“Jasper!” she calls.
She doesn’t slow down before crashing into me at full force. I grunt, air leaving my lungs in a painful rush, my ribs protesting violently. “Jesus—” I choke out.
“Oh my god. I’m sorry,” she gasps, trying to pull back immediately. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think—”
I tighten my arms around her before she can move. “Don’t,” I murmur.
“But you’re hurt—”
“I know.”
“Jasper, we should—”
“Stay.” She freezes against me as I press my cheek against the top of her head, ignoring the ache in my face. “I’ve had worse,” I tell her quietly.
“That’s not comforting,” she mumbles against my chest.
Her fingers fist into the front of my jacket, and I feel the tremor in her hands. “I—I saw all of it. Youscaredme.”
I feel it. The tremble she’s trying to hide.
My brave girl.
“I’m sorry, Abbie Girl.”
“When he hit you… I thought—”
“It takes a lot more than that, Red. Bulls bigger than him havetried.”
She huffs a shaky breath that might be a laugh. Over her shoulder, I see Lincoln and Lawson finally move. They say something to each other—low and serious—before their gazes lift and find mine.
Our eyes meet across the clearing.
“You good?”Lincoln mouths.
I give a small nod and mouth,“You?”
His nod matches mine as they continue to walk toward us.
Abigail pulls back enough to look at me. Her eyes are glossy but steady as her hand reaches up, the pad of her thumb brushing against my cheek. “You’re bleeding.”
“Meh. Adds character. Chicks dig dudes with scars, right?”
“Jasper,” she sighs.
Reaching up, I wrap my hand around her wrist, turn my head—ignoring the pain in my skull when I do so—and softly kiss her palm. “I’m fine. I promise.”
Lawson stops in front of us first. “You need a hospital?”
“Probably. But I’ll survive. I will need a steak, a beer, and for one of you to straighten out my nose, though. Can’t have myself lookin’ like this one over here,” I say, nodding in Lincoln’s direction.
A smile pulls at the corners of his lips before his eyes scan me clinically. “Can you breathe without wheezing?”
“Barely.”
“That’s wheezing, Jasper.”
“Relax. Nothing’s punctured.” I’ve had a punctured lung once. I know what it feels like.
