“I don’t usually…mix business with pleasure…but with you, I have made an exception. I just found you damn attractive…and I wanted to blow your brains out with the kind of sex that will keep you coming back for more. We have gone around and around and there’s no telling when we’re going to stop.” I tried to move, but I felt the searing pain of something shooting into my stomach. I made a grimace. I tried to grin and bear it, but it wasn’t easy.

“You are the strongest woman I’ve ever met. It doesn’t hurt you have a kinky mind to explore together. You make me feel like I can’t live without you looking over me like a guardian angel. You might have devil horns, but it works for you. I want you to stay with me.” It sounded strange for him to be professing these feelings, but life and death has a funny way of loosening lips much like liquor does.

I heard the sirens and then the paramedics worked to stabilize my condition. I had oxygen over my mouth and they were speaking to me while administering to my needs. They loaded me onto the gurney and rolled me out into the street to the ambulance waiting with the red lights shining in my eyes.

“If you don’t wanna fight, then you’re going to allow me to come along for the ride. It would be so much easier if you were to co-operate, but I can give you the proper encouragement.” This was his go to move to use money to get what he wanted. It didn’t seem this time was any different. The two paramedics looked at their windfall and there was no way they were going to deny him anything in his current state of mind.

“You can come with this, but you need to stay out of our way. You did a great job with putting pressure on the wound. She seems like a fighter and hopefully, she’ll come through with flying colors. I don’t see any reason to think otherwise. The bullet went clean through. It doesn’t appear to have hit anything vital. We still have to get her to the hospital, but it looks like she will make a remarkable recovery.” The Hispanic paramedic was giving a blow by blow description and I was thankful for the new lease on life.

It could’ve been worse and I could’ve been shot with my mouth occupied. Had the assailant attacked a few minutes before then I wouldn’t have been able to protect him. He would have received the full effect of those bullets with nothing to prevent his untimely demise. I wasn’t one to believe in fate, but this incident could easily change my mind.

“I don’t want to go to the hospital.” My pleas weren’t being taken seriously. I was terrified of the place and the only thing that sent a cold chill of despair down my spine was the smell of disinfectant. The look on those faces never going to see the outside of the hospital doors again haunted me to this day. I had almost died in a car crash. My friend who was driving drunk did not get off so lucky.

I watched her decline until there was nothing left. I was in a coma for almost three weeks before I finally emerged to witness the last and final days of my friend’s life slipping away. The hospital was a death trap and some people went in and never came back out. That was not what I wanted to happen to me and I was damned and determined to make sure it didn’t.

“I know it’s scary, but I will be there with you every step of the way. I’ll make sure you have nothing but the best care and my own private doctor to oversee your treatment. We’ll have you back on your feet in no time. You don’t have to worry about slipping through the cracks or worrying about red tape. I will take care of everything. It’s the least that I can do for someone that took a bullet for me.” I didn’t want to quibble over details, but it was more than just one bullet.

“Four bullets.” He looked confused. I didn’t have the strength to continue talking through the oxygen mask.

“What do you mean four bullets? I don’t remember much, but I thought it was only one shot which would go with the evidence of you taking one bullet.” I raised my hand with the IV sticking in my arm and I signaled to him with four fingers.

“Her recollection of things certainly does make sense under the circumstances. These bruises are fresh and this dress is heavier than normal. We couldn’t cut through it and I think I see the reason why.” I was hoping Knight could read between the lines and come up with a reasonable conclusion. “This is intricate work and you wouldn’t even know she was wearing protection. This dress certainly doesn’t look like something you would see running into a hailstorm of bullets.” The paramedic had an eye for detail.

The dress was pulled down over my best assets and since I wasn’t wearing underwear, it certainly gave them a close-up view of my embarrassment. I had nothing to hide. Love had finally found me with cupid’s arrow piercing my heart. I tried to ignore it and I wasn’t even sure if I was going to be able to face it. I could chalk it up to the heat of the moment. I could make him believe the words coming out of my mouth were really a knee jerk reaction to being shot.

I did want to feel what love was and it was not an emotion I was accustomed to. It felt like being separated from him was like losing an extension of my arm. The time we had spent together was like an emotional tug on my heartstrings. I’d never felt anything like it. It made me feel weak and inferior.

&n

bsp; “I would say you were either predicting to get shot, or you came prepared. I’m glad to see that somebody left a light on up there. You acted with professionalism and I find myself at a loss for words. You were certainly money well spent, but it was more than that. You have this ability to see things differently and to take me outside of my comfort zone. Not many have been able to surprise me, but you are one of the rare ones that have. You make me feel strong and invincible, but that’s only because you are around me to make me feel like I’m not vulnerable.” It was nice of him to sing my praises, but it wasn’t necessary.

