Fractured Sky (Tattered & Torn #5)(52)

“Did you get a sense of his size?” Hayes pressed.

“Taller than me. Strong. That’s about it.”

A vehicle door slammed somewhere, and then Beckett was jogging towards us, worry lining his face. I sent Hadley a dirty look. “Really?”

She held up both hands. “I’m an EMT, but it doesn’t hurt to have a doctor look you over.”

“I’m going to have a shiner, that’s all.”

Beckett moved towards the gurney I sat on. “Let me be the judge of that.”

I reluctantly pulled the ice pack away. “See?”

Beck winced. “That’s gotta hurt. Hope you gave him a little payback.”

“His balls should be black and blue for a while.”

He grinned. “That’s my girl.” The humor fled his face as he studied my cheek. “I need to make sure nothing’s broken. It’s not going to feel great.”

“Just get it over with.”

Beckett gently probed my cheek. I sucked in a sharp breath as his fingers moved around my eye. “How bad, on a scale from one to ten?”

“Six?”

“That means eight, at least,” Hayes cut in.

“It does not,” I shot back.

Calder strode towards us, holding up my phone. “Found this. Screen’s not even shattered.”

That was a miracle. The device had gone flying when I fell.

“Thanks.”

“I, uh, answered it because Ramsey was calling.”

My muscles locked. “What did you say?”

“He wasn’t exactly happy that some guy he didn’t know was answering your phone, so I had to explain that you’d been attacked—”

“Seriously, Calder?”

His brows rose. “I’m pretty sure that’s accurate information.”

But it was the last thing Ramsey needed to hear after everything we’d been through the last few days.

“I think he’s headed here now,” Calder finished sheepishly.

I tried to sit up on the gurney, but Beck pushed me back down.

“Lay still. I’m not done.”

“If I broke something, I’d know.”

He pulled a penlight from his medical bag. “I need to make sure you don’t have a concussion or signs of a brain bleed.”

“You’re being a little dramatic, don’t you think?”

Beckett leveled me with a stare. “It’s either this or I call Mom.”

My mouth dropped open. “You wouldn’t.”

He shrugged. “Try me.”

I muttered a creative curse under my breath, and Hadley laughed. I glared at her. “This is your fault. You called the drama queen.”

She grimaced. “Sorry. Dinner’s my treat next month.”

“Try for the rest of the year,” I mumbled.

Beckett flashed his light in my eyes.

“Shit, a little warning would be nice.”

“That was for the drama-queen comment.” He studied my eyes. “You might have a mild concussion. You should stay with Addie and me tonight—”

The sound of screeching tires cut off his words as Ramsey’s truck jerked to a stop just behind the ambulance. The engine was barely off before his door slammed, and he was running towards us.

Even in the dark and across the distance, I saw the feral edge in his eyes—the panic. I tried to get up to assure him that I was fine, but he was at my side before I had the chance. His hand went to my uninjured cheek as his eyes scanned my body for injuries.

“I’m fine. Just a shiner.”

He didn’t say a word, simply pulled me into him, holding me close.

Everything in me melted at his embrace. And for the first time since the attack, I felt true relief—as if I could finally admit how terrified I’d been. My body trembled, and he held me closer.

“I’ve got you.” He whispered the words against my hair, his lips brushing the strands.

The world around us disappeared as I sank into him. His strength. His reassurance. His comfort.

A throat cleared, and I forced myself to lift my head. Four sets of eyes stared at us. Even the other officers and EMTs had gone quiet in the background. I fought the urge to squirm.

Ramsey didn’t show even a hint of discomfort. “What happened?”

I started speaking before any of my siblings could tell a more dramatic tale. “Someone tried to grab me. I kneed him in the balls, and he punched me in the face.”

A muscle along Ramsey’s jaw fluttered wildly. “Who?”

I shook my head and immediately regretted the action, pain flashing through my face. “I didn’t get a good look. It all happened too fast.”

Ramsey pulled me back against him as his gaze moved to Hayes. “Kenny Chambers?”

Hayes’ fingers tightened around his phone. “I’ll be paying him a visit.”

“I thought he was in lockup,” I said, looking between the two.

Ramsey’s hand trailed up and down my spine. “I had a run-in with him earlier today. It wasn’t warm and fuzzy.”

“But why would he go after me?”

Ramsey looked down at me, and those onyx eyes held so much I couldn’t decipher. “Because he knows you matter to me.”