Reckless Love
Page 27

His phone started ringing yet again. He checked the phone before answering. “Sophia, what on earth is so important—” His brow wrinkled as he listened to her. I could hear the faint but frantic lilt of his sister’s voice, but I couldn’t tell what she was saying.
“Where are you?” he asked, his body tense as he listened. “Stay on the phone with me. I’m coming to get you. Just a second.” He pulled the phone away from his face, his eyes filled with a mixture of panic and anger. “She was mugged. She says she’s okay, but I need to go pick her up.”
I nodded and grabbed my purse. “Let’s go.”
He shook his head. “No, I don’t want you going. She’s in a bad part of town.”
“Your chivalry is endearing, but misguided. Remember where I live? Besides, she said she was okay, but would it hurt to have a nurse there?” I pointed at myself. “Just in case? She must be in shock, and might not realize she’s injured.”
His face grew even more fearful, and I wished I’d kept my mouth shut. I hadn’t meant to suggest she was hurt.
“She’s probably fine,” I said, “but I can still help.” I slipped my hand into his, and he squeezed it while he briefly mulled it over.
Finally, he nodded and led the way down to the parking garage while still holding the phone to his ear, talking to Sophia. The car alarm chirped as we approached his Escalade. I slid into the passenger side and he hopped into the driver’s seat. Wasting no time, he brought the car to life.
Surprisingly he ended up driving to my neighborhood, taking the usual route he took when he drove me home, only about five times faster. As he took a residential corner at forty miles an hour, I tugged on the seatbelt to make sure it was tight.
His brow furrowed, his muscles tense, he somehow managed to sound levelheaded as he talked to Sophia on the drive over. About a mile from my place, he turned onto one of the worst streets in that part of town. I was used to my neighborhood, but if Sophia was a trust-fund kid like her brother, she was way out of her element.
We rounded the final corner and my heart almost broke. I had no idea what Sophia looked like, but I knew the girl on the bus bench was her. She wore expensive heels. Her dress was designer, and would have been gorgeous if it hadn’t had black smudges on the bright yellow fabric, and a rip in the shoulder that would have exposed her if she hadn’t been holding it up. Her eyes were smeared with runny makeup.
Ian was out of the car before I’d managed to free myself from the seatbelt. He was pumped. Angry. And a whole lot out of control. Even more so than when he was preparing for a fight, if that was possible.
“Ian, wait.” I got out, following him to the bench where his sister sat. I hoped to God that whoever did that to her was already in police custody, because injury or not, Ian looked like he was going to kill someone. A vein throbbed in his neck, and his fists were clenched at his sides.
“Stay in the car, Kenzie,” he growled.
I was tempted to obey since he was seriously pissed off, but I was more worried about his sister, so I followed at a safe distance.
“I told you, I don’t remember what he looked like,” Sophia was saying as I approached.
“Where were you when this happened?” Ian asked. He leaned over her with his hand on the back of the bench. His gaze darted around, looking for anyone who might seem the least bit suspicious. Now that he was near his sister, he seemed to relax the tiniest bit.
“I don’t remember. I told you, I was dazed. I wandered a while before I thought to call you.”
That was all I needed to hear. I scooted in on the bench next to her. “Sophia, my name is MacKenzie. I’m a nurse,” I said. “Did you hit your head?”
“No.” She turned away from me, but I caught a glimpse of her eyes and my heart almost broke for a second time. Her pupils were dilated and her eyes were red. That combined with the insane pace her knee was bouncing told me all I needed to know. She was using. Probably cocaine from the way she kept wiping at her nose.
I searched Ian’s face for any indication that he knew his kid sister was coked-up out of her gourd, but it was clear he didn’t. Not that I could blame him for missing it. After all, the signs of her recent assault were much more obvious.
“What happened?” I asked.
“I was attacked. I got away before anything happened, but I just want to go home.”
“We should call the police,” I said.
“No,” they both said in unison, and Ian said, “I don’t want this shit behind bars where I can’t get to him.”
Sophia whimpered. “Ian, it was nothing. I told you I don’t remember who it was. Now can you please just drive me home?”
Ian surveyed the street one last time, then turned to his sister. “Yeah, let’s get you home.”
I tried to sit with Sophia in back, but she waved me off, saying she was fine, and pushed me to sit up front with Ian. She tried to get us to just drop her off, but Ian insisted on walking her upstairs and getting her settled.
“You don’t mind, do you, Kenzie? I’m sorry to drag you all over town like this.”
I shook my head. “No, not at all.” I was worried for Sophia, and glad he wasn’t just going to let her wander upstairs alone.
In the elevator, Sophia kept tapping her foot and bouncing against the wall, literally, by leaning back, then pushing off with her hands. It looked like she was going to explode any moment.