Fighting the urge to lift her into his arms and carry her the rest of the way, Cole squeezed her hand tighter, not once relaxing his grip until they were in the safety of his kitchen.
“Sit down,” he barked. “I’ll get the first-aid kit.” He paused in the doorway. “On second thought, I’ll drive you to the clinic.”
“No way,” she grumbled. “Just get the damned kit.”
When he returned to the kitchen a minute later, Jamie had taken off her T-shirt. She wore only a snug black sports bra and she’d slid down the right strap so it didn’t constrict her shoulder.
A lump of terror lodged in Cole’s throat. Blood was caked on her golden skin. He had to wonder if the shooter had aimed for the arm, or simply missed Jamie’s head, or heart or whatever the intended target had been. Either way, Cole swallowed down the terror, along with a dose of relief that she was alive.
She didn’t make a single sound as he cleaned up the wound, not even when he dumped a generous amount of iodine on her skin to sterilize the laceration. He knew it must have stung like hell, but Jamie didn’t even twitch.
After he’d cleaned it, Cole examined her shoulder, realizing she was right. The bullet had only grazed her skin, leaving a nasty-looking burn and taking off some skin. He quickly bandaged up the area, then walked over to the sink to wash his hands.
“Cole” came her hesitant voice.
He turned around slowly. “Don’t say it’s no big deal.”
“I wasn’t going to. I was just going to suggest we call Finn. Though he’s probably on his way over. I was on the phone with him when the shot rang out.”
“I’m already on it,” Cole said as he reached for the cordless phone on the counter.
“Good.” She finally winced, revealing the first flash of pain and discomfort he’d seen since she was shot. “And maybe you can grab those painkillers from upstairs. I think I might actually need them this time.”
He knew admitting any weakness was probably a strain for her, so he decided to bite back the urge to order her to lie down or something. She didn’t seem to have any intention of getting off the chair and he decided to give her that. As he headed upstairs to get the pain pills, he dialed Finnegan’s number, and when he reentered the kitchen a minute later, Jamie was where he’d left her, the elbow of her good arm propped up on the table. “Did you call Finn?”
“Yeah. You were right. He was already on his way,” Cole reported as he got her a glass of water.
He handed her the water and two painkillers, which she swallowed without any objection. It was only after she drained the glass and leaned back in the chair that Cole finally let himself relax. The adrenaline racing through his blood slowly dissipated, leaving him numb and unbelievably angry with himself. He’d been supposed to keep her safe, keep her protected. Someone had cut her brakes the day before, for chrissake. He should have locked her in the damn house. Refused to let her out of his sight.
He stared at her in dismay. She looked small and fragile sitting there in nothing but a sports bra and those little blue shorts, with her red hair coming out of her ponytail. A smudge of dirt marred her silky cheek, and there were grass stains on her knees. He wanted to take her into his arms and never let her go, which was almost as disturbing as the fact that she’d just been shot on his property.
How had Jamie gotten under his skin in such a short amount of time? When he’d given in to the attraction last night, it was only supposed to be about sex.
“Why do you look so serious?”
Her gentle voice penetrated his thoughts and he met her eyes. “You could have been killed,” he said, clenching his fists to his sides. “Christ, it’s like every woman I get involved with is destined to lose her life.”
A strange look flitted across her face. “Cole—”
“Maybe I should get you out of town,” he interrupted. “I’ve got a place in Tahiti that we can—”
“No way. I’m not leaving Serenade.”
“Even if it means you getting killed?”
She stuck out her chin. “I’m going to be here to catch this guy. I don’t run and hide when things get a little dangerous.”
“A little dangerous?” The rest of his irritated speech went unfinished as the keypad by the door buzzed, indicating someone was at the gate. Apparently Finnegan hadn’t wasted any time in getting here.
After pressing the button to open the gate, Cole glanced at Jamie’s sports bra and frowned. “You should put something on.”
“Why?” She suddenly laughed. “Because of Finn?”
“Yes, because of Finn,” he snapped back.
“Trust me, he doesn’t look at me that way.”
Cole doubted it. The bra she wore covered everything, but did nothing to hide the fullness of Jamie’s breasts, or the flat expanse of her creamy stomach. Still, she made no move to reach for her bloodstained shirt.
“If he even looks at you funny,” Cole threatened.