About That Kiss:A Heartbreaker Bay Novel(48)

He put a finger over her lips. "We'll circle back to that later, when your hair's not still smoking."

"I texted you."

"Yes, and it said ‘Siri, text Joe.'"

"What?" She shook her head. "No, she was supposed to tell you where I was. That bitch. I also called. Did she tell you that?"         

     



 

"I got the call. We were connected the whole time, which is how I got  here in time to see you save yourself. Proud of you, Kylie."

She tried to meet his gaze at that, but suddenly the ground was shaking  so violently she was having trouble speaking. "Wh-wh-what's happening?"

"Shh," Joe said, pulling her in close. "You're in shock."

"Am not-Hey," she said as Joe ran his hands over her, looking for  injuries. "I'm okay." But then she ruined that statement by nearly  coughing up a lung. "Really. Totally fine," she finally managed with a  very hoarse voice.

This didn't appear to ease his tension one little bit as he continued to hold on to her. "You're bleeding."

"What? No, I'm not. I'm-" She looked down and saw a long rip in her  jeans from hip to knee, revealing a huge gash in her leg with lots of  blood and gore. "Huh," she said, her heartbeat pounding like a drum in  her ears as her vision started to fade. "Look at that . . . I am  bleeding." Her vision went all cobwebby.

"Kylie." Joe sounded more intense than she'd ever heard him and that was saying something. "Kylie, stay with me."

Ha. If only he really meant that.





Chapter 32





YouAintHeardNothingYet



Joe's heart was still on overdrive from the crazy race to the marina  while listening to Kylie handle the situation via her cell phone. The  connection had been spotty so he'd missed a bunch of what was said, but  the gunshot had come through loud and clear and he'd gone into heart  failure until he'd heard her voice again. "Kylie, the paramedics are  going to take a look at you now."

She weaved and clutched at him. "I'm sorry you're upset."

"Let's worry about you."

"Five-by-five rule," she said, cupping his jaw with both hands to stare  into his eyes. "If it's not going to matter in five years, don't let it  upset you."

He shook his head and hugged her close, pressing his face into her hair,  trying not to embarrass himself, but he was going to need a moment.  "You're going to matter in five years, Kylie."

She didn't respond to that. Instead she pulled back to look earnestly  into his eyes. "You get why I went without you, right? I didn't mean to,  but I had to go with my mom. I couldn't let her go after Kevin by  herself."

"And you were amazing, baby," her mom said, dropping to her knees on  Kylie's other side now. "But let's allow the hot guys do their job and  take care of you, okay?"

"I can take care of myself." Kylie looked around with a frown. "Why is the ground still shaking?"

"Still you," Joe said gently. He took an emergency blanket from Lucas  and wrapped it around her shoulders. He was worried about the gash along  her thigh, as it was bone-deep. There was another cut at her temple and  along one cheek. Her pupils were dilated. And she was breathing like  she'd just run a few miles. None of it added up to anything good. "You  did great, Kylie. You took care of your mom. Now you're going to let us  take care of you."

She closed her eyes. "But I'm fine."

"And don't I know it. But I've got you now. I love you, and I've got you."

No answer.

He stroked the hair from her face. "Kylie."

Nothing. She'd gone limp in his arms and for the second time in an hour,  his heart about stopped. The next few minutes were a blur of action as  he handed her over to the paramedics, not leaving her side until they'd  loaded her up in the ambulance.

Her mom climbed in beside her, and then the double doors shut in his face and they were gone.

"Hospital," he said to Lucas and headed straight for his truck.

Lucas beat him to it-quite the feat. "I'm driving," he said.

Since Joe didn't want to waste time fighting, he took shotgun and then  proceeded to backseat-drive Lucas all the way there. "Turn here, it's  faster. Take the next left. Run the yellow."

"Joe?"

"Yeah?"         

     



 

Lucas glanced at him. "You want to get there in how many minutes?"

"I'd do it in ten," Joe said.

