Cash's Fight
Page 81
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She thought back to that ride to the hospital. She recalled thinking he had dozed off, that he must not be in much pain for him to be so quiet. In pain, men were usually quite vocal, while women were the more stoic.
When she had turned back from talking to the driver, she had glanced down at him. He had been staring at her with an odd expression. She had asked him if he was in pain, which had led to the jerk going into graphic detail of which part of his anatomy had been in pain. It hadn’t been her first time being propositioned in the back of the ambulance, but those patients—both male and female—had been several decades older and suffering from dementia.
She had gotten angry yet had strived to control her temper and professionalism.
“Are you on any medications?”
“Just the pleasure of seeing you bent over me.” His eyes had been glued to her breasts as she leaned over to take his blood pressure.
She had ignored his comment, rolling her eyes. Like I haven’t heard that line before, she’d thought.
She had carefully stabilized his arm while feeling his gaze watch every movement she made.
“So you’ve never seen me fight?”
“No. I usually work another run, but the EMT for this one called in tonight.” She had then picked up her clipboard, beginning her paperwork that she would hand over in the ER.
“You’ll have to come to my next fight. I’ll make sure you have a front row seat.”
Ria had looked up from her paperwork. “No, thanks. I have better things to do with my time than watch two men deliberately hurt each other. Besides, it’s going to be a while before you’ll be fighting again.”
“I guess I’ll have to find another way to stay in shape. Want to meet me after I get released from the ER?”
“Seriously?” Ria batted her eyes and pretended to swoon before straightening and bursting into laughter. “Dude, not only are you not my type, but if I was going to date a fighter, it would be the winner, not the loser.”
His demeanor had changed in an instant. Ria hadn’t needed to imagine him as an opponent, his fierce expression causing her to slide down the bench seat, farther away from him.
When they’d pulled up to the ER, she had stepped out of the ambulance, turning to offer her assistance.
“I’m fine,” he’d snapped, taking the step down.
As he had stepped out of the ambulance, she had seen the head of the hospital come out to greet him personally, solicitously ushering him inside the ER.
She followed closely behind, turning her paperwork over to the chart nurse behind the desk. Her eyes had then followed the man as he was taken into a room, and the ER doctor promptly went in to check on him. In the time she had been an EMT, she had never witnessed someone receiving such preferential treatment.
They’d received another call not long after; therefore, she had returned to the ambulance where Chase was waiting. It was over an hour before she had to return to the ER with another patient. An elderly woman had fallen in the shower, injuring her hip and hitting her head. It had taken them a while to maneuver her out of the tiny bathroom.
As she turned her paperwork in, out of the corner of her eye, she had seen the man being escorted out of the ER room with a brand new cast. His eyes avoided hers, which hadn’t concerned her, but the stern gaze of the administrator had.
The administrator had escorted him to the door, only leaving the man when he had pointedly said he needed to make a phone call as he went out the sliding doors. When the administrator had passed her again, ignoring her greeting, Ria had begun to get nervous. However, another call coming in had redirected her concern, sending her back outside.
The man was just outside the door. As she passed him, his back was to her.
“It’s Nicholas. Come and get me.” His voice had been cold and clipped. Ria had felt sorry for whoever was on the other end of the conversation.
He had then disconnected his call, and as she’d passed him, their eyes had briefly met. The cocky, flirtatious man that had entered her ambulance was gone. Ria had almost stopped to do damage control and apologize for her remark, but she truly had felt he deserved the set-down for his behavior.
“Let’s go, Ria!” Chase had yelled, turning on the siren and lights. She’d jumped in the ambulance, forgetting about apologizing in the rush to get to the emergency.
It was a mistake she would regret.
The next morning, she had been called into her office and was fired, citing her unprofessionalism. She had been dumbfounded that a man of Nicholas’s fame had resorted to having her fired because of being rejected.
She had desperately tried to explain, but her boss had been unmoved.
“I thank you for your service to our company, but we will not allow that type of behavior from any of our employees,” her boss had replied.
Ria had looked at her boss, begging for another chance. “Mr. Lyon, I’m sorry for my outburst; it was completely inappropriate.”
