“We need to call him!” This came out in rapid-fire Italian.
Guido.
“Call an ambulance!”
Eunice.
“It was an accident!”
The lying psychopath.
“No, no,” I moaned out. “No one do anything. Not yet.”
I was stuck in a strange position, my neck tilted at an awkward angle against the wall, everything else splayed out. I took quick inventory to make sure that nothing had been broken or was unfixable, like, for instance, my neck. At the moment, all of the sore spots burned with fire. I tasted iron and licked at my lips—busted.
“Shit,” I croaked. My face seemed to have broken most of the fall,go nose, but feeling around, nothing hurt enough to be cracked, only bruised.
“Can you move, kid?”
I blinked at Mitch—who was beside me on the step—and brought him into focus.
“I think so.” I went to sit up and he took an arm, helping me into a natural position. The entire house spun. I shut my eyes against the unsettling sensation, hand gripping the step for solid purchase. “Just sore.”
“He’s not going to like this,” he whispered.
“Mitch.” Even his name was a plea. “Please stop them from calling him. I was on my way over to the house on Snow when…I’ll talk to him about it when I get there. He’ll…I don’t want him driving if he thinks...”
He studied me for a moment, taking in my face. Fear stopped me from askinghow bad?He held his shirt up, staunching the blood from my lip. I winced but didn’t pull back.
“You’re a tough one, kid,” he said. He turned to Guido and, having just enough Italian to communicate, asked him to hold off. Guido was only satisfied when Mitch backed this up with,“instead you’ll take her to him.”
Eunice came scuttling over, a blue bag in her hand. She whimpered when my hand covered hers as she put the ice pack to the left side of my face. “You are going to have so much bruising.” She ticked her mouth.
“At least I’m alive.” I gave her a weak smile. “And no stitches?”
“No.” She shook her head. “None of that.”
I held my feet out, moving them up and down. “These still work.” Tears started to push, but I refused to let emotion get the best of me.
“Come on, kid,” Mitch said, using the banister to rise. He held out his hand. “Your man is waiting.”
I took his hand, trying not to knock him off balance. He had to steady me because my knees felt weak.
“Guido will drive you.”
Given the circumstances, I thought this best.
“Scarlett?”
Travis.
I glared at him.
“I’m sorry.”
I continued walking.
After the door shut behind me, voices exploded. I did my best not to meet Guido’s eyes. I kept the ice pack firmly to the side of my face, alternately switching it to the opposite side. Both sides throbbed.
