“You love saving men, don’t you,” he said in a shaky, agony-filled whisper.
What the hell was he talking about? She narrowed her eyes on him. Yes, he seemed…she inhaled sharply, her gaze flying to the other two men in the vehicle. Holy. Shit. These were the assholes who’d ganged up on Lance yesterday.
“Wished you’d minded you own business, huh?”
“I don’t work like that,” she said.
He coughed then groaned. “I guess we’re even.”
Sirens sounded in the background. Now that instinct was wearing off, she realized the public situation she’d put herself in. She had to get the hell out of here before people started asking questions. “You,” she said to the passenger. “Keep this in place.”
“What?”
“Hand. Here. Now.”
He immediately leaned over and placed his palm on the balled up material, barely touching it. Frustrated, she pressed on the top off his hand, forcing it hard against the wound until she was satisfied with the compression. “Like that. Don’t move.” She looked at the driver. “The ambulance is almost here. You’ll be fine.”
Without waiting for a response, she climbed off the top of the hood and hurried into the crowd, intent on disappearing into the chaos of people trying to console the injured. Just as she made it through the horde, she heard someone calling her name.
Damn it. She’d forgotten about Amber. She continued walking, pretending she hadn’t heard her, only to have Amber call her name even louder.
Ella spun around. “What?”
“We’re witnesses. We have to stay.”
“I didn’t witness the accident, did you?”
“No,” she said slowly.
“Then we have nothing to offer other than hearing the accident happen. I don’t have time for this.”
Ella turned back around, heading up the street as an ambulance sped by her. Thank God. It went against every ounce of her medical training to leave an injured person like she just had, and it had been a selfish move. But she couldn’t be questioned by the police. She couldn’t give her name. She sure as hell didn’t want her name associated with the three men in that car—for any reason.
However, she wasn’t completely out of the woods. Her hasty retreat would cause Amber to start asking questions. Who the hell bolted from an accident like that?
She couldn’t think about it. She just had to get out of here.
When she reached her car, she yanked open the door.
“Hold the hell up,” Amber yelled.
Frustration exploded inside her and she spun around. “What?”
“What was that back there?”
Now she had a clearer understanding of why Lance had told her to mind her own damn business. Amber needed to be minding hers. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
The woman gave her an incredulous look. “People don’t run like that when they haven’t done anything wrong.”
“I didn’t want to get caught up in it. I have stuff to do.”
“Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“Of course not,” she said quickly. Too quickly.
Amber continued to stare at her as if she didn’t believe her. Not that Ella blamed her. Finally, the woman sighed. “I get it. You haven’t known me long enough to share secrets. I don’t know what happened to you that caused you to run like the devil himself was after you, and you don’t have to tell me. Just know that if you need someone to talk to, I’m willing to listen.” She got into her car, gave a quick wave, and pulled out.
Unnerved by Amber’s insight, Ella climbed into her own car then stared straight ahead.
Like the devil himself was after you.
How accurate. Her devil was about to be released from hell, and he would, indeed, come after her.
Chapter Three
Lance’s gaze kept straying to the entrance of the gym. An eagerness he wasn’t comfortable with bubbled up inside him as he waited for Kelsey to arrive for her second training session.
The bell over the entrance jingled. Blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail, Kelsey stepped inside with her gym bag hanging from her shoulder. His chest immediately tightened, which caused him to scowl. Damn it.
She dropped her bag on a bench, tugged out two pairs of gloves, one boxing, one fingerless, then walked toward him. Pink workout pants clung to the curve of her hips and slender legs. The white sleeveless top cupped her breasts in a way he wouldn’t mind doing himself. He pushed aside the thoughts. She was a paying client. Anything that happened in here had to be strictly business.
“My, my,” she said. “Someone’s on time.”
This woman could make him grin like a fucking fool with just a snarky comment. “Thought you could use an entire hour of getting your ass handed to you.”
“You keeping telling yourself that, big boy. It won’t be long before I throw you over my shoulder.”
Big boy? An exciting current came alive inside him. Damn, he liked the way that sounded coming out of her mouth—more than he should. He shook himself.