In fact, she’d been at war with her own thoughts—her recent, horrific memories—ever since she’d awoken in the emergency room. It was all so detailed. Every image and sound still so very, very real.
The deafening shots.
The screams.
A flash of pain, and then…
Lucky.
She’d been so surprised to wake up and find his handsome face hovering over her. Surprised. Relieved. Confused.
The confusion had come, not just from the pandemonium that had been taking place all around her but from the fear and concern that had filled those enchanting eyes as they’d frantically searched hers.
Ellie could still hear herself call for him. She remembered the sound of his deep, familiar voice.
Lucky?
Yeah, sweetheart. It’s me.
He’d called her that a few times in the past, but always as an obvious come-on or part of a sarcastic bit. But when he’d used the term of endearment that time…
Lucky had sounded so sweet. His voice so soft and gentle, as if he really cared. More importantly, in that moment when the world seemed to crumble all around her, he’d made her feelsafe.
He’d done that for her, and Ellie, well…
She had no idea what to do about that.
Do? What’s there to do? Besides, Youwererecently diagnosed with a head injury. Isn’t it possible you’re remembering the moment as you wished it had gone and not how it really went?
The voice in her aching head was right. The Lucky she’d come to know over the past several months wasn’t sweet or soft. And he damn sure didn’t strike her as the gentle type.
No, the former SEAL was often loud and obnoxious, and his flirtatious advances were so over-the-top blatant that they were mind-numbingly painful. He was also smart, funny, and quite possibly the most attractive man she’d ever laid eyes on.
“Ellie?” The man of her unwanted dreams was suddenly there, crouched down right in front of her. A look of pure concern spread across his handsome face. “Hey. You okay? Are you hurting?”
She blinked, her muddled brain trying to make sense of how he’d come to be right at her side.
“Ellie?”
That was Cassie’s voice. With a blink, Ellie’s focus became split between the handsome man in front of her and her visibly worried friend and the other woman’s fiancé. All three were staring back at her, their expressions filled with expectancy.
If you don’t say something right this second, they’ll probably drag your ass back to the hospital for another round of tests.
“I’m not hurting,” she quickly reassured them. “I’m just…tired.”
It wasn’t a total lie. Now that her adrenaline had almost fully dumped, she felt like she could sleep for a week. As for the pain, there was still a slight presence of the incessant throbbing she’d felt earlier, but even that was finally beginning to vanish.
Just like George Ray Harvey vanished.
“That’s understandable, given the day’s events.” Cassie’s eyes filled with empathy. “This has been a craptastic day, and I know you probably just want to be left alone. But I just can’t shake the feeling that those bullets were meant for you.”
Ellie started to continue the debate but thought better of it. If she refused Lucky’s offer to stay, her friends would, without question, spend the entire night worrying about her.
For that reason—and that reason alone—she turned to the man still squatted down in an almost protective crouch near her head and said, “Fine. You can stay.” She hurriedly added a crystal clear, “On thecouch.”
“The couch will be just fine.” He spared her front door a quick glance from over his shoulder. “Puts me closer to the apartment’s entrance. Anyone tries breaking in during the night, I’ll be ready.”
A hefty dose of fear threatened to make its way through her veins, but then, “If this was Harvey’s doing, he won’t come here.”