Read Online In The Still of the Night [The Protectors 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) by Marla Monroe - Free Book Online Page A

cloth and began to clean the dried blood between her breasts and her upper chest. Bruises marred the skin around her ribs on the left side. He cursed under his breath and swallowed down the bile that suddenly filled his throat.
    “I need you to stand up if you can.” He held out his arms for her to grasp. “Use me to pull up on if you need to.”
    He watched her stand. She favored her left side. The blanket fell the rest of the way off. Relief flooded him to see that she still had on panties. It was a good sign that the bastard hadn’t raped her.
    “Jenna?” Tina called through the door. “Can I come in? I have something for you to wear.”
    “Come in.” Jenna had a towel around her chest, holding it up under her arms.
    Tina walked in holding a pair of sweat pants and an overlarge T-shirt.
    “I figured this would go over your head easy. It’s one of your sleep shirts.” Tina held the items tightly to her chest. “You look a lot better now that the blood is cleaned off.”
    “I feel better. Tell Riley I don’t need to go to the hospital,” Jenna pleaded.
    “Nope. I agree with him.” Tina shook her head
    “Traitor.”
    He needed to check her ribs to be sure they were stationary. He was going to hurt her checking, but it had to be done.
    “I need to check those ribs. It’s not going to feel good.”
    Jenna looked dubious. “What are you going to do?”
    “I’m going to feel of them to be sure they aren’t moveable.”
    “They’re fine. I’ve had broken ribs before, and it doesn’t feel like that.” Jenna held the towel tighter and took a step to the side—away from him.
    “Too bad. I’m checking.”
    Riley stood in front of her and placed one hand under the towel to touch the skin over her ribs. He checked them for movement. He watched her face as he did. She ground her teeth and winced, but she didn’t make a sound.
    “Sorry, but they feel stationary. Are you hurt anywhere else?” He asked.
    “No.”
    “Tina?” He turned to her.
    “I don’t think so. You can see the bruises on her arms,” she said.
    “Steady her while I help her step into the sweat pants.” He knelt and held his hand up for Tina to hand them to him.
    She dropped them into his outstretched hand and let Jenna hold on to her shoulders. Jenna lifted first one foot then the other and stepped into the sweats. He pulled them up her legs and over her hips. He noticed another bruise on her hip. Once he had the waist band settled, he took the T-shirt from Tina and helped Jenna get into it. He held it as low as he could to keep from putting added pressure on her ribs. She managed to get into it without crying out. A good sign, he figured. Maybe she wasn’t hurt as badly as she looked.
    “I’ll put her socks and shoes on while you move my car up closer to the door. The keys are on the bar in the kitchen.” Tina knelt in front of Jenna and began rolling a sock on her foot.
    “Don’t let her move till I get back.”
    Riley grabbed the keys from the counter and walked outside to move Tina’s car as close to the kitchen door as he could get and still open the car doors. Then he hurried back inside. He knew how stubborn Jenna could be. But she was subdued now. The bastard had beaten it into her. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the son of a bitch. He wanted to pick her up so she didn’t have to walk, but he knew that would hurt her worse. Instead, he stood aside and let her walk out of the bathroom on her own two feet. She moved gingerly through the bedroom and into the kitchen. By the time she reached the kitchen door, she was panting.
    “Tina, you better call Logan and let him know where you are.” Riley helped Jenna climb into the backseat.
    “I’ll call him once we get to the hospital. He should be on his way home by then,” Tina said.
    “I’m going to let you sit in the back with her. Let her put her head in your lap. I’ll drive so I can get us there as fast as possible without throwing her around.” He