Chapter 66
Blair’s first thought was that everything hurt like hell.
Her second thought was that someone was yelling her name with a kind of desperate panic she’d never heard before.
“Blair! Jesus Christ, Blair, open your fucking eyes!”
Roman. That was definitely Roman, and he sounded… scared? She’d never heard Roman sound scared. Pissed off, sure. Coldly furious, absolutely. But scared?
She tried to open her eyes, but her eyelids felt like they were glued shut. Everything was spinning, and there was a metallic taste in her mouth that she was pretty sure was blood.
“Blair, sweetheart, I need you to look at me.”
There was something in his voice… a softness. It’s what made her force her eyes open. The world swam in and out of focus, but Roman’s face gradually came into view above her. There was blood trickling down from a cut on his forehead and there was a lot of blood on the top of his shoulder.
“There you are,” he said, and she could hear the relief in his voice even through the ringing in her ears. “Stay with me, baby.”
“What…” Her voice came out as a croak. “What happened?”
“That fucking SUV. They rammed us.” Roman’s hand was on her face, his thumb gently stroking her cheek. “Don’t try to move yet. The paramedics are on their way.”
Blair blinked, trying to piece together her scattered memories. Dinner with Roman’s parents. The long drive home. The black SUV following them. Then the impact–God, the impact. She remembered Roman throwing himself over her as the world exploded into spinning metal and shattering glass.
“Peters?” she managed to ask.
“Alive. Pissed as hell and bleeding from his nose, but still with the land of the living.” Roman’s jaw was clenched tight. “He’s get backup to meet us at the hospital so here can stay here and work with the police.”
Blair tried to sit up and immediately regretted it as pain shot through her ribs. “Ouch… That hurts.”
“I told you not to move.” Roman’s voice carried that edge she knew meant he was barely holding onto his control. “You hit your head pretty hard.”
“No, you told me to try not to move.”
She could hear sirens now, getting louder. The flashing lights were reflecting off what was left of their windshield in red and blue glare that made her headache worse.
“Did they get away?” she asked. “The people who hit us?”
Roman’s expression darkened, and she saw that familiar cold fury settle over his features. “For now. But not for long. Peters got a partial plate, and there’s a traffic cam on the corner. We’ll find these fuckers.”
“Sir.” Peters appeared at what used to be the driver’s side window, blood streaming from his nose but looking remarkably composed for someone who’d just been in a car wreck. “Ambulance is here. They want to get Miss Warner out first.”
“No,” Blair said immediately. “Roman’s bleeding more than I am.”
“I’m fine,” Roman said, though the way he was holding his left arm suggested otherwise.
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Chapter 66
“You’re not fine, you stubborn shithead. Your shoulder… that’s a lot of blood.”
“My shoulder can fucking wait.” His voice brooked no argument. “You have a head injury. They need to check for a
concussion.”
“Again.”
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Before Blair could argue further, paramedics and firefighters were swarming around them, cutting through twisted metal to get to her. Her door was smashed in and couldn’t be opened. She caught a glimpse of their car as they extracted her from the wreckage. The back end was crushed like an accordion, the rear window completely gone. It could have been a lot worse.
She pushed that thought away as the paramedics loaded her onto a stretcher.
“Roman,” she called out as they wheeled her toward the waiting ambulance.
“Right behind you,” he said. She could see he was being helped onto a second stretcher despite his loud protests that he could walk just fine. “Peters, call my parents. And call Sutton and Keira. Don’t sugarcoat it, but don’t make them panic, either.” Roman said.
“Already on it, sir.”
The ambulance doors closed, sealing them inside. The lights were dimmed, which helped Blair. Roman’s stretcher was positioned so they could see each other, and Blair immediately reached for his hand.
His fingers intertwined with hers instantly, his grip strong and reassuring.
“This is getting really old,” she said, trying to inject some humor into the situation. “I hope they are right and it only comes in threes.”
Roman’s laugh was strained. “Tell me about it. But we’re alive, and that’s what matters.”
Blair squeezed his hand tighter. “Do you think this was him? The same asshole who’s been trying to kill me?”
“Has to be. The timing, the coordination–this wasn’t some random road rage incident.” Roman’s voice was ice cold with controlled fury. “But they fucked up this time. They left evidence. And now they’ve really pissed me off.”
Blair studied his profile in the low light of the ambulance. She’d seen Roman angry before at incompetent employees, at business rivals, at Dan for being a cheating piece of shit. But this was different. This was deadly.
“How bad is the pain?” the paramedic asked, shining a light in her eyes.
“Like someone took a baseball bat to my skull,” Blair admitted. “And my ribs feel like they’re on fire.”
“Scale of one to ten?”
“Seven. Maybe eight.”
Roman’s grip on her hand tightened. She looked over to see him watching her with an expression of barely controlled
worry.
“I’m okay,” she said softly, meant just for him.
“You’re not okay. You’re hurt because…” He didn’t finish the sentence. His voice was quiet but deadly. “That ends now.”
“Roman-”
“No, Blair. I’m done with this reactive bullshit. We’re going on the offensive.” His gray eyes were hard as steel. “Whoever’s behind this is about to learn what happens when they come after what’s mine.”
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The possessiveness in his voice should have annoyed her. A week ago, it might have. But now, lying on a stretcher with her head pounding and her ribs screaming, she found it oddly comforting.
Roman was hers, and she was his, and anyone who tried to change that was going to regret it. They may not be toward for the right reasons and marrying for them either, but she was more happy with him than she had ever been with Dan.
Some things were just meant to happen. Maybe not someone trying to kill her, but the other stuff was good.
By the time they reached the hospital, Blair’s headache had settled into a steady throb, and she was feeling more alert and less shaky.
The paramedics wheeled them through the sliding automatic doors of the ER area of the hospital, and Blair caught sight of the waiting room, which was packed with the usual late night mayhem of drunk college students and accident victims. She was getting very sick of the sight of hospitals and this time it had been someone else hurt again. First Kara and now Roman.
The paramedic started to push them towards separate rooms for examination.
“Separate rooms? Hell no,” Roman asked the paramedic handling his stretcher.
“Standard protocol,” the woman replied. “But you’ll both be next to each.”
“Like hell,” Roman said. “Where she goes, I go.”
“Sir, I understand your concern, but—”
understand shit,” Roman cut her off, his voice carrying that tone that made CEOs of Fortune 500 companies lo his bidding. “That woman is my fiancée, and someone just tried to murder both of us. We’re not getting
edic looked like she was going to argue, but something in Roman’s expression made her think better of it. “I’ll see can do.”
Blair would have laughed if her ribs didn’t hurt so much. Even injured and bleeding, Roman could intimidate medical professionals into submission. It was actually kind of impressive.
“You don’t have to order people around on my behalf,” she said as they wheeled her down the hallway.
Roman looked at her like she’d lost her mind. “Blair, someone just tried to kill you. Again. You think I’m letting you out of my sight for even a second?”
Put like that, she supposed, his protectiveness made sense. And honestly? She didn’t want to be away from him, either. The thought of being alone in some hospital room away from him while doctors poked and prodded her made her stomach. clench with anxiety. It could also have something to do with someone trying to kill her.
“Okay,” she said simply. “But try not to traumatize too many nurses.”
Roman’s smile was sharp. “No promises.”
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