Twilight Vendetta Read Online Free Page B

speak again, to call out to Leo as he put his phone back into his pocket. She managed to move her mouth this time, but no sound emerged. As she stared at him through the rain, a dark form moved up behind him, and a big hand fell onto his shoulder. He turned around fast, and a strong, deep voice said, “Take a walk, Leo. You never saw me. You’re in shock. Take a walk now. Come back in a few minutes.”
    And to her surprise, Leo shuffled away, ambling like a sleepwalker. The man came to her then, dropped onto his knees, bending over her so that his body shielded her face from the rain.
    She blinked up at him. He was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Close-cropped hair, glistening and wet and very dark. Rich brown eyes like sweet cocoa, their edges so naturally dark they appeared lined. Thick, full lips she thought were made for kissing. A body like a professional wrestler. Broad, big, muscled. And then she’d wondered, who thinks stuff like this when they’re dying?
    “You’re not dying, Emma,” he’d said softly. “You’re too young to die.”
    She blinked, tried to pick up a hand, to touch him. He’d read her thoughts, just then, or else she was hallucinating. Her hand made contact, weakly, fingertips managing to brush across his neck. It was cool to the touch. “Who are you?” she whispered.
    He lifted his brows. “Don’t be afraid. I’m here to help you.”
    She’d been so intent on looking at him, she didn’t realized his hands were on her, pressing hard at a spot near her collar bone. It was starting to hurt. It hadn’t before. Feeling, sensation, was rushing back into her body now. The numbness of shock was fading too fast. Her head hurt, one leg screamed, and her chest felt like it was being crushed.
    He slid one hand beneath her, down along her spine. “You have a broken leg, a couple of ribs, maybe a concussion, and a nasty cut. But you’re okay, Emma.” His voice was like dark silk, deep and smooth and brushing her nerve endings like a caress. “I have to move you now, so I need you to hold pressure on this.” He took her hand and pressed it to the spot on her collar bone. “Push hard,” he said. “I know it hurts. Nothing we can do about that. But you’re tough. Toughest girl I know.”
    She pushed hard and wondered how he knew her. He quickly, easily, slid her the rest of the way out of the car, then picked her up in his arms and carried her into the shelter of a huge maple tree. The leafy limbs formed a canopy of green and blocked out the rain. Then he lowered her to the ground, leaning her gently against the massive trunk. “I already called for help, Emma. I can hear the sirens. They’ll be here soon.”
    She listened, but couldn’t hear anything.
    He eyed the collar bone, winced in what seemed like empathy. “You’re going to be okay. Keep the pressure on that until they get here.”
    “Th-they won’t h-have blood for me.”
    “Yes, they will. Your father has a few pints on hold at the local ER. You didn’t know that?” He smiled at her, and she almost died. Bright, white, even teeth in a face that seemed, even in the darkness, to be the most handsome face she had ever seen.
    “He always makes me give a pint when I go for a physical,” she said. “I just forgot.” It was hard to talk, to get the words from her brain to her lips. She looked into his eyes and felt the ground fall away from beneath her. God, was this what her mother had felt the first time she’d looked into her dad’s eyes? Was this love at first sight? Was this mysterious man her soulmate?
    He frowned and she wondered why, and then the sounds of sirens finally reached her ears, and in the distance, she glimpsed flashing lights.
    “I have to go, Emma. No more risking your life like this. Okay?” He turned away.
    She reached for him. “Wait! Don’t...go....”
    He looked back once, his expression worried. So worried she wondered if maybe she was going to die, after all.
    “You’re okay,”