It would probably be the first and only time he would ever get a professional massage. Even if he enjoyed it, on principal alone he’d never admit it to Calista.

“So what’s the deal? I strip and lay down on this table?” He grumbled but was secretly amused.

And maybe a little curious.

The room smelled of the tropics. Soft, instrumental music came from somewhere, although he couldn’t see the speakers. Candles lined the room, and in the middle was the small bed he was supposed to lay on.

Lucy nodded and shut the door behind him. Five minutes later he found himself enjoying a full body massage. He was having a hard time remembering why he’d been so against getting one in the first place. The woman was just beginning to work on his calves when a blood-curdling scream ripped through the peaceful atmosphere.

Calista!

His heart stopped for a millisecond before he jumped off the table, grabbed the gun he’d hidden, and sprinted towards the sound. He rammed the door to Calista’s room open. Lucy lay in a heap of blood on the floor. A half-naked Calista clutched onto Lucy with no regards to anything or anyone else.

“Calista! What happened?” He tried to pull her up but she wouldn’t release her death grip on Lucy.

The blonde woman who had been massaging him ran in a minute later, breathless. “The police have been called.” Her eyes widened in horror at the sight of Lucy. “Oh my God!”

“Clear everyone out of this area, but lock the doors and don’t let anyone leave.” Dane commanded, not caring about her shock.

“I can’t force anyone…”

“Don’t ask questions. Just do it.”

The woman’s eyes widened, but he didn’t have time to sugarcoat anything. He could be a scary bastard when he wanted to.

Minutes later she was back and shaking. “It’s taken care of. And here are your clothes.”

She threw them at him and ran from the room. After struggling into his clothes, he again tried to get Calista up off the floor.

“You can’t help her now. You need to get dressed.”

Calista wore nothing but black silk panties, and Dane didn’t want anyone else to see her in her current state. He knew she didn’t care, but he did.

She looked up at him with glazed-over eyes. He knew she wasn’t really seeing anything. He lifted her arms and she mutely let him pull her sweater over her head. Somehow she managed to put her jeans on by herself.

“He was here. He thought I was alone.”

“Honey, listen to me. The police will be here any second.”

A groan from the floor pushed them both into action.

“She’s alive!” Calista screamed, near the point of hysterics.

“So much blood, it seems impossible.” Dane muttered to himself as he lifted Lucy’s head.

“Grab those towels.” He ordered Calista who mutely obeyed. All he could do was apply pressure to her neck until the paramedics arrived.

“Come on, Lucy, you’re a fighter. That much is obvious.” It would be a true miracle if she survived this.

Hell, it was a miracle she’d already survived after so much blood loss. Dane cursed himself. He should have checked her vitals immediately, but he’d been more worried about Calista.

****

Dane paced back and forth on the shiny, white tile and fought the urge to drag Calista back to her condo by force. He couldn’t understand why she wanted to stay when she clearly needed sleep. Finally, he sat down next to her, and for the umpteenth time, tried to convince her to leave MercyHospital. “Calista, you need to go home and get some rest.”

“Not yet, I need to know how she’s doing and these doctor’s aren’t—” her voice cracked.

They’d been at the hospital for hours and all they knew so far was that Lucy had a severed jugular vein, but by some miracle wasn’t dead.

Calista leaned forward in the metal waiting room chair and raked a hand through her tangled hair. Under the harsh florescent light, she couldn’t hide the half moons under her eyes if she’d tried.

“Her family is here so it’s not as if she’s alone,” Dane murmured and pulled her close.

She was a mess. Blood spattered her jeans and a look of pain permanently etched her delicate face.

“I can’t leave until I know. Besides, I’m sure the police will want to talk to me again.”

“Don’t be so sure about that,” he murmured into her hair.

The police had briefly questioned her at the salon, taking all the basic information down, but Dane pulled some strings so she could make a statement later.

She looked up at him, confusion shrouding her pretty face. “What do you mean? They told me they wanted me to come down to the station as soon as possible.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’ve taken care of things.”

Dane held her close and listened as her breathing gradually steadied. Her head slumped against his shoulder and one of her hands fell in his lap. Without caring what she’d think when she woke up, he took her hand and held it.

