Page 57 of Barristers & Bones

When Roman took a phone call a few minutes later, I quickly gathered my things and escaped the building. When he called me that evening, I didn’t answer.

My mind was in a daze, and I felt distracted and torn. Roman’s kisses and dirty promises ran through my head, and my breasts throbbed with need when I thought of him licking my nipples through the lace of my bra.

I couldn’t sleep, and I lay there aroused and conflicted as thoughts raced through my mind. Even in daylight, my brain wouldn’t shut down or stop replaying what happened in his office. Finally, I grabbed my trusty Cherry Box vibrator from my nightstand to try and get some relief, but afterward, I still felt edgy and needy.

On Wednesday afternoon, I almost wept in relief when the professor ended my last class early. Ten minutes later, when I walked into the parking garage alone and distracted, I didn’t register the two men who came up from behind to flank me until it was too late. One of them grabbed my forearm and the other yanked viciously on my hair.

Pain radiated through my skull, and I cried out. Then I let out a long, loud scream. “Help me!” I turned my head and recognized Lionel Strack. His taller, muscular accomplice wrapped his arms around me from behind and lifted me up, then started walking toward a van.

They werenotgoing to take me. I knew the statistics of survival if they got me into their vehicle, so I screamed and thrashed, throwing my head back and clipping the man on his chin. Then I kicked with all my might, aiming for his groin. He cursed and dropped me, but before I could run, Lionel grabbed my arm and wrenched it hard. I screamed out in pain as he punched me in the stomach, and when I doubled over, he grabbed my hair again and held up my head.

“You’re gonna love what we have planned for you, little cunt-bitch. There are a lot of men who want a piece of you before we finish you off,” he sneered in my face, spittle hitting my cheek. I jabbed him in the neck as Kilian had taught me, but my strength was waning. He gasped and gurgled, his grip loosening.

“Get the fuck away from her!” someone yelled. Footsteps pounded toward us. “Call the police!” a man shouted. The voice sounded familiar, and other voices yelled back. I knew then we’d been spotted. My body was yanked forward, so I stood facing Lionel Strack’s ugly, blotchy face. Before I could put my arm up or get another hit in, he slammed his fist into my jaw, causing everything to go black.

The next thing I knew, I lay on my back, surrounded by two EMTs and Jared Gardner, his pinched face staring down at me.

“What happened?” I mumbled. An EMT held a cold gel pack to the side of my jaw and several people milled around, but a campus security guard held them back.

Jared knelt beside me. “Two men tried to kidnap you in the parking garage, I was trying to catch up with you when I saw them grab you.”

My whole body ached, and a few tears leaked out. “Thank you. Thank you so much.” My jaw hurt to talk, and I wanted to break down, but I needed to keep it together. “Will you find my backpack?” I didn’t like Jared Gardner much, but right then I was so glad to see him.

“Yeah. What’s going on, Luna? I know that Fowler asshole has something to do with this.”

I shook my head, and pain radiated from my face so I stopped. “I got myself into this mess, Jared,” I murmured. Roman may have put me in Lionel Strack’s path, but I’d attacked him and grabbed his stupid ponytail.

Gazing around, I looked for my backpack but jostled my elbow and cried out in pain. One of the EMTs found it and sat it beside me. Laying back on the stretcher, I tried to gather my thoughts, but my mind felt unfocused and fuzzy from the hit to my head. I gazed up into the brilliant blue Las Vegas sky, and tears started coming.

Several hours later, I lay in a hospital bed surrounded by Sylvie, Alexa, and Ezra while a second doctor examined me. The nurse had wrapped and elevated my elbow, then instructed me to keep an icepack on it, along with my jaw. They couldn’t do much about the big bruise on my stomach. I was hooked up to an IV and several monitors, and they’d tried to give me a catheter, but I’d declined.

After a police officer took my statement, I was tired, high on pain medication, and could hardly hold my eyes open. Why would I need two doctors? This second one seemed callous and rough as he moved my elbow around and probed my jaw too hard. I groaned in pain, even with the medication in my system.

He pushed his glasses up on his head. “You’ve got a sprained elbow, a severely bruised jaw, and probably a concussion from the blow. I can’t say you’re lucky, but it could have been much worse.”

Ezra muttered under his breath, and Sylvie smirked. “Nothing like stating the obvious. Why are you here, again? Dr. Penrod already came in and gave Luna the same diagnosis.”

Alexa watched the man suspiciously.

He glanced at Sylvie. “We just want to be thorough. Speaking of which, only two people are allowed at a time in a patient’s room, and visiting hours end soon.”

Ezra stood, bent over, and kissed my forehead. “I need to go anyway, let me know when you’re discharged. I think it’s a good idea for you to stay at Fenn’s compound for now.”

“I’ll think about it,” I croaked.

The doctor stood as well. “We’re keeping her overnight for observation. She’ll probably be discharged tomorrow morning.”

When he walked out, I was glad to see him go. Before leaving, Ezra turned to Sylvie and Alexa. “One of you needs to stay with her tonight.”

Sylvie nodded. “I’ll take the first shift.”

Alexa stood. “There are a few things I want to look into. Call me if you two need anything.”

My mind drifted in and out as they talked around me, the painkillers swimming through my system, making me groggy and high.

The next time I woke, Roman stood next to my bed, leaning over me and examining my face. When he saw I was awake, he ran his fingers along my uninjured jaw.

“You look like you went through a meat grinder. You’ll do anything to avoid coming into the office, won’t you?”

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