Read Online All In by Marta Brown - Free Book Online

stitches.
    “Dude. That was so awesome,” Andrew
says, returning with a napkin filled with ice. “If I’d seen him
grab Ash I would have done the same thing.” He claps me on the
shoulder and gives Ashley a brotherly look. “Thanks,
man.”
    I nod. Everyone is back around the
fire now that the show is over, and in all the commotion I had
completely forgot about work. I look over at the lighthouse and see
Rusty standing outside the door. “Oh crap. I have to go.” I give
Ashley one last look before taking off back down the beach without
so much as a goodbye. The last thing I need is losing another job
because of Gregory Chase.
    “Lane, where have you been?” Rusty
asks. He drops his old fashion watch into his pocket and
sighs.
    “I’m so sorry, Rus. I had a…friend…who
was in trouble.” He looks over my face carefully and then with the
attitude of an old man who’s been in his own fair share of fights
he grins.
    “Well, I sure hope the other guy looks
worse than you do, son.” He hands me the keys I dropped and gives
me a hearty laugh as he shuffles by. “Kids,” he says, shaking his
head with a smile. “Goodnight, Lane.”
    “Night, Rus.”
    I shut the salt rusted door to the
light house behind me and attempt to take a deep breath, now that
my adrenaline has leveled out some, but it’s hard after the jab I
took to my side. I climb the narrow metal grate stairs, all one
hundred and forty five steps to the top slowly, wincing a little
while I do. I should have taken the ice from Andrew before I took
off. Stupid.
    As I sit down at the small desk and
prop my feet up. I flinch in pain when I touch my swollen lip. The
blood has dried, and it’s tender to the touch, but I don’t think
I’ll need stitches.
    The light house is quiet,
and I’m just about to get my heartbeat back to normal when I close
my eyes and hear Gregory’s threat ringing in my ears,
‘ you just made the biggest mistake of your
life’ . I try to clear my mind, but a
slight panic starts to rise in me. What if his threat isn’t an
empty one? What if he presses charges? The thought of being
arrested again and seeing the disappointment on my mom’s face for a
second time in two days slowly turns my worry into a complete and
total panic attack until I hear the door creak open below, echoing
through the empty stairwell.
    “Lane? Are you up there?”
     

Chapter 8
    Ashley
     
    I hear noise from high above me before
Lane comes half way down the spiral staircase and stops. He seems
surprised to see me.
    “I hope it’s okay that I’m here.” He
answers my question with a smile, then winces when the cut on his
lip stretches too far.
    “Hi,” he says, reaching up and
touching the angry looking injury.
    His swollen lip is a cringe worthy
shade of purpley-black and his hair is more mussed than before, but
he still somehow manages to look gorgeous, and I can’t help myself
from staring. How is it possible he looks this good after getting
into a fight? Not a little scuffle either, a real fight with blood
and broken bones that he got in for me.
    “Lane, I’m so sorry. I feel
terrible.”
    “Nah, it’s just a few battle wounds.
No worries, they’ll heal.”
    “Thought you might need this,” I say,
holding up the ice wrap Andrew made.
    “Thanks,” he says but neither of us
moves. There’s a beat of awkward silence as we look at one another
until I take a tentative step forward, toward the first stair, and
raise my eye brows, silently asking for permission to come
up.
    “Oh, yeah, sorry. Come up.”
    “Ouch,” I say when I finally reach him
and can see the cut up close. It’s worse than I thought.
    I lift the makeshift ice pack to his
face and gently place it against his lip. He closes his eyes and a
small groan escapes him that I assume is from the pain, but I hope
it’s from the relief the ice brings.
    I can’t stop myself from letting my
eyes roam his face while his are shut. His strong jaw, clenched
tight, is covered with a