N. Walters - By the Book

“My problem. Not yours.” Her face was stark white, making her freckles even more prominent.

Jonah eased her into a seated position, drawing her into his arms. Her entire body trembled as he pulled her closer. He could feel the soft mound of her breast press against his chest, could smell the scent of her floral soap. His cock twitched, but he ignored it. He was so glad she was alive. He wouldn’t even contemplate what could have happened to her if he hadn’t arrived in time.

Patrick strode down the hall toward them just as the emergency medical technicians came through the front door. Reluctantly, Jonah released Amanda into their care. One of the emergency technicians covered her with a blanket while the other began checking her throat and vitals.

Jonah pulled his jacket back on, never taking his eyes off Amanda as they asked her questions and checked her from head to toe. She balked when one of them pulled the stretcher alongside her.

“No stretcher,” she croaked and started to push herself to her feet. “I’m okay.” The fine quivering in her body contradicted her assertion.

The EMT checking her over put out his hand and stopped her. “You’ve been through a trauma. It’s a precautionary measure. Let us load you on the stretcher and take you to the hospital so the doc can check you out. Okay?”

“I’ll be right behind you,” Jonah promised her.

After a long moment, she nodded and closed her eyes. Jonah kept an eye on things as they carefully lifted her onto the stretcher, strapped her on and carried her out to the waiting ambulance. He watched the stretcher until it disappeared from sight. Then he turned to Patrick. “What did you find?”

Patrick’s eyes widened at the demand, but he didn’t hold back. “The back door was unlocked. Amanda must have forgotten to lock it. The guy had a free pass into the place.”

He waved over to the front room. “He ransacked a few of her boxes. I have no idea if anything was taken. I’ll know more once I talk to Amanda and she has a chance to go through everything.”

Jonah nodded and turned away. He’d find out more later. Now he had to get to the hospital.

“Jonah?”

He stopped and faced Patrick, who stood with his legs braced apart and his hands on his hips. “Yeah?”

“What were you doing here?”

“I was on the phone with Amanda when she heard something downstairs. She wouldn’t let me phone the police, so I decided to come over and check things out for myself. On the way over, her line went dead so I called it in. I figured I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

Patrick nodded. “I wasn’t aware you knew Amanda. She just moved here a few days ago.” The sheriff’s expression was unreadable, but Jonah could sense that the lawman wasn’t quite satisfied with his explanation.

“I met her when I brought a load of books over. She’s selling them for Elizabeth. I’m also doing some work on the wiring for this place. Shamus called me this morning when he found out that Amanda is having some electrical problems.” Normally the most patient of men, Jonah found that impatience was eating at him. “If you have any more questions, I’ll be with Amanda.”

Not waiting to see if Patrick had anything left to ask, Jonah strode to his truck and headed to the hospital.

Amanda lost track of how long she’d been waiting in the emergency room, but she knew she’d been here a while. She’d been whisked inside upon arrival and had since been poked and prodded from head to toe. A cold pack had been used on her neck to keep the swelling down. In spite of the trauma, she’d dozed once or twice, always waking with a jolt of fear as the memory of her attack drifted through her subconscious.

Her head was pounding and her throat throbbed. She swallowed and moaned. The doctor, whose nametag proclaimed him to be Doctor David Ames, gave her a sympathetic look as he probed lightly at her neck.

“The good news is there isn’t any permanent damage.” He straightened and offered her a slight smile. “The bad news is that you’re going to have a bruised neck and a sore throat for a few days.”

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She was fine. Yes, she’d been scared out of her wits, but she was okay. A sore throat and bruised neck was a small price to pay for being alive. “Thanks,” she whispered.

The doctor nodded. “You take it easy and talk only when absolutely necessary. I’m going to give you something to help ease the pain. Other than that, warm tea with honey will help. That and time is about all anyone can do.”

A knock sounded and the sheriff poked his head in through the door. “Can I see the patient?”

Doctor Ames nodded. “Don’t let her strain her voice.” He turned back to her.

“There’s no need to keep you tonight as long as you have someone to stay with you.”

“I’ll stay.” The deep male voice washed over her like a warm blanket, leaving her feeling safe and warm. Jonah had come just like he’d said he would.

Sheriff O’Rourke frowned at Jonah. “You need to wait outside.”

Amanda made a small sound of distress and Jonah’s head swiveled around, his gaze caught hers. “I’m staying.”

He pushed past Patrick and came over to the side of the bed she was sitting on. “You doing okay?”

She nodded and pulled the blanket more tightly around her. She couldn’t seem to get warm. Amanda knew it was a result of the shock and trauma, but knowing didn’t make the cold any easier to bear.

Patrick O’Rourke walked over beside her and smiled. She’d met him several times when she’d come to visit Cyndi and Shamus.

“I’ve got questions for you. You up to answering?”

She nodded and looked around for something to write on. Seeing nothing, she made a motion with her hand, pantomiming the act of writing. Patrick reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small pad of paper and a pen. Amanda smiled at him as she took them and tried not to notice that her hand was trembling.

“What do you remember?”

She nibbled on her bottom lip, trying to think back. “Noise,” she croaked and then coughed.

Jonah swore. Grabbing a cup of water from the bedside table, he held the straw to her lips. “Sip.”

Gratefully, she sucked back a small amount of the tepid water. It felt good against the swollen tissues of her throat. She mouthed the words “thank you” and straightened her shoulders. The quicker this was done, the better.

“So you heard a noise and went downstairs to investigate?” She nodded and the sheriff continued his questioning. “Then what?”

Jonah picked up the story. “I was on the phone with her at the time. She started down the stairs, but told me the light at the bottom didn’t work.”

“Deliberate?” Patrick asked.

Jonah shrugged. “I’ll check on that. The house is having all sorts of electrical issues, which is why I’d planned to start working on it tomorrow. That’s what Amanda and I were discussing on the phone when all this started.”

Amanda felt her cheeks heating and bowed her head. Staring at her lap, she tried not to think about what they’d been doing when all this happened. She appreciated Jonah protecting her reputation. Clutching the blanket tighter around her, she glanced up at the men. Thankfully, they were ignoring her for the moment.

She knew she had to get a grip on herself, but it was hard. Someone had tried to strangle her tonight. Before that, she’d had phone sex. The entire night was surreal, like an erotic dream that morphed into a horror novel.

“Amanda?” She jerked at the sound of her name. Patrick was waiting, a look of pity on his face.

She straightened her shoulders. She’d seen that look her entire childhood from well-meaning social workers and do-gooders. Amanda hated it. She didn’t need anyone’s pity.