“Get your things and get out.”
She had quickly cleared her things and gotten out as fast as she could. She had unsuccessfully applied to the only two other ambulance companies in the city. With her bills skyrocketing and her mother’s condition worsening, she had been left with no choice other than to take the job at the bar. Her pride had taken a hit, but it was worth it when she was able to pay the rent. Nicholas Brooks might be the local idol, but to her there was nothing to admire. He was no hero.
Available Now!
Enjoy an excerpt from Sarah Brianne’s book
Nero (Made Men, #1)
Chapter One
High School Dropouts
Elle sat in Spanish, staring at the clock. She swore the classroom was a hundred degrees.
With three minutes until lunch, she really missed Christmas break. Not once during the entire break had she gotten this sick feeling. No matter how many times the sensation took over her body, she could never become used to it. It was like an impending doom kind of feeling.
Elle hated school. No, Elle despised school with all her being. The one reason she was surviving Legacy Prep High was because of her only friend in the world, Chloe Masters.
Chloe needed her. Yes, Elle was bullied, but Chloe, now she was tortured. Elle would do anything to keep her safe. She deserved a protector, especially after what had happened.
All the money Elle had saved up working this Christmas break had to go to her high school tuition. Otherwise, she would get kicked out, and that would mean no protection for Chloe. Elle luckily had a scholarship to pay most of her tuition because of her grades, but she had to pay the rest by working at the diner almost every night.
Two minutes until lunch. I thought when you stared at a clock, it was supposed to make time go slower.
Elle was dreading lunch. The students hadn’t been able to pick on her and Chloe since the last day before break, which meant they were all going to let out their pent-up aggression on them. God help them.
With one minute until lunch, Elle turned her head to see Chloe since the clock was no longer serving her any purpose. Her heart broke a little. Chloe’s head was, of course, hung down, and she was wringing her hands in her lap. That was her thing whenever she was nervous.
She pictured her sweet face under her sheet of hair, marred by the deep slashes on her features. One stretched from two inches above her eyebrow down to the hollow in her cheek; the other slash was one inch above and below her lips. Both were on the right side of her face.
When she had turned back from talking to the driver, she had glanced down at him. He had been staring at her with an odd expression. She had asked him if he was in pain, which had led to the jerk going into graphic detail of which part of his anatomy had been in pain. It hadn’t been her first time being propositioned in the back of the ambulance, but those patients—both male and female—had been several decades older and suffering from dementia.
She had gotten angry yet had strived to control her temper and professionalism.
“Are you on any medications?”
“Just the pleasure of seeing you bent over me.” His eyes had been glued to her breasts as she leaned over to take his blood pressure.
She had ignored his comment, rolling her eyes. Like I haven’t heard that line before, she’d thought.
She had carefully stabilized his arm while feeling his gaze watch every movement she made.
“So you’ve never seen me fight?”
“No. I usually work another run, but the EMT for this one called in tonight.” She had then picked up her clipboard, beginning her paperwork that she would hand over in the ER.
“You’ll have to come to my next fight. I’ll make sure you have a front row seat.”
Ria had looked up from her paperwork. “No, thanks. I have better things to do with my time than watch two men deliberately hurt each other. Besides, it’s going to be a while before you’ll be fighting again.”
“I guess I’ll have to find another way to stay in shape. Want to meet me after I get released from the ER?”
“Seriously?” Ria batted her eyes and pretended to swoon before straightening and bursting into laughter. “Dude, not only are you not my type, but if I was going to date a fighter, it would be the winner, not the loser.”
His demeanor had changed in an instant. Ria hadn’t needed to imagine him as an opponent, his fierce expression causing her to slide down the bench seat, farther away from him.
When they’d pulled up to the ER, she had stepped out of the ambulance, turning to offer her assistance.
“I’m fine,” he’d snapped, taking the step down.
As he had stepped out of the ambulance, she had seen the head of the hospital come out to greet him personally, solicitously ushering him inside the ER.
