Oz laid Ronnie down. Her silence was making him nervous. “Hey, Baby-girl, you with me?”
She groaned, and he took that as a good sign.
He pushed the cases of beer and wine on the floor. The crash of breaking glass brought one balding man peeping out, holding his unzipped pants from an office door.
“What the hell?” The out of shape man squinted, looking around.
Oz had just laid Ronnie on the table.
Get a first aid kit, Oz ordered telepathically. When he looked at the bald man’s appearance, he added, Get rid of the girl.
When the man looked confused, he sent a psychic blast, which was just short of him yelling, “Move yo ass, motherfucker!”
The man jumped in the air like a bunny, then yelled something behind him as he zipped up his pants. A young woman scuttled out of the room, pulling down her miniskirt and wiping the wetness from around her mouth. It didn’t do a thing to fix her smeared lipstick.
Less than a minute later, the chubby bastard held out a blue and white canvas bag to Oz. It looked much like a kids’ lunch bag. Oz unzipped it and found nearly nothing inside.
“Shit,” Oz mumbled as he rummaged through the few items inside. He was positive this thing had never been restocked. He pulled out a roll of gauze, then found two alcohol wipes at the bottom and prayed they weren’t dried out.
He looked up at the blank-faced man. Did you guys never restock this thing?
“No. Why would I? I ain’t running no hospital.”
Oz took a deep breath before he actually hurt this man. With a mental push, he sent the man back into the office.
The blood on Ronnie’s head had stopped flowing. He wadded up some gauze and ran water over it, then wiped away the dried blood from her face, neck, and hands. The cool material seemed to help bring her back a little. Her eyes remained shut as she whimpered.
He ripped open the alcohol pad and touched the large bruise on her forehead. She squirmed, then hissed. “Baby-girl, stay still.”
Oz ran his finger over the circular imprint on her cheek. That lion shifter had backhanded her with an insignia ring on his hand. He pulled out his phone and snapped a quick picture. That guy didn’t realize what kind of hell was going to rain down on him. He hit her and possibly marked her. Oz didn’t know if the mark was permanent, but for her sake he hoped not. He dabbed it with the alcohol swab, and she hissed again.
Her eyes flew open as she bared her teeth. “That stings.”
Sorry, Oz said telepathically.
Ronnie grabbed her head as she cried out, “What the hell?!” Her eyes clenched down. “That hurts so bad.”
Oz rubbed her shoulder gently. He wanted to console her and make the pain stop, but all he could do was wait for her to stop moaning. She’d done this twice tonight, and now he was beginning to suspect that he was causing her pain.
“Sorry.”
“Not. Your. Fault,” Ronnie said through clenched teeth. “Migraines.”
Oz wasn’t so sure that was all of it. He hadn’t been able to read her mind at any point tonight.
With her eyes still closed, she whispered, “Water.”
Shit, why hadn’t he thought of that? His eyes scanned the trashed room of broken glass and beer and wine pooling on the concrete floor. In the back corner, he spotted a tall stack of plastic bottled waters. The throwing knife was already out by the time he reached the cases of water. He sliced the thick plastic film and a few bottles fell out as he grabbed as many as he could carry.
Deep creases marred Ronnie’s brow, and her eyes were still closed. Oz opened a bottle. “Here.”
Ronnie cracked open one eye and wiggled her fingers.
“Raise up a little bit.” Oz touched her arm.
She took a deep breath, then pushed herself up. He helped her, and she didn’t pull away, “Thanks.”
Ronnie eyed him warily before taking a sip, then closed her eyes as she took a deeper swallow.
Oz took the bottle when she finished. “You okay now?”
It took her a minute before she answered, then finally she said, “Yeah. I think I am.” She lowered her legs, slid off the table, wobbled and nearly hit the floor.
He grabbed her before she went down and held her close. “Maybe you need a hospital.”
She moved her head side to side, then winced. “No hospital.” She leaned back on the metal table, seeming to catch her balance. “I’m okay.”
Only then did he release his grip on her. It felt like the sun had been removed from his otherwise cold existence. Of course the entire thought was ridiculous, but it didn’t stop him from wanting her.
“All right.” He held up his hands up in surrender, but his heart hadn’t given in at all. “But where?”
“Wait.” She held up her hand to stop him when he followed. “You’ve been nice to me all night, but why are you helping me?”
Oz opened his mouth, then shut it. He’d never enjoyed speaking aloud, but maybe it was her head injury that was making it difficult to communicate with her mind to mind. This was the most he’d spoken aloud in a very long time. His voice sounded weird to his ears every time he opened his mouth. This time was no different.
“I’m Oz. Oz Zhang.”
He didn’t know why he told her his entire name. He usually told people Oz or Wizard. He often got a strange look because he had an Asian last name, and he was very much a black man. He had no desire to explain his heritage, but in his heart, deep down, he wanted to start this relationship off on the right foot. He wanted this
