“I don’t think anything’s broken.” Her voice went tight, and she was afraid to breathe too deeply.
She sent him a weak smile and got an unidentifiable look in return. It froze on his face, his vivid blue eyes homing in on hers. The power of that one single look made her throat convulse. Years of growing up amidst tough, seasoned military men, and not once had one made her the least bit nervous. Until now. There was something about Rafe that made her unsteady and a little bit unsure of herself. And she wasn’t sure she liked it.
Behind Rafe, the remaining team staggered into the alley. Their expressions ran the gamut from amusement to concern, maybe a bit of appreciation. Trey’s, however, was all anger.
Red faced, he stopped no less than two feet away.
“What the hell were you thinking?” Trey’s voice boomed, breaking the tender silence. “Were you trying to get yourself killed?”
“No. I was trying to get between a pair of decent-sized fists and her.” Penny tipped her head to where Chase stepped over the man on the ground to get to the young woman. The brunette cringed away from him at first, but he got down to his haunches, speaking to her in a low murmur. “Five more minutes in that jerk’s company and she wouldn’t be able to tell you a thing.”
“One wrong fucking move and you wouldn’t be able to either.”
Logan interceded, blocking Penny’s view of Trey’s scowl. “Take a breather, man. Our little lady did fucking incredible. The ass-hat never saw it coming.” He flashed her a wink and earned himself a glare from Rafe when his congratulatory pat on the back made her wince.
“Shit.” Logan cringed. “Sorry, darlin’. You’re going to be one big-ass bruise in twenty-four hours. You know that, right?”
Penny groaned, half chuckling. “Aren’t you supposed to be the Southern gentleman of the group? You’re not supposed to remind me that I’m going to look and feel like death warmed over piping-hot coals.”
“Hell, honey, you’d look rock-star gorgeous even on your worst day.”
“Thank you for being such a good liar,” Penny teased.
Sean stepped forward, eyeing the scene around them. “Our contact in the policía is on his way, which means the rest of you better make skid marks.” With a semi-amused shake of his head, the Alpha team leader asked her, “How you holding up? Does Chase have to patch you together with glue and tape?”
“I think everything’s in its proper place.” Though she couldn’t imagine feeling any more sore if she’d wrestled with a professional linebacker. Purposefully ignoring the gazes of both Trey and Rafe, she asked, “So, did I pass? There can’t be anything more real world than what just happened, right?”
With a laugh, Sean gave her arm an affectionate squeeze. “I think we’ll keep you around for a bit, but I don’t think we should unleash you on the rest of the world just yet. Go back to the house with the guys; put yourself back together.”
Her gaze slid to the young woman now sobbing into Chase’s shirt and her heart ached. “What’s going to happen to her?”
“My contact will get her to where she needs to be.” Sean glanced down to the man on the ground who stirred faintly with a groan. “We’ll get him where he needs to be, too. It’ll be a long time before he thinks about hurting someone like that again.”
Penny said a prayer of thanks that she was where she needed to be, too. Only a fool wouldn’t admit that she was way out of her element. She needed Alpha Security, their contacts, their brawn, their help. And at that very second, she would admit, she also kind of needed Rafe’s arms.
Logan shifted into her line of sight, mouth curled down into a frown as he peered into her face. “Hey, are ya feeling okay, Penn? Shit. She doesn’t look so good, Ortega. I think she’s going to pass out on us.”
The scents of the alley dulled. Lights dimmed. With every passing second, Penny’s head swirled more. Rafe’s warm hands gently pushed her hair from her face. There was a soft curse and a muffled string of expletives. By then, his voice barely cut through the thickening fog. It was the last thing she heard before darkness rippled over her head and her legs folded in on her.
“We got to get her out of here.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Each hour since returning to the safe house, Penny downgraded her status a bit more. First, she felt like she’d been tackled by a linebacker. Then, a linebacker and maybe one of his defensive-end friends. By the time morning came around, wrestling with the professional football league’s entire roster would’ve been considered a step up.