Chapter 8 Everett
Everett
“Another deep breath.”
I watched as Piper dragged air in. She was shaky, but holding it together.
Seeing her with her hair mussed, clothes dirty, and blood on her skin had some protective feelings welling up inside me.
If you’d asked me this morning if Piper Ellis could be vulnerable and need protection, I would have laughed.
I fucking hated that some asshole had done this to her.
“You’re safe, yeah?”
She nodded jerkily. I could see her working to calm herself down.
I strode to the cupboard above the fridge and pulled out my bottle of Stranahan’s Colorado Whiskey. I poured a few fingers into a glass and handed it to her.
“Drink that.”
“I’m not really—”
“Drink it, Piper. It’ll help settle the nerves.”
With a nod, she tipped the glass back and downed the whiskey. Her nose wrinkled and she wheezed. “I hate whiskey.”
“It’s a good American single malt made right here in Colorado.”
She set the glass on the bench. “Um, thanks.”
I stroked a finger along her jaw, took in how soft her skin was, then quickly turned to the first aid kit.
“That looks well used,” she said.
The kit had multiple half-opened packets in it.
“Yeah. Like I said, I like woodworking. I have a little workshop in my garage. I’m always cutting myself.
Job hazard.” I ripped open the antiseptic wipes.
“I’m going to clean the cut on your neck.
” I wanted the blood gone so I could see how bad it was.
She pushed her coat open and tilted her head to the side. I swiped the blood off her skin.
“Is it bad?”
There was a decent cut, but it didn’t look too deep. “Not too bad. Shouldn’t scar.”
She made a sound and let me finish. I pressed a Band-Aid to the cut.
“Hands next.”
She held up her palms and winced. Yeah, they didn’t look pretty.
I wiped them gently, cleaning and disinfecting them. She winced a few more times, but didn’t complain.
“Everett, I want to thank you.”
My gaze flicked to hers.
“For getting him away from me. I…” She drew in a jagged breath.
“Hey.” I cupped her jaw. “You don’t have to thank me for doing the right thing.”
“Of course. You would have done it for anyone.” She looked down at her hands again. “Anyway, I’m still saying thank you.”
I finished with her palms and slathered them in antiseptic cream. “Probably want to leave them like that for now, but you might need some bandages for work.”
“Right.”
“How are your knees?”
“My jeans took the brunt of it. I think they’re fine.”
“Now, you want me to call the police?”
She froze. “Police?”
I watched her carefully. “Yes. You were attacked. You need to report it.”
“I’m sure it was totally random. He’ll be long gone. What can the police do?”
“Their job.”
“No, I don’t want to bother them.” She wouldn’t quite meet my eyes.
“Did he say anything to you?”
“Not really.”
“That’s not no. What did he say to you, Piper?”
She pushed off the stool. “I don’t remember. He was just an asshole.” She shoved at her hair. “I just want to forget about him.”
This wasn’t the Piper Ellis I knew. Piper liked her rules, especially when it came to fucking uniforms. Her not wanting to report this and take the chance to nab this asshole, smelled wrong.
“You want to tell me what’s going on? Did you know the guy?”
“What? No.” She shook her head vigorously. “Look, thank you. I mean it, Everett. For everything, but you’re off duty now. I’m fine, just a few nicks and grazes.”
I rose as well and crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re lying.”
Her blue gaze narrowed. “Excuse me?”
“You aren’t telling me the truth, and something has you all jumpy.”
“I was attacked and dragged into an alley, I think I have the right to be a little jumpy.”
“Tell me what he wanted.”
“Nothing,” she snapped. She looked away and sucked in a deep breath. “It’s none of your business.”
Anger ripped through me. I was a pretty steady guy, but when pushed far enough, I could get mad. “You want it that way, fine.”
“Fine.”
Yep, she was standing there with all her armor back in place.
“I’ll take you back to the hotel.”
“I can order a taxi or an Uber—”
“I’m taking you back,” I growled, prowling over to grab my keys off the countertop.
“That’s not necessary—”
“Shut it,” I said.
Piper looked at the wall and heaved in a breath. “Fine.”
Oh, I knew that tone. When a woman said fine like that, it wasn’t fine, but I didn’t give a shit. I’d seen her afraid and hurt in that alley. I was going to make sure she got back to the hotel safely.
“Grab your bag. I’ll get my truck.”