Three hours later Lucy’s daughter appeared with good news.

“She’s stabilized.” Kristine, who was the spitting image of her beautiful and delicate mother, pulled Calista into a hug.

“That’s wonderful,” Calista said.

“You need to go home and get some rest, Calista. We’ll call you if anything changes.”

Dane recognized the same determined look on Kristine’s face he’d witnessed on her mother’s. If Calista tried to argue, she’d lose. He was thankful that she didn’t.

“Okay. But all the hospital bills are being taken care of. I know it can’t change what’s happened, but maybe it will ease some of your troubles.” Calista stood and took Kristine’s hands in her own small ones.

“No, that’s not necessary…”

Holding up a hand, Calista silenced the other woman. “Yes, it really is, and it is not up for discussion.”

She gave Kristine a quick hug and grabbed Dane’s arm. “I’m ready to go home.”

Once they were outside, Dane put his arm around her. “What you did in there was…”

“Whatever, I’ve got the money.” She shrugged in an effort to stay nonchalant, but he knew better.

“Don’t do that.”

“I don’t want to hear how nice I am. What happened was my fault. If I hadn’t insisted on doing things my way none of this would have happened. You were right.”

Before she could continue he spun her around and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Dammit, Calista, look at me. What happened wasn’t your fault. This is all him. You can’t blame yourself for the actions of a maniac.”

“If I hadn’t—” She choked on a sob and buried her face in his chest.

“Oh, honey.” He gripped her tightly and ran his hands through her hair.

She mumbled something into his chest, but he couldn’t understand a word. When the hired car pulled up, he wiped away her tears, bundled her inside, but didn’t get in himself.

She looked up at him with terror in her eyes. “Aren’t you coming with me?”

“I can’t. Don’t worry, you’re in capable hands.” He motioned to the driver who introduced himself as Chad.

“No. I’m not going anywhere without you.” Her voice raised a few octaves and her eyes welled up with fresh tears.

“I need to take care of some things and I can’t bring you with me. Believe me, if I could I would. Hell, that’s not true. I don’t want you with me. I want you safe at home where no one can touch you.”

Conflicting emotions ran across her face. Instead of fighting him as he’d expected, she slumped against the leather seat and turned away.

“Fine.” Her voice was flat and emotionless.

Dane watched the car pull away and guilt enveloped him. He promised he’d stay by her side. Now when she needed him most, he was leaving. Screw it. He whipped out his phone and dialed Chad. “Pull back around.”

The look of relief on her face was enough that he knew he’d made the right decision.

“Thank you.” Calista closed her eyes and leaned closer to Dane.

She laid her head on his shoulder the same way she had in the hospital. He ignored the raised eyebrows he received from Chad in the rearview mirror. He didn’t care what he or anyone else thought.

Dane had a million questions, but knew he needed to wait until she felt safe. That’s another reason he’d stopped the police from questioning her further. She had been near hysterics. If they’d dragged her down to the station, it would have been too much for her to handle at the moment. The press would have been all over it and she would have been even further exposed. Not to mention he didn’t trust the police to protect her. He only trusted himself.

Dane paced the living room and waited for Calista to finish her shower. When she walked out, her eyes were puffy, her nose was red, and she still looked good enough to eat. Her hair was pulled back by an elastic band although it didn’t look like it was doing a good job of containing her thick curls. “You look like a college student.”

She shrugged, curled up on the couch, and pulled a pillow into her lap that somehow looked like a barrier between her and the world. “I know you want answers.”

He nodded. “The sooner the better.”

Calista hugged the pillow tighter against her chest. “Lucy had just started my massage when she received a phone call. Normally they wouldn’t interrupt her, but I heard the girl who came to the door. She said it was the police on the phone and her daughter had been injured.”

She sighed and rubbed the bruise forming on her jaw. “It all happened so fast. My head is still a little fuzzy. He must have been waiting for her to leave, because seconds later the door opened. Before I could even respond he’d flipped me on my back and…”

“Did he—” He hadn’t even considered that possibility. She’d still been wearing her panties.