Chapter 4 #2
She fought his hold, trying to shove him away, but he was too strong. She should tell him off, but the words died on her lips as dark coal eyes bored into her with a fury reminiscent of another man who had once held great power over her life.
“Let her go.” Ash pinched Spencer's wrist, pressing, until Spencer yelped and released her arm.
She stepped away, terrified.
Her attention snapped to Ash. He was stepping into a shitstorm.
Spencer's derisive snort made her flinch. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
She should call security, but she couldn’t walk away.
Ash grabbed the lapels of Spencer's expensive suit. “I don’t care who you think you are. You’re threatening a woman, and that’s not going to fly.”
The two men locked gazes as the rising testosterone level clotted the air.
“She’s mine,” Spencer said.
While Spencer matched Ash in height, years of law practice had softened his physique. Ash clearly worked out, and she feared what would happen if things escalated.
Ash’s voice came out as a growl. “I said…don’t. Touch. The. Girl.”
Spencer swung, moving in a blur. His fist connected with Ash’s jaw. A resounding smack echoed in the small antechamber.
Skye screamed, “Spencer, no!”
Ash gave a slow, measured smile and then launched a fist toward Spencer's face. His punch connected with Spencer's nose, producing a crunch and a red plume that flew in an arc. Ash followed with a jab to Spencer's gut, and Spencer doubled over.
Fabric ripped. Blood streaked through the air.
Her screams drew security but not before both men got in several more shots.
They were all arms and legs and fists connecting with flesh.
Spencer's nose was definitely broken, dripping blood.
He also bled from deep cuts in his temple, jaw, and cheekbone.
Ash sported a split lip and a cut under one eye, and a purplish lump was slowly forming over a cheekbone.
Two security guards separated the men. Ash grinned as he bounced on his heels, relaxed and moving back at the insistence of one of the guards. Spencer breathed heavily and surged against the second guard, who held him in an armlock.
Spencer pointed at Ash. Frothy pink spittle flew from his mouth. “You’ll be hearing from my lawyers.”
Oh no, his law firm would pulverize someone like Ash. She’d need to call her foster brother, Forest, and explain what happened, so she could somehow help Ash before Spencer destroyed him in court.
Ash spit out congealing blood, laughing. “Go ahead, buddy, but remember who threw the first punch.” He rolled his shoulders, shaking out his arms and hands.
She rushed to Ash. “Are you okay?”
The security guard looked hard at Ash. “Hey, aren’t you—”
Ash held his hands up and out, and with a quick jerk, he shook his head. “Not now, please.”
Spencer struggled in the grip of the security guard. Freeing himself, he lunged forward, clocking Ash on the side of his head. Ash spun, his fist lifted, but the guard grabbed Spencer, dragging him into the emergency department.
Ash rubbed his head, the corner of his mouth quirked up.
He was enjoying this.
The guard who remained asked, “You want to press charges?”
Ash shook his head. “It’s over, as far as I’m concerned.”
The tiny antechamber felt entirely too crowded as coworkers rushed to check out the commotion.
Skye wrung her hands, her eyes darting around at the questions etched on the faces of colleagues who had no business knowing anything about her personal life.
Ash draped an arm over her shoulder. “Only wish I’d kicked his ass more. Are you really engaged to that asshole?”
She shook her head. “Not anymore.”
He pulled her close. “Good.” Then, in a whisper, he asked, “Are you okay?”
Her eyes widened as she looked at him. He was asking her? She should have been asking him.
Her boss, Bob Manley, walked into the chaos. “What’s going on?” His keen eyes took in the scene.
She spoke to her longtime mentor, “There was a misunderstanding.”
Bob knew her as the quiet one. God only knew what was going through his mind now.
“Okay.” He scanned Ash’s injuries with clinical efficiency. “You want me to take him, so you can take care of your boyfriend?”
“Uh…best that I don’t.”
Ash arched an eyebrow.
She turned back to Bob. “Can you see to Spencer?”
Bob’s attention shifted from Ash to the door leading inside the emergency department. He gave a quick nod and disappeared without another word. The questions would come later.
She placed her hands on her hips and shook her head as she surveyed Ash’s injuries. “You’re a mess.”
The grin on his face was even sexier with a swollen lip, but he was going to need stitches for the cut under his eye. The skin was swelling already.
“Tell me about your asshat fiancé.” Instead of disappointment, his voice held a hint of a challenge.
She huffed out a breath. “Ex-fiancé.”
His eyebrow lifted. “Well, that’s good, but it didn’t look like he believed he was an ex.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Doesn’t sound too complicated.” He leaned forward. “And, with the way you were kissing me, I’m assuming something changed recently?” His green eyes implored her for an answer.
Spencer had his faults, but giving him up would be like amputating a part of her life.
Although it was the right thing to do, it didn’t make it hurt any less.
