Jaymie Holland Read Online Free Page A

it in.”
    “Injured?” She went blank for a moment then felt the burn of the cut on her cheek and the throbbing of her face, where the mugger had backhanded her. Warm and sticky fluid covered her lips and she tasted blood. Her forehead stung, her nose was bleeding, and so was the cut on her cheek.
    She looked at Colton to see him pulling off his white collared shirt. She had to have been in shock because all she could think of was Colton’s rippling muscles and the tattoos that covered his upper arm to his wrist.
    He pressed the shirt to the cut while using another part of the white shirt to wipe blood from her nose and lips.
    She pushed his hand away. “You’re ruining your shirt.”
    “Like I give a damn about that.” Colton wiped away more blood. “Are you all right?”
    “I think so.” She glanced at Dane who had the mugger subdued. “If I hadn’t dropped my pepper spray—”
    Dane studied her with concern. “You’re safe now and that’s what matters.”
    “How did you two find me?” She looked from one to the other. “You don’t live in this direction, do you?”
    “We had a bad feeling about tonight.” Colton looked grim. “We were almost too late.”
    She blinked in surprise. “You followed me?”
    Colton searched her gaze. “Like I said, we had a bad feeling.”
    “I’m grateful you did.” She felt tears bite at the backs of her eyes and she looked down at her shirt and saw that the white was now blotched dark with blood. She never cried and she wasn’t going to start now.
    When she raised her head, she had her emotions under control again. “You were right, all the times you said that I need to be more careful.”
    Colton looked grim when she met his gaze. “Thank God it wasn’t worse.”
    She felt suddenly helpless, a feeling she didn’t like at all. “What am I supposed to do? I can’t stay in my apartment all the time and I can’t afford to take a cab everywhere.” The moment it came out, she regretted saying anything that might reveal her financial situation.
    “Use our driver.” Dane gestured toward the darkness behind Colton. Drew turned her head to see a big, powerful, even scary-looking, man with a shiny bald head. “Louis can pick you up and drop you off whenever and wherever you’d like.”
    With a frown, she moved her gaze away from the intimidating man. “I can’t do that.”
    Colton’s and Dane’s expressions showed the magnitude of their concern. “Of course you can,” Dane said.
    She started to shake her head but Colton caught her face in his palms, managing to avoid the cut on her cheek. She heard sirens nearing as she looked into his eyes.
    “We’re not going to take no for an answer, Drew,” he said firmly.
    She closed her eyes, refusing to get lost in the depths of his gaze. “I won’t be beholden to anyone.” She opened her eyes and looked from Colton to Dane and back. “Especially a man, or men, in your case.”
    Lights flashed, illuminating the alleyway, as an NYPD vehicle pulled up, followed by another, and behind that an ambulance.
    Colton’s expression held a hint of frustration. “You wouldn’t owe us anything. We just want you to be safe.”
    A police officer came into view, saving her from arguing any more with Colton and Dane. She got to her feet with Colton’s help. She winced from the the pain in her backside as they headed toward the emergency vehicles. The police took the mugger into custody and Colton talked to his former NYPD brothers as she and Dane walked away.
    Over the next hour, she spent time being treated by a paramedic as well as questioned by the police. Colton seemed to be making sure the officers didn’t stress her out with their questions.
    The paramedic took care of her wounds, putting a thick bandage on her cheek and a large Band-Aid on her forehead. She wasn’t sure how she got the cut on her forehead, but it stung like crazy. The paramedic instructed her to go to the ER to have the cut on her cheek stitched