“I’m fine,” I assured him. My knee throbbed, but I’d only scraped it when North had thrown us out of the way of the vehicle. He was the one who’d taken the impact. I’d run my hands over the back of his head, searching for bumps or injuries, as his hands coasted up and down my waist. As if he needed to touch me. To be reassured that I was alive and okay.
It frightened me how concerned I was that he was hurt.
And I was even more frightened that someone had just tried to run us over.
“Right.” Walker marched to our sides, pushing through Lachlan and his brothers, who’d surrounded us protectively outside of the bar. “I’ve given the license number to a contact. He’s running it.”
Walker had been fast enough to run after the SUV to get the make, model, and plate, but he hadn’t seen the driver. North didn’t want the police involved, considering he was justrecovering from being in the news, so Walker agreed to handle it privately.
“You’re sure neither of you saw the driver?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t even know what was happening until North hauled us to the ground.”
North grimaced angrily. “I didn’t see. It took me a second to even realize what was happening, and then I was focused on getting us out of the way. It looked like a Defender.”
“It was,” Walker confirmed. “A very old one. Hopefully, we can track down this person with the plates.”
“Unless they’re false plates,” Lachlan threw in.
The men talked among themselves, but I watched North and caught the winces he made as he shifted. “You are hurt.”
“My back.” He shrugged but winced again. “I’m fine.”
Huffing at his lack of concern for himself, I got behind him and lifted his T-shirt. A bruise was already forming on his left shoulder. “You knocked your shoulder pretty badly. We need to get back and ice it.”
“Aria—”
“Look”—I stormed around to face him—“you not only hit the ground but you had me on top of you, and I’m not exactly a delicate flower.”
His eyes narrowed. “Don’t.”
What? It was true. Despite the few inches of height and muscle he had on me, we probably weighed about the same. Maybe I weighed more.
“I’m just saying, if you’re pretending you’re okay to save my feelings, then that’s dumb.”
North slid his hand around my neck to cup my nape, something he’d taken to doing when he wanted my full attention. “Let’s get this straight: to me, you are a delicate fucking flower. You could throw me to the ground a hundred times a day and I wouldn’t fucking complain. In fact, take that asan invitation. I am fine. But you have a skinned knee, so we need to get back and deal with that.”
Heat flushed my cheeks, and I was so glad I wasn’t a blusher because I could practically feel the Adair men grinning behind me.
“As entertaining as this is,” Walker interrupted, “we need to get you back to the estate. Security is on their way to escort you.” He studied North grimly. “This could be related to the letters.”
North scrubbed a wearied hand over his face while confusion filled me.
“Letters? What letters?”
I knewit was hypocritical of me to be angry at North for hiding the creepy letters he’d been receiving (for years, apparently) considering I’d told no one about the anonymous emails … but that didn’t make me any less pissed.
North explained everything as the security team drove us back to the estate, and I grew more alarmed by the second about what had just happened to us. Someone had really, truly just tried to drive their car into us. To injure us.
To injure North.
I’d insisted on one of the physical therapists looking over North as soon as we arrived at the castle, and that had given me time to work myself up into quite the state. Pacing my office, my mind whirled. Overwhelmed. By the intensity of my fear for him.
As much as I wanted to deny it … I’d stupidly developed feelings for North. While that might not sound like a bad thing, considering how great we were together, we were in this weird, otherworldly bubble in Ardnoch without outside forces or leading ladies or … legendary directors he wanted to work with.
However, as soon as North stepped off the estate to start filming in two weeks, that would be it. My insecurities would rear their ugly heads and I’d destroy our relationship. I’d inflict pain on him because I couldn’t trust him.
I didn’t want to hurt North.