She followed closely behind, turning her paperwork over to the chart nurse behind the desk. Her eyes had then followed the man as he was taken into a room, and the ER doctor promptly went in to check on him. In the time she had been an EMT, she had never witnessed someone receiving such preferential treatment.
They’d received another call not long after; therefore, she had returned to the ambulance where Chase was waiting. It was over an hour before she had to return to the ER with another patient. An elderly woman had fallen in the shower, injuring her hip and hitting her head. It had taken them a while to maneuver her out of the tiny bathroom.
As she turned her paperwork in, out of the corner of her eye, she had seen the man being escorted out of the ER room with a brand new cast. His eyes avoided hers, which hadn’t concerned her, but the stern gaze of the administrator had.
The administrator had escorted him to the door, only leaving the man when he had pointedly said he needed to make a phone call as he went out the sliding doors. When the administrator had passed her again, ignoring her greeting, Ria had begun to get nervous. However, another call coming in had redirected her concern, sending her back outside.
The man was just outside the door. As she passed him, his back was to her.
“It’s Nicholas. Come and get me.” His voice had been cold and clipped. Ria had felt sorry for whoever was on the other end of the conversation.
He had then disconnected his call, and as she’d passed him, their eyes had briefly met. The cocky, flirtatious man that had entered her ambulance was gone. Ria had almost stopped to do damage control and apologize for her remark, but she truly had felt he deserved the set-down for his behavior.
“Let’s go, Ria!” Chase had yelled, turning on the siren and lights. She’d jumped in the ambulance, forgetting about apologizing in the rush to get to the emergency.
It was a mistake she would regret.
The next morning, she had been called into her office and was fired, citing her unprofessionalism. She had been dumbfounded that a man of Nicholas’s fame had resorted to having her fired because of being rejected.
She had desperately tried to explain, but her boss had been unmoved.
“I thank you for your service to our company, but we will not allow that type of behavior from any of our employees,” her boss had replied.
Ria had looked at her boss, begging for another chance. “Mr. Lyon, I’m sorry for my outburst; it was completely inappropriate.”
“Get your things and get out.”
She had quickly cleared her things and gotten out as fast as she could. She had unsuccessfully applied to the only two other ambulance companies in the city. With her bills skyrocketing and her mother’s condition worsening, she had been left with no choice other than to take the job at the bar. Her pride had taken a hit, but it was worth it when she was able to pay the rent. Nicholas Brooks might be the local idol, but to her there was nothing to admire. He was no hero.
Available Now!
Enjoy an excerpt from Sarah Brianne’s book
Nero (Made Men, #1)
Chapter One
High School Dropouts
Elle sat in Spanish, staring at the clock. She swore the classroom was a hundred degrees.
With three minutes until lunch, she really missed Christmas break. Not once during the entire break had she gotten this sick feeling. No matter how many times the sensation took over her body, she could never become used to it. It was like an impending doom kind of feeling.
Elle hated school. No, Elle despised school with all her being. The one reason she was surviving Legacy Prep High was because of her only friend in the world, Chloe Masters.
Chloe needed her. Yes, Elle was bullied, but Chloe, now she was tortured. Elle would do anything to keep her safe. She deserved a protector, especially after what had happened.
All the money Elle had saved up working this Christmas break had to go to her high school tuition. Otherwise, she would get kicked out, and that would mean no protection for Chloe. Elle luckily had a scholarship to pay most of her tuition because of her grades, but she had to pay the rest by working at the diner almost every night.
Two minutes until lunch. I thought when you stared at a clock, it was supposed to make time go slower.
Elle was dreading lunch. The students hadn’t been able to pick on her and Chloe since the last day before break, which meant they were all going to let out their pent-up aggression on them. God help them.
With one minute until lunch, Elle turned her head to see Chloe since the clock was no longer serving her any purpose. Her heart broke a little. Chloe’s head was, of course, hung down, and she was wringing her hands in her lap. That was her thing whenever she was nervous.
She pictured her sweet face under her sheet of hair, marred by the deep slashes on her features. One stretched from two inches above her eyebrow down to the hollow in her cheek; the other slash was one inch above and below her lips. Both were on the right side of her face.
