Part 2 (1/2)

But she didn't need the attention from that on top of what she'd done earlier. No, absolutely no cops. ”Sorry, but I'm not calling the cops.”

”Are you nuts?” The question slipped out of him before he even seemed to realize what he'd said, but he didn't take it back. ”You got any idea what they were going to do?”

She stopped and looked at him. Yes. She knew exactly. She probably knew better than he did. The ability that had let her save that boy earlier had also led her to girls who had been grabbed off the highway and raped until they bled. When she was twelve, it had led her to the partially decomposed corpse of a nine-year-old boy who'd seen his mother's boyfriend selling cocaine.

”Yeah, I know,” she said, unable to curtail her sarcasm. ”I figured it out when he was trying to rip my shorts off. But I'm not going to the cops. And I think he's probably going to think twice before he grabs another girl like that.”

”They were going to rape you. They need to pay for it.”

Taige grinned then. ”Then go take care of it. I'll let you handle the bill. Hel , I'll even tel you where to find the other son of a b.i.t.c.h.” She would, too, and the thought of what Sir Galahad might do was enough to have her grin widen. Then it faded. ”But I'm not cal ing the cops. I need to go.”

The ache in her head was getting worse, and Taige had a bad feeling she might puke.

The thought of walking a good two miles stil was enough to make her want to cry, and she hadn't cried in years.

He didn't want to let her leave. She knew he was frustrated. She could see it in his eyes.

But Taige didn't bother trying to explain. She just turned away and started to walk.

One foot in front of the other. She could do this.

But ten steps later, she wasn't so sure. Everything started to spin kind of like she was stuck on a Tilt-A-Whirl, and she knew she wasn't going to stay upright. Just when she felt her knees start to buckle, a hand came around her arm. Automatically she s.h.i.+ed away; Taige didn't like being touched, especially by people she didn't know. All the mental baggage waited just under the surface, and one touch was enough to open a bridge between their minds.

But there was nothing. Strange, too, because the frustration and anger she saw in his eyes should have surrounded her, stinging her skin like angry fire ants. Yet it was like staring into waters of the Gulf right after a storm; she could see the water, but she couldn't see beyond it.

It was-bliss. And she probably would have enjoyed it even more completely if her legs hadn't decided to give out at that moment. But they did give out. Fortunately, the hand on her arm kept her from fal ing to the ground. Instead, she tumbled forward against his chest. His other hand came up, and he murmured softly, ”Hey, easy there.”

He brushed his thumb over her cheek, scowling. ”You still don't want me to call the police? Maybe I should drive you into town at least. There's a hospital around here somewhere, right?”

Oh, no. No hospitals. She wasn't doing no d.a.m.n hospital. Taige shook her head and tried to pull away, but her legs were still wobbly, her head was still spinning, and Galahad was staring at her with dark, concerned eyes. He was wearing a faded b.u.t.ton-down s.h.i.+rt with a wild Hawaiian print. It hung open over his chest, and Taige could feel the warmth of his skin and the slow, steady beat of his heart.

Her own heart skipped a beat, and the only thing she could think was d.a.m.n. She blinked and looked away as blood rushed to her cheeks. His hands tightened a little, and his voice sounded strange enough that she looked back up at him as he said, ”Yeah, I'm taking you to the hospital.”

He stared at her with dark eyes, worried eyes, his hands holding her close to keep her from fal ing, and Taige felt herself fall just a little bit in love. It took a few minutes for his words to work through the fog that had wrapped itself around her brain, and by that time, he'd managed to guide her halfway to the resort's parking lot. She stopped walking and jerked against his hand, even though she really wanted to keep contact with him.

There was something very nice about being touched without having a flood of thoughts and images swamping her.

Still, if he kept touching her, he was going to get her into that car and take her into Foley to the fricking hospital. ”I'm fine . . . Hey, what's your name?” Taige really wanted to know, because she had a feeling she was going to spend a lot of time daydreaming about him.

”Cullen. Yours?”

”It's Taige. Cullen, I appreciate the help, but I am fine. I just want to go to bed.”

”I bet you do,” he muttered, shaking his head. ”Taige, you aren't fine. Where's the hospital?” He tugged on her arm again, and Taige didn't feel steady enough to fight him, so she fell into step beside him. He led her to a rusted-out, patched-up vintage Mustang, and Taige had to smile.

It was parked in the middle of Porsches, BMWs, and Volvos, al of them gleaming and polished and perfect. His car looked like a mutt sitting in the middle of a pedigree dog show. ”Nice car,” she murmured.

He slid her a narrow look as though he knew exactly what she was thinking. But he didn't say a word about the car. Cul en c.o.c.ked a brow at her and repeated, ”Hospital?”