“Knight, you have been a shining beacon in a life of shadows and darkness. I’ve always considered myself to be invincible and broken like a doll. It’s a sharp contrast. Where my body is strong and resilient, my mind is shattered into a million pieces. I take on opponents in the cage because it makes me feel good to beat somebody up. I like the adrenaline rush and I crave the exhilaration of putting somebody down for the count. It pleases me greatly to hear them tap out in anguished cries of pain.” I’d never needed anything like this before and I wasn’t sure what had come over me to make this kind of confession.

“I know that feeling in a different way. I got the same rush from watching you pummel that man into submission. I would love to be in your corner for your next fight. I would understand if you felt it was a distraction.” The ambulance was moving at breakneck speed, breezing through traffic and letting those on the street know they were coming.

“It appears the both of us are built from the same stuff in vastly different ways. I would say that we are both uniquely qualified to be more than just business acquaintances. I’m driven by something I can’t explain. It’s not a cross I bear lightly. My choices and the mistakes I make are mine.” I had been a witness to the perfect crime. There was a blind spot in the alley which I had recognized from the moment I had arrived at the restaurant. I insisted we go in there away from prying. It had put us in danger.

“I don’t even know what to say. Nobody has ever taken a bullet for me. You have touched me more than you can ever know. I hope it will continue for many years to come.” I did my best not to complain, but the pain was quite extensive. I could only hope one day I could hang up the gloves and live normally with the white picket fence. I just didn’t see myself becoming a homemaker with little kids tugging at my apron to get my attention.

“Nobody knows what the future holds, but I don’t want to face it without you. I’m not one to admit my feelings and I really did believe I had none to get in the way of living my life. You changed things. A part of me wants to slap you.” I was locked away with my feelings my only friend. I was my own worst enemy and standing in the way of my happiness was my own stubbornness.

“I’m not the kind of man that makes plans for the future. I deal with the here and now. It’s not the right way to go about business, but it has worked for me in the past. I do find myself wanting you to stick around. The person responsible for this is still out there and we need to work together to find him before he is able to find me again. I make no guarantees, but I’m trying very hard to think of any reason why this won’t work between us” I wanted somebody real without the necessary baggage weighing him down.

“I’m not suggesting that we spend our whole lives together. I get a queasy stomach every time I think about walking down the aisle in white. There is nothing virginal about me and I wouldn’t want to pretend with god overseeing the proceedings. I don’t want you to get the wrong idea. I like you a lot, but marriage has never entered into my vocabulary.” I’d thought about it when I was a child, but that was when I was still living the dream.

“We’ll get you patched up and then we’ll find who did this and make them pay. It’s a strange thing in life when you don’t realize yours dream. Girls have come and gone like a revolving door in my bedroom, but you’re not like them in any way. This feeling I have for you is bigger than the both of us combined.” He hadn’t said the three words and I felt like I would break out in hives if he did.

There was a cost for what I did for a living and it took a toll on my body as well as my mind. I was thinking it over and I knew the killer was not going to rest on his laurels. There was no telling if he would lie low or decide to strike while the iron was hot. What I had done to protect him was by the luck of the Irish. Some would have been too shocked to react, but I was not of that same sentiment.

It felt like god was trying to tell me something and he was making it impossible for me not to hear his words. The good book was much forgotten, but there were still some things in my life that didn’t make any sense without some divine intervention. I had never had a need to put on the bulletproof dress, but for some reason, I felt compelled to put it on. I wasn’t even aware that I was doing it. There were times I wished that I could shut my penthouse mouth and become the wholesome girl any man would love to introduce to their family. It just wasn’t in me to conform.

We arrived at the hospital and he was told to stay outside while they treated the wound. They gave me something for the pain, even though I insisted not to administer any drugs. They couldn’t stop me from screaming and the only way to prevent me from injuring myself was to sedate me.

Chapter nine

“I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to leave. You’re doing this against doctor’s orders and I want you to know there are risks. You may not think it’s serious, but you had a bullet invade your body. It’s something you should take very seriously. If you insist on leaving against my orders then you need to avoid strenuous activity. Rest and drink plenty of fluids. Make sure the bandage is changed twice or three times a day as needed. I’m going to give you a prescription and I want you to fulfill it at the nearest pharmacy.” Dr. Grover was being a bit of a poison pill, but I understood he was just doing his job.

“Don’t worry; I’ll make sure she takes her medication on time. She will be convalescing at my penthouse until she is strong enough to leave on her own accord. I don’t know how to thank you for all the good work you have done over the last couple of days. It can’t be easy with a patient who thinks she knows her body better than a professional.” Knight was giving me the evil eye. I turned a blind eye thinking that they were being way too overprotective.

Tags: Mia Ford Romance
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