Total pages in book: 23
Estimated words: 21067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 21067 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 105(@200wpm)___ 84(@250wpm)___ 70(@300wpm)
Finally, as the EMT works on stabilizing her, I catch a clear view of her face. My heart does an odd sort of leap like it’s forgotten how to beat in a normal rhythm. She’s stunning, even battered and bruised. Long, curly black hair spills around her like a dark halo. Her eyes blink open and, at first, I think they may be hazel, but as the light catches them, they turn out to be a startling, deep violet that seems to shimmer with an inner light.
I’m struck dumb. Not the time, not the place, a voice in my head chides, but reason has no hold. She’s like a vision, even here in the wreckage of a highway accident.
“Hey,” I manage to say, keeping my voice calm and steady, stepping around Alessandro and kneeling down next to the woman who just stole my goddamn heart. “You’re doing great. We’re going to get you out of here soon.”
There’s a flicker of a smile or perhaps just a twitch of her plump, pouty lips. Hard to tell, but it feels like a gift, nonetheless. Her eyes meet mine, and for a moment, the world around us shrinks to just the two of us, this invisible connection between us.
The EMT finishes applying the C-collar and nods at his partner. “Cooper, let’s get the board.”
I watch stunned as they spring into action, fetching the backboard and some straps. While I watch in stunned silence, my blown mind keeps replaying the moment her eyes opened and the surreal rare shade of them that reminds me of a comet tail.
As we secure her for transport, I keep talking, mostly for her sake, a little for mine. “You’re going to be just fine. What’s your name?”
“Yvette,” she murmurs, her voice barely audible over the surrounding clamor. But it’s sweet, dulcet. A melody amid the chaos.
“Alright, Yvette, we’ve got you. We’re gonna get you checked out by some top-notch folks, make sure you’re all good.”
She murmurs what might be a thank-you, her eyes fluttering as the adrenaline and shock start to take their inevitable toll. We lift her carefully, moving her to the waiting ambulance. Emmett’s already coordinating with dispatch and the hospital, pure efficiency as he delivers status updates.
After we load the barely conscious Yvette into the back of the ambulance, she keeps muttering over and over again. Her words are barely more than a whisper, but they slice through the clamor with stunning clarity: “That creep ran me off the road on purpose.”
Those words ignite something white-hot within me, an anger that floods through my veins with the intensity of a flash fire. The woman who, moments ago, had captivated me with her violet gaze now becomes the center of my universe. Yvette isn’t just some stranger. She’s someone precious and wronged, and I’m about to fix that situation. I find my feet moving before my brain catches up, an irresistible pull drawing me toward the black SUV.
I’m not even sure what I’m planning to do, but the rush of anger and protectiveness demands an outlet. The faceless, nameless idiot endangered her life. Rage becomes a living thing inside me, and I’m ready to unleash it.
But before I can get within swinging distance, Deputy Ashton Gannon, who’s been a good friend of mine since we were kids getting into mischief in Silver Spoon Falls, intercepts me. His timing’s annoyingly perfect, his grip ironclad as he grabs me by the arm, halting my forward momentum.
“Banks, what the hell are you doing?” Ashton’s voice is a mix of authority and irritation, but I can barely focus, my gaze locked on the man standing on the side of the SUV, unscathed and insufferably smug.
“Let me go, Ash!” I bark, straining against his hold, every muscle screaming to launch at the guy. “I swear, I’m going to kill the asshole who hurt my girl.”
The unflappable deputy tightens his grip, impervious to my struggle. Years of wrestling in high school taught him all my moves and how to counter them. He plants himself in front of me, blocking my view of the SUV driver. He’s an effective barrier between me and the object of my wrath, and that’s motherfucking unacceptable. “I’m saving you from becoming some big son-of-a-bitch’s girlfriend in prison, man!” he hisses. “I doubt that gorgeous woman is going to wait around for you to serve twenty-five to life.”
I glare, a wild mix of fury and desperation swirling in my chest. “It’ll be worth it, Ash! This motherfucker ran my girl off the fucking road,” I insist, the words escaping before I even realize how intensely I’ve begun to think of Yvette as ‘mine.’
But Ashton shakes his head, maintaining his hold, his voice low but firm. “The fucking Silver Spoon Falls water has another victim.” I glance over at him, trying to absorb his words, but my brain isn’t functioning properly.