Page 87 of Mayfair Madame

Itwas difficult to concentrate, but the moment I saw the fear and anguish in her eyes, strength surged through me.

With a yell, I pushed him away, the excruciating pain almost bringing me to my knees. He staggered backwards, and I took my chance.

I stumbled but made my way to Ellie. She grabbed me, and her hand came away red with my blood.

“Jesusfucking Christ, Naomi.” She dialled another number. “Ambulance to my location.Stab wound.”

“Do we have enough to put him away now?” I winced as she pressed something against my side.

“Yeah, we do, baby. We’ve got him this time.”

A commotion in the alleyway drew my attention, and I turned around to see Guy with his knee pressed to Godfrey’s back.

“When did he get here?” Why did everything hurt?

“You need to stop talking, Naomi, but you’ve drawn quite the crowd. Now stay still until the paramedics get here.”

“Do you ever think we’ll have a normal date, where one of us doesn’t end up in the hospital?”

She laughed and placed a kiss on my forehead. “Well, we’ve plenty of time to try.”

Chapter Twenty Five

Ellie

“I’m going with her,” I said to Josh and climbed into the ambulance, still holding Naomi’s hand.

“We’ve got it covered here,” he said. “Go!”

I smiled tightly, so fucking worried. What if she died?

“She’s going to be okay, isn’t she?” I nibbled my lip. Relief coursed through me when the paramedic said they thought so, but she’d need scans to make sure no internal organs had been damaged.

That was the worry. How far had the knife penetrated? Was she bleeding internally?

It didn’t do to panic until I had all the facts, but that didn’t stop the thoughts running rampant through my head.

“Ellie?”Naomi’s voice brought me back to the present.

“I’m here, baby. Just lie quietly. We’ll be there soon.”

She smiled, and her eyelids dropped closed. She had to be okay. We’d not known each other long, but I didn’t want to contemplate the alternative. Life without Naomi wasn’t a life at all. Not now anyway.

With every minute that passed, my anxiety grew. Finally, we arrived at the hospital.The doors flew open, and she was whisked away to be treated. I followed, but a nurse stopped me.

“I’m sorry, miss, you can’t come any further right now.” I watched helplessly as the double doors closed behind her. It was only then that I allowed myself to cry.

I sat on the hard plastic chair and dropped my head into my hands. Big, fat tears ran down my face. What if I lost her? What if I never got to tell her how I really felt?

Well, that would need to change, and I vowed the next time I saw her, I’d tell her everything. How she’d become the highlight of my day, how I’d grown accustomed to having her around. While I’d loved Kate, or thought I had, my heart hadn’t fluttered the moment she walked into a room as it did when Naomi was near.

Didn’t that mean something? Did it mean I was in love?

I couldn’t stop the fidgeting, the picking of my fingers, the jiggle of my knee,the panic that hit me the moment the door opened. But it was an hour before a doctor appeared.

“Are you here with Miss Naomi Reeves?”

I stood quickly and wrung my hands. “Yes. I'm Ellie. Ellie Sharpe. I came in with her.”