He launched himself at her, lifted her gently into his arms. God, she was so small, so helpless right now. He looked down, and her bare feet tugged on his heart for some reason.
“Gabriela?”
She moaned and turned her head. Her eyes flickered open and she stared up at him, confused and a bit frightened.
“Aidan?”
“Yeah, it’s me.” He stroked her hair. “Stay still.”
“What – why am I on the ground? Outside?” Her voice was hoarse.
“We’ll talk about that later. Right now, I need to make sure you’re OK. Are you?”
“Am I what?”
“Are you OK?”
“Umm.” She shut her eyes and winced a bit. “I think so.”
“Does your head hurt?”
“No, not really. My throat and my neck.”
He lifted her chin, and that was when he saw the redness and bruising. The fucker must have cut off her air until she passed out.
