Indignation rose in her, burning away her anxiety at him seeing her this vulnerable and in her flimsy nightgown.“Did you see that puppy?Hear it?You love your dogs.You would’ve gone outside.”Her defensive words spewed, and she tensed, her chin rising defiantly.
He blinked once, and a tic burst into motion on his jaw when he gritted his teeth, but he didn’t argue.She’d been right and challenged anyone to ignore that tiny puppy.Whoever hurt it needed to be locked up and the key lost.She’d show them suffering if she ever got her hands on them.
“Going outdoors at night wasn’t a smart decision.Charlie said you saw nothing.What about smell?What did you hear?”Henry glanced at her in clear expectation.
Her body went rigid, and she blew out a noisy breath of frustration.He wasn’t wrong, but she challenged anyone to ignore the puppy’s cries.She’d do the same again.Then, his silent demand for answers intensified.His questions ran around inside her head, and she tried to recall the moments leading up to her falling and thumping her head on the tree.A shard of pain speared through her skull, striking her temple, and she prodded the area with careful fingers.
“My focus was on the puppy.By the time I realized someone had sneaked up behind me, it was too late.”She scowled, thinking back.Her assailant hadn’t made a sound.They hadn’t uttered a word.They’d merely acted, striking her head and the back of her thigh.“I didn’t hear anything.”Apart from the sickening crack when the person thumped me on the skull.
She barely suppressed her shudder.“But I smelled something,” she said, the memory drifting to her slowly.
“What?”Henry demanded.
“I smelled mint, which is weird.”
“Ah.”
“Ah, what?”She wouldn’t allow him to pat her on the head, figuratively or physically.She was an adult, and she’d been looking after herself for a long time.
“I followed their trail from where they’d attacked you to where they’d parked their vehicle.I picked up two candy wrappers that smelled of mint.”
“Where did they park?”Maia’s pulse jumped up a gear.She’d wanted a fresh start and to be close to Henry, although she’d admit that gem under pain of death.Maia hadn’t even understood the impulsive urge that had sent her back to Middlemarch, but the instinct had felt right, and she’d gone with it.
“Beyond the neighbor’s paddock, there’s a service road, and they parked out of sight.”
“They’ve been watching me.”Someone had planned this carefully.“I haven’t sensed anyone following me around.I haven’t been in Middlemarch for long.”
“No, if I were a gambling man, I’d say you brought your assailant with you,” Henry said.
“You think it’s someone I know?”Apart from Bryce and her teammates at Auckland, she didn’t have any close friends.Bryce was like a brother, and she and her teammates were sisters.They’d done everything together, shown in their play on the field—they’d moved like a well-oiled machine.She refused to suspect one of them.
“Yes, I think you know them, but it might not be a close friend.It’s someone on the peripheral, and you’ve upset them,” Henry said.“I’ll get you to write me a list so Gerard and I can do a quick background search.”
“You’re not prying into my friends’ lives,” Maia said.“I trust each of them implicitly.”
“What about fans?Does your team have fans?”
Maia snorted.“Of course we do.They’re enthusiastic but civilized.I can’t imagine any of them would hurt me.”
“What about boyfriends?Lovers?”
“None of your business.Stop bothering me.I’m tired.”
“You’ll need someone to stay and wake you every few hours.”
Her mouth opened and closed because Gavin had told her that, and she’d intended to ignore his advice.She didn’t know anyone here enough to ask them to stay.Besides, she was too tough to die and add pissed on top of that.The person who’d assaulted her was a coward.She frowned, trying to recreate her memories of what had happened.Yes, the person who’d thumped her had taken care not to get in her line of sight, and they’d disappeared quickly.She recalled legs clothed in black trousers or perhaps sweat pants, and then blackness had overtaken her.
“Will the puppy be okay?”she asked rather than admitting Henry was right.
A muscle in his jaw twitched, and his hands balled into fists at his sides.“Gavin thinks if she makes it through the night, she’ll pull through.”
Henry was as angry as she was about someone injuring a defenseless puppy.“What will happen to her?”
“I told Gavin I’d take her.”
“Good.That’s good.”Suddenly, she felt exhausted, and her eyes fluttered closed.She forced them open, but it was a losing battle.Fatigue weighted her limbs, and her entire body ached.Then there was her leg.She was more worried about that because the injury might interfere with her rugby training.Gavin had told her the cut was superficial and the bruising might bother her for a few days, but it shouldn’t prevent her availability for the first match of the season.Something to be thankful for, at least, although she wished she understood why someone had attacked her.
Henry sat on the floor next to her mattress.It was too much effort to order him to leave, and she closed her eyes again.The truth—not that she’d ever admit it to anyone—Henry made her feel safe.He had all those years ago, which was why she’d plucked up the courage to speak with him.Right now, she didn’t want to delve too deeply into the emotions that went into her decision.She let the healing sleep take her and trusted him to keep watch.
