Bound for Me (Be for Me #4)(19)

“Harass?” Luca looked anxious. “Savannah can handle them.”

“No one can handle something like this,” he spat. No matter how strong they were. Connor fought to relax his muscles and not crush her to him. It was so f*cking unfair.

“Connor.” Krista had reappeared and had grabbed a container just in case. Practical woman.

“Just get the door for me, will you?” Connor instructed.

But as he paused to carefully navigate down the steps, Luca grabbed his arm. “Connor please. No one can know. If it gets out that something like this happened here? My dad will—”

“I’ll take care of your dad,” Connor said grimly. “But let’s take care of Savannah first.”

“But—”

“But nothing.”

“Don’t worry.” Krista kissed Luca. “Back soon.”

Connor wasn’t sure she would be back all that soon. “You can drive my car, Krista?”

“Sure.” The girl, only a year or two younger than Savannah, shot him a look. “Is she going to be okay?”

“She better be.” Connor eased into the car, still holding the now barely conscious Savannah.

For the second night in a row he held her in his lap in the back seat of his car. Only tonight, she lay limp. She wasn’t the fiery, vital woman who’d ravished him. Who’d been so determined to take what she’d wanted from him. And giving him so much in doing so. He wanted that Savannah back.

“Stay with me Sugar,” he cuddled her closer. “Come on, Sugar. Stay awake.”

He gritted his teeth, stopping himself from screaming at Krista to drive faster. But she was driving them fast enough, just this side of safely. She’d grown up in Summerhill, knew the road as well as he did. Knew that at this moment it was safer for her to drive than him.

Besides, he wasn’t giving up this burden.

Connor wriggled his hand into his jeans pocket and retrieved his phone.

Austin answered immediately. All Connor’s staff did. No matter what time he called.

“Doc, I need a house call. Meet me outside my suite. Get there now.” He rang off and cuddled her closer.

He hated her limpness. Her pallor.

“Go round the back,” he said as the Lodge came into view.

It was a testament to the discretion of his night porter that he held the door with an utterly impassive face. Connor made a mental note to promote him sometime.

“Follow me,” he barked at Krista.

Connor wound slowly up the back stairs to his suite. She needed privacy. So did he. So he wasn’t walking through the front door, not when there were still customers in the bar and restaurant. When there were still skiers coming down from night-skiing.

Austin, this season’s resident doctor, was waiting just by his door. His eyebrows shot up as he saw Connor’s burden. “What happened to her?”

“Roofied.”

Austin looked even more shocked. “Symptoms?”

“Slurry speech, flushed, uncoordinated. Which is very unusual. Said she didn’t feel well. Since then she’s been in and out of consciousness.” He looked down at her and damn if his heart didn’t squeeze again, sending power hurtling along his veins. He’d just climbed a kabillion stairs carrying her, but still felt amped and strong enough to climb another f*cking four dozen, just to get her to the damn doctor.

Her eyelids fluttered.

“We need to get her inside,” he growled.

“Want me to take her while you—”

“No.” He hoisted her higher and punched at the keypad with his still bandaged index finger. It took two goes before he heard the click. He barged in backwards, swivelling to then stalk into the spare bedroom. “Come on. Both of you.” He didn’t look to see if they’d followed, he was too busy looking at how dark Savannah’s lashes were against her whitened face.

“Are you going to put her down so I can examine her?” Austin asked, unusually warily.

“What?” Connor’s arms instinctively tightened. “Oh. Sure. Of course.”

Carefully he placed Savannah on the edge of the bed and stepped back only just enough to let Austin past.

The doctor checked her over with annoyingly slow thoroughness.

“You haven’t been partying tonight?” Connor suddenly barked at Austin.

“No, I’m aware of my obligations,” Austin said mildly, not looking up from his examination of Savannah. “I’m on call most of the time. Therefore I don’t drink. Most of the time. And I haven’t tonight.”

“Good.” Connor fisted his hands and folded his arms across his chest, watching the doctor’s every move. He knew he could trust him. Austin was a good guy.

“Breathing’s good. Heartbeat’s strong and regular.” Austin sent him a troubled look. “But I don’t like that we don’t know what we’re dealing with.”

“I know.” Connor replied grimly. “Some drug.”

“Stupefying,” Austin nodded. “Could be one of several. Where the hell was she?”

“In the middle of St Clair’s.”

Austin looked puzzled. “With a million people present?”

“I don’t think they wanted to attack her, just humiliate her.”