Page 65 of Deathmarch

The men secured her before Darius turned his attention to Harper again. “Want to ride with her in the back?”

“I’ll drive. That way I can bring her back when she’s released.”

However long that took. He didn’t know who hit her, or why, or how bad her injuries really were, but he knew one thing for certain: he wasn’t going to leave her.

He stepped as close to her as he could, putting a hand on her leg to alert her that he was there. “I’ll be right behind you, all right?”

She lifted her head and looked at him with a confused squint.

The guys picked up the pace. Booker stayed in the back with her, while Darius closed the door.

“Okay,” he told Harper. “I’m going to go fast. If you can’t keep up, you’ll catch us at the hospital.”

* * *

Allie wished someone would turn off the overhead light and that Dr. Jefferson, a sixty-something woman, would talk a little quieter. Alotquieter would have been even better. Allie was on the verge of begging the woman to whisper.

“That’s a good ankle sprain, so we’re going to put you in a brace. Try to stay off your feet as much as possible for the next couple of days.” The doctor patted Allie’s hand with sympathy. “As far as your head goes, you shouldn’t need much more beyond those stitches. The MRI didn’t show anything I’d be worried about. No crack in your skull, no bleeding inside. I think you got away with just a concussion. I’d like to keep you overnight for observation.”

Not if Allie could help it. “Is it absolutely necessary?”

The doctor smiled. “Don’t like hospitals, huh?”

“It’s not that.” Allie closed her eyes for a second, then opened them again, telling herself she had nothing to be embarrassed about. “I’m self-employed. I have crap insurance. Sky-high deductible. The ambulance ride and the ER visit are going to kill me already. Overnight observations are for millionaires, not people like me.”

“All right,” the doctor said without a hint of judgment in her brown eyes. “As long as somebody can keep you under observation for the next few hours, at least. Do you have someone to take care of you?”

“She does.” Harper spoke from his chair in the corner of the exam room before Allie could speak.

“You know the drill?” the doctor asked him.

“Bed rest, fluids, mild pain reliever.”

Dr. Jefferson nodded. “If you see her pupils dilate or if she develops any trouble with walking, you bring her right back.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

The doctor turned back to Allie with a smile. “Sounds like he means it. I think you’ll be in good hands.” She offered another encouraging pat on Allie’s arm before saying, “The nurse will be in shortly with your ankle brace.”

As Dr. Jefferson left, Allie caught Harper’s gaze. “You don’t have to stay with me at the B and B.” For one, the room only had one bed. No way was she getting in bed with Harper. The biggest nope of all the nopes that ever lived. “I’m fine.”

“You’ll be staying with me. I have a guest bedroom.”

“I’d rather not. Thank you,” she said, in a tone that was grateful but firm.

“Then you can stay at the farmhouse with my parents and my brother.” His tone said he was an officer of the law, laying down that law.

Kind of sexy.

She put down the thought to her medically documented concussion.

“You will not spend the rest of the night alone.” He doubled down. “That’s nonnegotiable.”

Allie’s head was pounding too hard to argue. She was pretty sure Calamity Jane would have told her to pick her battles. There were only a few hours left of the night. She’d go back to her room in the morning. “Fine.”

Harper rose from the chair and walked over to her, mischief glinting in his eyes. “The farmhouse, then?”

Definitely not that.“I’ve had enough excitement for one night. I think I’ll leave being smothered with a pillow for another day.” She wasnotstaying under the same roof with Rose Finnegan. “I’ll take my chances at your place.”