Pandora's Box Read Online Free

ambulance.” The guy with the phone— her phone—paused, then held up a hand, obviously conceding for the moment. She closed her eyes, hoping efforts to regain her upright
     position wouldn’t land her flat on her back again. She slid her arm behind her, trying to brace it to take weight.
    “Christ, but you’re stubborn.” This from a disgruntled Teague. “Fine, I’ll help you over to the couch. But slowly.”
    Teague sounded so harassed she might’ve even smiled if her head didn’t hurt so damned bad. Her shoulder was numb, too. “Thank
     you.” She shifted more and winced.
    “Hey, I said slowly. ”
    She squeaked acquiescence. Good thing he was helping because, despite her threats, she knew she was all talk. It hurt too
     much to move. Alone, she’d probably just lie on the floor all day and wait for healing.
    “Good. All you gotta do is be still. I’ll move you.” When she nodded just slightly, he carefully slid a hand under her knees,
     then paused. “You’ll tell me if anything hurts? You can feel my arm under your legs, can’t you?”
    “Oh, yeah. I hurt from the back of my head on down.” Except the shoulder. Oh, crap. Take that back. She could feel the shoulder
     now and it was throbbing like a—“Could we move, please? I think part of that stupid window’s poking me in the butt right now.”
    “Seriously?”
    “I sure hope not.” Wouldn’t it be fun to dive right into bankruptcy just so she could pay a doctor to dig glass out of her
     butt? “Never mind. Are you going to help me up or not?”
    Cranky wench, aren’t you. The words seemed to echo in her head. As if from far away and yet right there.
    In her head? She rubbed one ear in a vague attempt to adjust her hearing. Was there debris inside her ear? A pressure difference?
     A damaged eardrum? “Hey, you’d be cranky, too, if a couple of windows blew in on you.”
    “No doubt.” Teague, who sounded normal again, slid his other hand under her shoulder. Not the sore one, thank heavens. Then
     he lifted her, slowly, his attention obviously trained on any wince or out-of-joint portion of her anatomy.
    At least he sounded right again. A cautious shifting of her weight, and then he lifted her, cradling her close to his big
     body. His handling of her was so careful, his attention focused so intently on her every expression, that she felt safe. Almost
     . . . cherished. Embarrassed by her yearnings, Mina had to object. “And where do you get off calling me a wench, anyway?”
    He swung her sideways to fit through the doorway, his hold gentle but the movement a little too swift. “I didn’t—”
    “Ow! Watch it, would you?” She groaned, squeezing her eyes shut as the world spun and pain thundered between her ears.
    “Sorry.”
    “I swear, it’s a wonder you have any clients, what with the smart mouth and exploding windows. Not to mention crappy bedside
     manner.”
    “Now, wait just a minute. I didn’t explode any damned window. That window was stable until whatever you had in your cabinet
     blew everything to smithereens.” He sighed. “Hell, I don’t have a clue what really happened. Even with the cabinet and all,
     that window shouldn’t have fallen like that.” He set her carefully on the couch, then glanced briefly through the doorway
     at the wrecked window. “At least it’s not raining yet. We’d have a hell of a mess otherwise. The clouds looked heavy and green
     for a bit there. Guess it blew over.”
    “Great. Thanks for the weather report. Any chance you guys could clean up this stuff? You know, before the rain comes?”
    He scowled at her, but raised his voice slightly. “Guys, could you clear out some of the debris? Lady’s been hurt and needs
     medical attention.”
    “Hey, sure. No problem.”
    “Hope she’s okay.”
    Once she heard footsteps retreating, Mina spoke through her teeth. “I said I don’t need medical attention.”
    “What, do you have a phobia or something?”
    “Yes. It’s