There was squeal of brakes, followed by an enormous crash and Noemi’s distant scream cut through the phone.
My blood turned to slush. My heart froze into ice.
“Noemi?”
In the background, there was a male voice, heavily accented, shouting about a crazy asshole driver.
“Noemi?” I yelled. Holy fucking shit, that scream was the stuff of nightmares.
Fumbling noises echoed, and a hurried breath came on the line. “Joseph,” she said, “I’m here. I’m okay.”
“What the fuck just happened?”
“Somebody pulled right out in front of us. There was no way to stop in time.”
My freehand balled into a fist. “Jesus Christ, are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah. I mean, I banged my face into the divider, but I’m all right.” She exhaled a long breath as if trying to calm herself. “Excuse me, sir, are you okay?” I assumed it was to the driver, and I waited impatiently for her to come back on the line.
“Where are you?” I demanded.
“I . . . hang on.” There was more discussion between her and the driver. “We just got on Broadway.”
I snatched up my coat. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes.” Fuck, if I was lucky. Traffic across town was going to be a bitch.
“Don’t do that, I’m fine.” A car door creaked opened and banged shut, and the wind whistled through the phone. “We weren’t going fast and the taxi’s barely damaged.”
“You cannot leave, miss,” the male voice said. The taxi driver sounded upset, and I didn’t appreciate his sharp tone with her.
“Joseph, don’t waste your time. The police will already be gone by the time you get here. I can grab another cab.”
I was out the door and hit the key fob to unlock my doors. “I wasn’t asking, Noemi.”
“Seriously, this is silly.”
“The fact that you think I’m going to budge on this is silly.”
She sighed, a long and exasperated one. “Fine. See you in twenty minutes.”
My hands clenched the steering wheel so hard on the drive over, they ached, and I’d apparently hit the road right as the motherfucking asshole parade started. Thank God she was okay. The scream played on a loop until I finally spotted her. I didn’t care I was double-parked or that the engine was still running. I sprinted up the sidewalk and swept her into my arms, examining her for
any signs of injury.
“I said I was fine,” was the greeting she gave me, her expression irritated. “See? Not even a bump.”
“Yeah, well, you’re tough,” I said. “I’ve seen you take a punch like a champ.”
She gave me a lopsided smile. “Can we get going now?”
I led her to my car and pulled open her door. What a pair we made, me in one of my finest suits and her in jeans and fluffy boots, complete with backpack. The circumstances were shitty, but regardless, I was happy to see her.
When I got back into the driver’s seat, I noticed her rubbing her neck. “Does it hurt?”
“It’s just stiff.”
“Maybe I should take you to the emergency room to be safe.”
“For the millionth time, I’m okay. It’s a little whiplash. I need twenty minutes in a hot shower and I’ll be good as new.”