Read Online Endless Chain by Emilie Richards - Free Book Online Page A

minute or two with Leon just behind her until she heard voices. Following the sound, she stepped into a large room and examined a group standing around a man who was passed out cold in the corner.
    “ Increible …” They were clearly too late, but she started toward the men anyway. Behind her, she could hear Leon breathing hard, as if he was trying not to cry.
     
    For just a moment, Sam watched Elisa and Leon approach; then he turned to the others. “I think it would be best if you left. He’s going to wake up in a minute, and it’s going to be worse if he has an audience.”
    “You’re sure?” Early asked. “I mean, we don’t want him to take another swing at you.” He paused. “Or you at him.”
    Sam stared at him without comment, and Early finally stepped back. “We’ll wait nearby. Just in case.”
    “It’s taken care of,” Sam assured him. “But thank you just the same.”
    The men left by the side door. Sam was fairly sure they would continue to hover there.
    Elisa and Leon reached him. Sam spoke before they could. “He took a swing at me, stumbled and fell.”
    Elisa stooped and put her fingertips against George’s throat. Then gently—and what looked like thoroughly—she probed the back of his head, his neck and shoulders, running her hands down his arms, then over his back and legs, in a manner he could only term professional. For a moment Sam had the oddest desire to be George, passed out cold on the social hall floor.
    She got to her feet. “No obvious injuries. How hard did he hit his head when he fell?”
    “He stumbled and pitched forward. He wasn’t standing tall. I think he more or less caught himself. Then he just…dissolved.” He paused. “Where did you learn to do that?”
    “What?”
    “That kind of examination.”
    “I worked at a bar in El Paso. There were a lot of fights.”
    “Is he going to be all right?” Leon asked.
    “I think he’s going to have un grandísimo dolor de cabeza. ” She sighed. “One big headache. Mostly from the liquor.”
    George punctuated her words with a groan. He stirred, and in a moment he tried to push himself off the floor. Elisa bent over him. “Mr. Jenkins, are you all right?”
    “What happened?”
    She looked up at Sam and motioned for him to step away. He was only too aware that his presence would not be appreciated.
    “You poor thing,” she said in her musical voice. “You fell and hit your head. But I think you’re going to be okay. Let me help you sit up.”
    “Where the hell…am I?”
    “Not where you should be,” she soothed him. “You need fresh air for that poor head of yours. I bet it hurts, doesn’t it?” She smoothed her hand over his cheek.
    “It hurts…like hell.”
    “I am sure it does.”
    He rolled to his side, and she positioned herself to help him sit up. With a minimum of fuss, he was soon sitting with his head in his hands.
    “You aren’t going to feel any better until we get you some fresh air.” She sounded concerned. “It’s hot in here, not comfortable at all. You need to be comfortable. You deserve it. Let me help you stand.”
    He looked up at that point and saw Leon standing a few feet away. Jenkins squinted. “Lee?”
    Leon approached tentatively. “Right here, Dad. I’ll help you up.”
    “What…r’you doing here?”
    “I asked him to help me get you outside where you’ll feel better,” Elisa said in a voice like gentle rain. “He is a good son. He is right here waiting to help you.”
    “Always been a good son.”
    Sam watched as Leon and Elisa positioned themselves on either side of the man and lifted him as if they had always worked together. He felt helpless, but he knew better than to assist. One glance at him and the fight would all come flooding back.
    George hobbled toward the door, stopping once, as if nausea was building. Luckily he seemed to recover. They got him through the door and out into the fresh air. Sam followed at a distance. In only minutes they had