Next to her foster brother, Spencer was the only family she had in the world.
No matter how toxic he could be, Spencer had redeeming qualities.
Even if they sometimes vanished beneath a jealous rage, they were still there.
She reached into the pocket of her scrubs and pulled out the diamond ring.
“Damn,” Ash said as she held it up. “Big rock.”
“He proposed last night, and this morning, I found him in bed with another woman.”
Ash’s eyes rounded with surprise, and he vented a low whistle. The softness of his fingers pressed against the corner of her jaw. “That’s low. I’m telling you, Asshat is a douchebag.”
Desperate to change the direction of the conversation, she touched his face. “You need stitches. I’ll get you patched up.”
He shook his head. “I need to leave.”
“You’re not leaving.”
“I don’t think he and I should be in the same building together. I don’t like the way he treats you, and I’ve made enough of a scene.” He ran his fingers against the cut beneath his eye, wincing. “Besides, it’s not that bad.”
She didn’t want to think about the conversation she and Spencer would have.
Spencer was a master at twisting words, and somehow, she always wound up at fault.
She needed to hand the ring back and walk away—away from Spencer and the home and family he had come to represent.
She needed to leave that dream behind. Giving Spencer up would drop the bottom out of her world, but if she were being honest, it wasn’t Spencer she would be saying good-bye to.
It was the idea of the family she’d never had.
A finger lifted her chin, and she met Ash’s emerald stare.
“Hey, babe. You okay?”
A tear trickled down her cheek, and she wiped it away. “I’m good.”
He laughed. It surprised her and brought a smile to her face, lifting her heart in the process.
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “Damn bastard split my lip.”
“It’s not your lip I’m worried about.” She touched his cheek, careful to avoid the blood seeping out of the cut. Too many years as a doctor made her cautious about other people’s blood and body fluids. “You need stitches.”
His fingers touched the cut under his eye, probing. “Yeah, probably.” He reached for her hands. “Listen, I want to see you again. Can I meet you after work? Buy you that drink?” His eyes glittered with hope for more, but his next words confirmed it. “How about dinner?”
“You want to see me after all this?” She waved vaguely around. “I thought you’d be running for the hills.”
“Maybe I like the excitement,” he said. “Say yes!”
“Only if you let me stitch up your cut.”
He shook his head. “I promise to have it taken care of, but I gotta go.”
What was the rush? It didn’t make sense when they were at an emergency room. A couple of stitches, and he’d be as good as new.
Unless he didn’t have medical insurance?
Knowing the cost of a visit to the emergency room, she understood the financial liabilities associated with what seemed like a simple visit. Looking at his beat-up jeans, she assumed he might be strapped for cash. It didn’t explain the Hummers, but he didn’t act like he had a lot of money.
She should force him to stay, but she didn’t want to embarrass him. His skin would heal, but the scar would be ugly. She bit her lower lip, deciding between practicality and impulse.
Inside, she had a difficult conversation to get through with Spencer, and with his foul mood, she didn’t see it going well. It would be nice to have something positive to look forward to at the end of the day.
“I’ll do dinner, but we’ll split the check,” she said, coming to her decision.
Ash tucked his chin. An argument was brewing in his eyes.
“After everything we’ve gone through about manners,” he said, “a date is a date. I’m taking you out, and you’re not paying.”
She laughed. “I always pay my way. It makes things less complicated.”
The corners of his lips twisted up. “I suppose you could use a little less complicated right now?”
“It would help.”
He dropped his hands. “Fair enough. When do you get off?”
“My shift is over at eight. I’m usually done with sign-out by eight thirty.”
“Sign-out?”
“Checking out the patients to my relief.”
He brushed her cheek with a kiss. The swell of his split lip pressed unevenly against her skin. “Until then, babe.” His eyes narrowed with purpose. “I don’t envy your talk with the ex. Give that rock back. Better yet, shove it down his throat.”
“I had planned on giving the ring back to him tonight. Now, I get to do it sooner.”
Ash cupped her cheek. “If he ever lays a hand on you…”
She leaned in to his touch. “Don’t worry about Spencer.”
Spencer was her problem. Ash had done enough.
But getting rid of Spencer might take work. The man was tenacious as hell when he wanted something, and there was no doubt in her mind that he wanted her. That begged the question, Why had he been screwing another woman?
“I’ll see you tonight.” She lifted onto her tiptoes and kissed Ash on the cheek.
She took a deep breath, trying to dispel whatever madness Ash had put in her head. Skye Summers didn’t kiss strangers, and she certainly didn’t go out on dinner dates with them, but somehow, Ash had her breaking all the rules and taking chances.
He waved good-bye, and she entered the world of Forest Skye Memorial’s trauma ED.
She had two checkboxes now.
Give back the ring.
Dinner with a stranger.
And who knew? It might turn into something more.