Page 79 of Fractured

“Oh.” I hear her moan.

“Kat? Baby, it’s me, Nick. Are you okay?”

“What?” I watch as she slowly opens her eyes, glassy and unfocused, and then closes them again. I’ve seen that look before.Dammit.

Trying to come up with a plan, I reach over and unbuckle her seatbelt. Running around the front of her car, I open the passenger side door and lean in on one knee. Grabbing her underneath her armpits, I drag her across the center console into the passenger seat. Once I’m able to pull her legs over, I rearrange her sitting forward. I notice her head lulls to the side as I try to place her legs into the floor of her car.

I stop for a moment, wiping her wet hair from her face. Looking down, I notice she’s wearing… pajamas? I take my coat off and drape it around her. As I notice motion in my periphery, I glance down at her.

“I’m sorry, baby. Trust me, okay?”

It’s then that I rip open her pajama top, baring her naked breasts, startling her. Her eyes fly wide as buttons snap against the solid surfaces of the car.

“What are you…?”

Chapter Twenty-Six

Nick

Watching the stunned expression on Kat’s face, I realize I have no time to explain. I lay my body on top of her, wrap my hands around her sweet face and crush my mouth onto hers. This needs to look believable.God, I’ve missed her mouth. Kat opens her lips, deepening the kiss. She’s making it easy for me.

Bang. Bang.

I look up to a blinding light shining in through the driver’s side window. I knew I didn’t have long. Observing Katarina’s startled face, she stares up at me warily. Her shirt and her heart both ripped open and leaving her agonizingly vulnerable. I watch as she attempts to shield her eyes with her hand as the intense glare invades the dark space.

“Could you roll the window down, sir?” the stern officer asks.

“Yes, of course,” I answer quickly, attempting to pull Kat’s top over her breasts while the officer observes.Dear God, please help us.Almost on cue, I thankfully accept the lord’s generous answer. “Hi. Tate, is it?”

A little quirk of a smile is noted as he takes in who’s speaking, and his gaze drops to Kat. “It’s Tanner, actually. Is everything okay here?”

Embarrassment shrouds my face, and I’m fully cognizant this emotion isn’t part of the act. But play the part, I will. “Yeah. Sorry. We just got a little carried away.”

“Kat, you okay?” Tanner asks.

“Yeah,” she whispers and covers her face with her hands.

“I’m really sorry, Officer Manning. I thought it was better to find a dark spot to pull over than risk driving in the rain… well, in the state I was in.” I look back to Kat, who, thankfully, still has her face covered. “She makes me a little crazy,” I add. “But we’re almost home. We’ll try to behave a little better in the future. Right, Kat?”

I watch as she opens a narrow crevice between her hands to peek out at me. “Yep.” Unable to stop myself, I bend down to kiss her nose.Fuck it. Give me a damn ticket. I’ll go to jail for this woman.

Clearing his throat, Tanner begins to speak, a slight chuckle present in his voice. “Okay, you two just get home safe, okay?”

“Thanks, Tanner. I’m sorry to trouble you out in the rain like this.” I reach over to shake his hand, and he does the same. As he starts to head back to his vehicle and shut off the brilliant blue lights swirling around us, I take in my little maniac. She’s already back out. Face turned to the side, breathing heavy.

“What am I going to do with you?” I whisper. I make sure she’s secure and close her door. As I walk to the driver’s door, I climb in and have to adjust the seat to fit my legs. I take in the dash and various knobs to acquaint myself with her vehicle. Before I pull out, I turn off the headlights momentarily to compose myself. The earlier anxiety has started to subside. I don’t know if this is because the threat of Katarina being arrested for driving in this state has passed or if it’s simply because she’s here with me.

Reaching over, I stroke her dark locks and run my thumb down her cheek. Her face seems puffy.God, why won’t you tell me what’s going on? What could be this bad?Why has she returned to taking those pills? The very pills which caused her to need space from me. Space to figure out what had been happening when she took them. Is she addicted? Had there been some sort of intervention?

I drop my hand from her soft face and lie my head against the headrest. Watching her, I contemplate my next move. I’ve got to get her home. I’ll call an Uber to get back to my car eventually. I’m on call tomorrow, so I just need to be available by six. Fuck, I’ll walk back to my car if I have to. But I’m not leaving her alone a moment longer. I’ll grab my car, go home and shower, and return to her house. She has got to talk to me. I need to know what is going on if I’m going to help her. I’m not letting her push me away again.

Driving down the rain-soaked road, back to her home, I look over to my sleepy passenger. My heart squeezes at the sight of her. I grab her hand and kiss it gently, then cradle it against my leg. I remember a time not long ago, where I was in a similar position. Chuckling to myself, I recall there was no placing her hand on my leg that night.

Turning back to her, she’s a very different girl than the temptress of that evening. There’s no sexy cat costume or fuck me heels. This fractured angel sits slumped in the seat, hair soaked, shirt ripped open to expose the soft skin beneath. Normally, I’d be aroused by such a sight. Yet, at this moment, my heart aches for the pain she must be suffering to have found her in such a predicament. She was horrified to learn of what had happened while she was taking the sleeping pills. I knew that look in her eyes, the one from the night under the tree. For her to have returned to that, things must be bad. She probably hasn’t slept for days.

Maroon 5 begins to play on her car stereo. “She Will be Loved.” Yes. She will.

I pull into her drive and turn off the ignition. Grabbing the keys, I place them in my pocket and run around to Kat’s door. The rain is pummeling me now in its intensity. I open the car door and reach in, scooping her up into my arms and closing the door with my foot. It dawns on me I’ll never reach the keys now in my pocket, so I run with her to the garage keypad and attempt to enter the number I recalled her using. I give a silent prayer of thanks as it opens, and I’m able to enter.

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