Lucas nodded. "If you shut the fuck up, I'll get you there in eight."

So Joe shut the fuck up. And Lucas got them to the hospital in the promised eight minutes.

But it was several hours before Joe got to see Kylie. She'd needed to be  sedated to remove the drywall that was still embedded in her leg.  Several other cuts, including the one on her temple, had needed  stitches.

In the meantime, it was the dreaded waiting room for him, which had  filled up. Kylie's entire gang from the Pacific Pier Building was there,  including his own sister, who gave him a big, hard hug and then smacked  him upside the back of his head.

"That's for Kylie," Molly said.

"Hey." He rubbed his head. "It's not my fault she's in here."

A lie. He'd let her down. He'd let them both down and he didn't know how he could forgive himself.

"That's not what I meant," Molly said and then sighed and hugged him  again. "Joseph James Malone, Kylie being in here isn't your fault."

She hadn't middle-named him since they'd been young so she clearly meant business.

"And I smacked you," she went on, "because the rumor mill says you waited until she was passed out to tell her you love her."

He gaped at her and then whipped around to look at his guys.

Lucas. Archer. Max. Reyes.

Lucas waved.

Joe flipped him off.

"Oh please," Molly said. "Don't even try to blame any of them for your  idiocy. We talked about this too. You're still too slow on the trigger."

"Wow," he said.

His sister went hands on hips. "Did you know that no one says ‘wow'  better than a guy who's been accused of something he actually did?"

Joe pulled out his phone and looked at the dark screen. Where the hell was a call when you needed one?

"Sorry," Molly said. "But the person you're hoping is going to call you  has been sedated, and even if she wasn't, she'd be ignoring your sorry  ass."

Joe turned and walked out of the room. Because once again his sister was  right-not that he could tell her so or she'd gloat. But he had indeed  been way too slow, on several counts. He was supposed to protect Kylie.  Instead he'd kept her out of the loop and she'd gotten hurt-on his  watch. That was going to eat at him for a good long time.

He paced around and finally bribed a nurse he'd dated the year before to  direct him to Kylie's room. He waited there until her mom left before  slipping inside himself.

Her eyes were closed and she appeared to be sleeping peacefully enough,  so he dragged a chair as close to her bed as he could get and sat.

He didn't realize he'd dozed off until he heard her low, raspy voice murmur, "Go home, Joe."

She was sitting up carefully, hair wild, moving slow enough to tell him  she hurt from head to toe. Her body was a tightly coiled spring, whether  from the pain or stress he had no idea. Both, no doubt. "How do you  feel?" he asked.

"Better than you. You look like hell."

Yeah, well, the past twelve hours had nearly killed him.

She stared up at him and then closed her eyes. "We're not doing this," she whispered.

"Not doing what?"

"You think it's your fault I got hurt," she said. "So now you're going  to change your stance on wanting a relationship with me out of guilt.  But I won't do it, Joe. I don't want you under those circumstances. I  want you to have wanted me all along."

Heart heavy, he shook his head. "It's not that, Kylie. I-"

"Oh my God, you're awake!" Her mom came back into the room with a  relieved smile. "I brought Jell-O. Red, green, yellow . . . all the  Jell-O!" She set a tray on Kylie's lap. "And I just talked to your  doctor. He says I can bust you free in a few hours. And then I'm taking  you out of town to recoup for a few days. I've got a friend in Aptos  who's letting us use his beach house!"

Kylie grimaced. "Mom-"         

     



 

"Please, Kylie." She sat at Kylie's hip and took her hand in hers,  gripping it tight, pressing it to her chest. "Please let me do this for  you."

Kylie stared at her mom and then nodded. Then she leaned back and closed her eyes-without looking at Joe again.

"Kylie," he said.

"My head hurts," she whispered, and just like that both he and her mom  were ushered out of her room so she could rest some more. And later,  when she was discharged, she left town with her mom and what was left of  the tatters of Joe's heart.





Chapter 33