She folded her arms across her chest and shook her head. ”No. I'm not going to no d.a.m.n hospital.”

”You can't just go home.”

She didn't have any intention of going home, either, but she wasn't going to tel him that. Her knees buckled, and she knew she had to sit down. ”Look, how about you take me to a friend's house? Her son is an EMT. He can look me over, and if he thinks I ought to go to the hospital, I'll go.”

But Dante wouldn't insist on that, not unless she was in serious need of a doctor, and she knew she wasn't. He could check her over, and Rose could fuss over her, and she'd be fine.

Cullen stared at her as though he seemed to realize just how unsteady she felt, and he guided her around the car so that she could lean against his rusted-out Mustang. It was mottled between some indeterminate shade of blue, that ugly primer gray, and rust. But it could have been covered with slime, and she wouldn't care. It took some of her weight, and she finally stopped feeling like she might hit the ground.

”What about your folks?” he asked softly. ”They'll be scared. Won't they want you to get looked over?”

She looked away. ”My parents are dead. I live with an uncle and he-” She just barely managed to stop herself from saying, If those boys had killed me, Leon would have offered up his praise to G.o.d. She finally forced herself to say, ”He won't care. Look, just take me to my friends. I feel like h.e.l.l.”

THE door opened to reveal a skinny black lady. The top of her head might have barely reached Cul en's shoulder. The guy behind her looked like a d.a.m.ned giant. He probably stood a good head tal er than Cullen, and he probably weighed the same as Cullen and the lady together. Cullen topped out right at six feet, but he felt like a midget standing there.

The man's eyes narrowed on Taige's battered, bruised face, and then they slid up to Cullen's, like he was imagining how Cullen would look after a close encounter or ten with a big, blunt object.

The woman, though, was focused on Taige. ”Oh, baby,” she murmured, reaching out to touch Taige's face. She immediately stepped aside and shoved on the big guy's chest until he did the same. ”Out of the way, Dante. Go get me the first aid kit.”

Dante-great name, Cullen thought. He could see h.e.l.l burning in the big guy's eyes, and even though he hadn't done a d.a.m.n thing, he wasn't all that happy to be standing in front of the man. Dante didn't move, and the woman spun around and slammed the heel of her hand into his chest. ”Boy, I told you to get out of the way. Come on, now, honey, let's look at you.”

Taige gave the woman a wan smile. ”I'm okay, Rose. I just need to get some rest.”

”Okay,” Rose muttered. She shook her head and then repeated it again, like she couldn't quite believe what Taige had said. ”You're okay?”

Cullen said, ”I tried to get her to let me take her to the hospital, but she wouldn't go.

Said somebody here's a paramedic . . . ?”

Rose jerked her chin toward the man who stil hulked in the shadows like he was ready to rip Cullen's arm off and beat him to death with it. ”Yeah. My boy, Dante, does emergency rescues. He can look her over well enough-if he'd get his b.u.t.t moving.”

Dante's lip curled in a snarl, and without saying a word, he turned and stomped off down a dark hal way. The woman reached up and patted Cullen's arm. ”Don't you worry about him. He's just protective of Taige. We both are.”

Rose shouldered Cullen aside, tucking her small body up against Taige's and leading her through an arched doorway. ”Get that light on the wal for me-what's your name?”

”It's Cullen.”

”Get the light on for me, Cullen, and then you sit right down there and tell me what happened.” She eased Taige's body onto the couch and gave her the same look Cullen had gotten from his mother a time or two before. ”Because I know this girl, and she ain't going to tell me a d.a.m.n thing.”

Dante slid into the room, moving quieter than a man that big ought to be able to move.

In his arms he held a box that looked more like a tackle box than any first aid kit Cul en had ever seen. But he didn't turn it over to his mother; instead, he crouched down by Taige's head and started looking her over. Cullen knew the man was listening to every word Cullen said, but Dante didn't say anything until Cullen had finished speaking. ”You should have taken her on into the emergency room, no matter what she said,” Dante said.

He had a deep, gruff voice, and when he glanced at Cul en over a big shoulder, Cullen saw the fury simmering there.

Fortunately, it didn't seem like it was directed at Cullen now, and he breathed a little easier. ”I tried to. But I don't know where it is, and she wasn't too interested in telling me.

She said she'd have you look her over, and if you insisted, she'd go.”

That made Dante laugh. Then he looked at Taige, shaking his head. ”Yeah, like she's ever done a d.a.m.n thing just cuz I told her she ought to.” Dante sighed and opened the box at his side. ”Let's get you cleaned up. And Taige, if I tell you that you need a doctor, you're going, even if I have to throw your skinny a.s.s over my shoulder.”