you doing here?”
Jared walked up at that point not seeming to notice the tension hovering over the two or he didn't really care. “That guy that landed on you was an assassin looking to take out a target. We were here to stop him.”
“Are you serious?” Nicole's mouth dropped open as she absorbed what Jared had revealed and what she and Pam had been in the middle of. “Who was he after? Did you find out?”
Jared shook his head. “We have no idea, before we could figure it out he made his move so we had to make ours. We think he was hired by a higher up in the...”