“Hell, no, I’m taking her to Saxon.”
“Good. He’ll take care of her.”
“Put me down!”
Aspen’s angry words shocked him into glancing up from the computer. Even through the thick door it was easy to make out the irritation in her voice.
“No,” Renard snapped back. “Every time I put you down you try to take off on me. Now stop wriggling before I throw you over my shoulder and spank your ass.”
He stood, protectiveness washing through him. Like hell Renard would touch her ass. He wasn’t getting his hands on Aspen.
Mine.
Had he ever been this possessive of someone before? Not that he could recall. He was just rounding his desk when the door slammed open and Renard walked in, carrying a wriggling Aspen in his arms. Her left hand was wrapped in a towel covered in blood. His heart stopped for a second before he quickl
y regained his equilibrium.
“What’s going on? What happened?”
As he spoke Aspen immediately stopped wriggling around. She turned to him, her face paler than normal, her mouth bracketed in lines of pain.
“Cut her hand with a knife,” Renard told him, not setting her down. “You need to take her to the doctor, it’s gonna need stitches.”
“Why didn’t you call me?”
“Tried. Your bulldog said you were busy. Apparently, you’re too important to answer the phone.”
He ground his teeth together. He’d just gotten off the phone; however, it wasn’t anything that couldn’t have been interrupted. He was going to have to make it clear to Thomas that when it came to Aspen, nothing was more important.
“Here, give her to me,” Saxon told him. “Where are the boys?”
“Gwen is with them,” Aspen replied in a tight voice. “And I can walk.”
Renard snorted. “Wouldn’t fall for that. When she walks she tries to run off.”
What?
He took her slight weight from Renard.
“That’s why I’m carrying her. She told me she was going to make her way up here. Could tell she was lying. So I brought her up myself to make certain she didn’t run off on her own. I’d take her but, you know, me and docs.”
“I know.” The ex-marine had had a bad experience with the medical profession.
He stared down into Aspen’s face. “Why would you lie to Renard?”
“You’re busy. You don’t need to deal with this. I can drive myself to the doctor.”
His temper stirred, and he pushed it down. She was used to dealing with things on her own, it was no wonder she thought she’d take care of this alone. Still, he thought he’d made some headway into getting her to trust him, to lean on him. He turned to Thomas, who was standing on the other side of the door.
“Thomas, take messages and tell people I’ll get back to them later tonight. I’m taking Aspen to the doctor.”
He walked past Renard then Thomas. “Certainly, sir.”
“I really don’t need you to take me. I’ll be fine by myself.”
“She’s dizzy. She barely made it out the kitchen door before she had to stop,” Renard said cheerfully as he followed them. “You really need to address this habit she has of trying to do everything herself.”
“Thank you, Renard, for the advice,” he said sardonically.