Page 57 of Prince of Her Heart
For a moment, she couldn’t move.Couldn’t breathe.Her brain scrambled to make sense of what had just happened.
She wasn’t in pain.Not really.Shouldn’t a knife woundhurt?
There was an ache in her backside, but that made no sense.Why would her butt hurt?
She looked down—and saw a massive body sprawled on top of her, shielding her.Food clung to his suit.A chunk of potato salad had landed near his ear.
Ramzi had tackled her.
He’d taken her down to save her.
“Ramzi?”she whispered, nudging him.“Come on.Get up.You’re heavy.”
No response.
A sliver of panic pierced her chest.
“Ramzi?”she said again, louder now, struggling to shift under him.“You’ve got to get off me—I can’t breathe!”
Still nothing.
She touched his side, trying to shake him.Her fingers landed on something warm.Wet.
Sticky.
She pulled her hand back and stared at it.
Red.
At first, she thought maybe it was frosting.A smear of devil’s food cake.But no.That wasn’t right.
Her stomach dropped.
Then she screamed.
“Ramzi!” she shrieked, shifting frantically, trying to roll him off her.
He was limp.
“Ramzi!” she cried again, finally managing to move him onto his back.Blood trickled down from a gash on his forehead, soaking into the collar of his shirt.His suit jacket was slashed at the sleeve—and beneath it, another wound.
Oh god, she got him!Leandra’s knife…!
“Ramzi, wake up!” Tabitha begged, cradling his head as gently as she could.“Don’t you dare do this to me!I love you, dammit!”
She bent over him, trembling, brushing his hair back from the gash.Her breath came in sharp, panicked gasps.
He saved me.He took the hit.And now he’s bleeding because of me.
She looked around wildly.
“HELP!” she screamed.“Somebody help!”
At that moment, she spotted his security team.They’d already subdued Leandra, pinning her face down on the ground.Two of them broke away from the scuffle and sprinted toward her.
“He’s hurt!”she cried.“He needs help!Call an ambulance—NOW!”
One of the bodyguards crouched beside Ramzi, already relaying information into his radio.Another peeled back his jacket to inspect the wounds.
