Hush by Karen Robards

If she hadn’t felt this overwhelming need to get rid of them, she would have sat back down again, hard.
    Bradley stepped close, caught her arm. She couldn’t help it: she swayed as the room whirled, then as he stepped closer still she leaned into him, grabbing his waist, melting against him, allowing him as the nearest solid object to take her weight.
    â€œYou’re welcome,” he said dryly as her forehead came to rest on his chest and she closed her eyes to stop the spinning. His arm came around her to steady her. She registered the sheer size ofhim, along with the taut muscularity of his waist and the solidness of his chest and the hardness of his arm and could only be thankful he was there. Then as she continued to lean against him because the room was still whirling and there was just nothing else she could do, he picked her up again as if it were the most natural thing in the world and started walking with her.
    â€œCall an ambulance,” he said over his shoulder as he carried her into her bedroom. “We need to get her checked out.”
    â€œI’m fine,” Riley protested, although it was beginning to occur to her that maybe she wasn’t.
    â€œThere’s already an ambulance here.” From the sound of his voice, Bax was right behind them. “The crew’s down the hall, checking out this old guy who started having chest pains when he heard gunshots. Cops are here, too, taking statements. Building’s crawling with them. They’ll probably be knocking on the door wanting to take Mrs. Cowan’s statement soon.”
    â€œGo get a paramedic. Wait, pull these covers back first.”
    â€œWhat do you think’s wrong with her?” Bax sounded anxious as he did as he was told.
    â€œDon’t know.” Bradley laid her down on the bed. Riley was surprisingly glad of the solid surface beneath her. Her surroundings, including the large man looming over her, were still moving, and keeping perfectly still seemed like her best bet. “Maybe shock. Maybe something else. We’ll see.” He looked over his shoulder. “What are you waiting for? Go.”
    Bax went.
    Leaving her still wrapped up in his jacket and the bedspread, Bradley pulled the top sheet and satiny blanket over her, tucking them around her as efficiently as any nurse. He was leaning close,and she was able to focus on his face—his mouth was grim, his jaw tight—and that made her realize that the room’s shimmying had stopped.
    â€œI got a little dizzy, that’s all,” Riley said as he straightened away from her. As the pillow embraced the back of her skull, the tender spot from her fall made itself felt once again. She winced. Moving cautiously, she turned onto her side, pillowing her cheek on her hand as she waited to see if the vertigo would recur. It didn’t. For a moment she thought about trying to get up, but under the circumstances that didn’t seem like the smartest idea.
    â€œTwice now,” he observed.
    â€œI’m fine as long as I don’t stand up. It’s probably because he banged my head into the back of the tub.”
    â€œThat would do it.”
    Standing over her, Bradley looked . . . formidable. He was frowning down at her, and once again Riley found herself wondering exactly what he knew. Her gut twisted.
    He said, “You seem to be remarkably hard to kill.”
    â€œWhat do you mean?”
    â€œDrowning somebody should take about three minutes tops. Hold ’em underwater until they pass out, keep ’em there until you’re sure they’re dead. For a man of his size dealing with a woman of yours, especially since you were already in a bathtub full of water, it should have been a piece of cake. But he had to bang your head into the back of the tub, and you managed to get his ski mask off and then stab him. With a comb. And you got away.” His eyes met hers. “Most forced drowning victims