Page 94 of Moonlit Colorado

Ainsley looked thoughtful, then shook her head. “That name doesn’t ring a bell. Why? Who is she?”

Before I could answer, someone screamed.

Ainsley and I exchanged a concerned glance, then followed the sound down the hall and around the corner. A woman with gray hair was bent over, hovering over someone else lying on the carpet.

“What’s going on?” I asked, trying to get a better view.

“I just came out of my hotel room and found her here.” The woman stood, and I saw who was lying there.

My heart lurched straight up into my throat.

“Call an ambulance.” My voice was harsh and guttural.

“Oh my God,” Ainsley said. “Is thatGrace?”

I knelt beside her. Grace was crumpled on the floor like a rag doll. She had a gash on the bridge of her nose, and blood covered her face. Her glasses were broken. She blinked slowly like she was just coming back to consciousness.

“Dane?”

I’d heard people talk about seeing red, and I had experienced something similar before, but right now I saw fucking black. “Someone call a fucking ambulance,” I shouted.

“On it,” Ainsley responded.

I couldn’t risk moving her. Instead I tried to murmur comforting words, gently holding her down by the shoulders when she tried to get up. “You need to stay right there. Don’t move yet.” I had to do something about that cut on her nose. Wrenching off my jacket, then my shirt, I tore a piece of the white fabric to hold against her nose.

“Ice!” I shouted. Then I leaned down close to her again, holding the fabric to the cut. She winced. “Grace, who did this?”

“I…”

She seemed confused and in pain. It took everything in me to stay calm and keep my voice relaxed. “Baby, listen to me. Who did this? Who hurt you?”

“Vincent,” she choked out. “My phone… I think he took it.”

Vincent. I didn’t know that name. But whoever he was, when I found him, I’d make him pay.

I lifted her hand and kissed it. “I’m going to fix this. I swear to you.”

“It was my fault,” she whispered. Tears spilled from her eyes. “I shouldn’t have…”

“This wasnotyour fault. Erase that thought from your head. You can tell me the rest of what happened later, but for now, just stay still. I’ve got you.”

“Okay. Don’t leave.” The fear in her voice knifed through me.

“I’m going to stay with you. No matter what. I’m not going anywhere.”

Then I straightened and turned around. A small crowd had started to gather around us. “Get the hotel manager and security up here,” I yelled at anyone and everyone who was listening. “Someone named Vincent did this. He could still be in the hotel, and I want him found.”

“I’m sure you do,” Ainsley said quietly. “So do we all. But if you burst a blood vessel, that isn’t going to help Grace.”

Ainsley probably had a point. But I felt like I was turning inside out.

Within a few minutes, someone with a first-aid kit ran toward us. A member of the hotel staff. He held out an ice pack and a wad of gauze, like this was a simple skinned knee.

“She could have a concussion,” I barked. “Where are the damn paramedics?”

Ainsley put her hand on my shoulder. “I’m still on the line with emergency services. They said the ambulance is a couple minutes away. We’re going to sort all of this out. Grace will be fine.”

But I couldn’t stop trembling as waves of rage crashed through every inch of my body. Someone had hurt her, and I hadn’t been there.

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