This One Moment (Pushing Limits, #1)(55)

“Yes,” Nolan said, his breath warm against the top of my head. He pulled away slightly, face pale. “Do you have any idea who that was?”

I nodded, the movement slow, my head heavy. “It was the guy from Westgate who put me in the coma.” I shuddered, the truth of what had just happened gripping me tighter than Nolan. “What are you doing here? Not that I’m ungrateful.”

“I heard you leave, and when I realized you’d gone for a run, I came looking for you.” He frowned. “Why the hell were you running on your own? You should’ve asked me to come with you.”

“I needed to be alone, and you were busy.” And while I’d known the paparazzi might have been an issue, I’d figured whoever had attacked me had long since moved on. That in the end, it had been nothing more than a random attack. Well, the joke was on me. Nolan had been right all along.

But I wasn’t about to admit that out loud.

Nolan didn’t look thrilled with my answer but let it go for now. He started pacing back and forth, shoving his hand through his disheveled hair. Cursing. Muttering something about being no better than his old man.

Panic gripped me at how close he was from the edge. It added another layer to the thickening lump in my throat. “Please, Nolan. Don’t go so close to the edge.” It could give way at any second.

He startled at my strangled voice, glanced at the ledge where only a few minutes ago I’d been clinging for dear life, and stepped toward me.

I opened my mouth to remind him that he was nothing like his old man, but a dog barked not far from us and the sound of footsteps approached. My body went on instant high alert and my mouth slammed shut.

A golden retriever burst through the undergrowth and bounded toward us, panting, happy to see us.

His owner wasn’t far behind.

Sorrow filled Nolan’s eyes at seeing the dog. If Lucky, Nolan’s old puppy, hadn’t died from an unexplained broken neck, he would have looked like this dog.

Nolan grabbed my hand and led me to the woman in her early twenties. She recognized him and her eyes widened.

“Do you have a cellphone?” he asked. She removed the earbuds from her ears. “I need to call 911.” I could see he didn’t want to tell her about the dead body. And he certainly didn’t want to let on that he was responsible for the man falling. That was the last thing Nolan needed leaked to the press.

Still starstruck, she handed him her phone. More than anything, she looked like she wanted to ask him to sign it…or her breasts. Oh, please, not the breasts again. I wasn’t in the mood to witness another fan flaunt her girls at him. One was more than enough, thank you very much.

Nolan walked off a few yards with the phone. Neither the woman nor I could hear what he was saying. I don’t even know if she noticed me. She was too busy staring at his backside. As long as she wasn’t shrieking at me or throwing stones at me for stealing him from Alyssa, she could stare at it all she wanted.

Nolan returned a few minutes later and handed her back her phone. “Thanks.” To me he said, “They’re on their way.”

I expected now that she had her phone back, the fan would leave. She didn’t. She kept staring at Nolan.

Her dog, who’d been sniffing around the ground, wandered to the ledge, where the attacker had fallen, and barked. This broke his owner’s attention away from Nolan. Barely.

She turned and took a step toward her dog.

“Well, thanks for your help,” I said.

She didn’t get the hint. She walked toward the edge. I threw Nolan a nervous glance. He eyed her, body tense. Both of us knew this wouldn’t end well if she saw the body.

The dog barked again. Sirens wailed in the distance. The woman screamed.

“Is…is he okay?” she asked after the last echoes of her scream had faded.

I glanced at Nolan. I still hadn’t seen the guy. Maybe he wasn’t dead. Maybe he was unconscious.

The look Nolan gave her suggested otherwise.

She continued staring at the body, waiting for him to move, but didn’t say anything else. Nolan pulled my shaky body into his arms. The adrenaline overload had already faded away and I relaxed slightly, the feeling of being safe battling against my fears. I wouldn’t feel completely safe until we’d spoken to the cops, until this truly was over.

I ran my thumb across his cheek. “You saved my life, Nolan. That makes you nothing like your father. That makes you a hero.” The words were soft so the woman couldn’t hear them.

He gave me a small nod, but I wasn’t thoroughly convinced he believed me. I pulled a blank as to what else to say to change that.

It didn’t take long before deep male voices cut through the air, and two cops traipsed toward us through the wooded area. “Are you the one who reported the fall?” one of them asked Nolan.

“Yes. He’s over there.” Nolan pointed to where the woman and dog stood. She was still peeking over the ledge, as if she expected the man to get up and walk away.

The cop and his partner strode to the spot and peered down. One spoke into the mic on his shoulder and indicated where to find the body.

The younger cop asked the woman questions about what happened. The taller, bulkier cop, with an intimidation factor of one hundred, stalked over to us.

“We have some questions to ask you.” He jerked his chin toward his partner. He wouldn’t be interviewing us together. We’d be questioned separately.