The Rebel Returns: The Return of the Rebel / Her Irresistible Protector / Why Resist a Rebel?

She didn’t need to hear any more. She walked faster. The man easily kept pace.

The hairs on the back of her neck lifted. When she reached the pool area, luckily some young people were still milling about. Not that they were paying her any attention. Still, whatever this man meant by his threat, he wouldn’t be foolish enough to try something with so many witnesses... Would he?

She got as far as the first line of lounge chairs when his meaty fingers reached out and clamped around her upper arm, halting her progress. She jerked her arm, but his grip was like a vice. Her heart jumped, lodging in her throat.

He pulled her to him. Her back pressed to his chest and he wrapped his hand over her mouth. “I want you to give Jax a message—”

Cleo bit down on the man’s finger.

A curse thundered in her ears. He yanked his hand away. Never taking her eyes off him, she backed up. He lunged for her. In the ensuing struggle, her foot got caught in a lounge chair. She lost her balance and fell backward, hitting the concrete.

CHAPTER SIX (#uee4f3a96-b1a4-5441-94cf-f47d18c9456e)

“OPEN YOUR EYES.”

Jax stared down at Cleo’s pale, lifeless form on a stretcher in the back of an ambulance. His chest tightened as he said a silent prayer to the big guy upstairs. She just had to be all right. She had to be.

His thumb stroked the soft skin of her limp hand. He had no idea what had happened. When he’d heard there was a commotion out by the pool and Cleo hadn’t returned, he’d gone looking for her. He never expected to find Cleo in a crumpled heap on the ground.

There hadn’t been time to stop and ask questions. All he could think about was her opening her beautiful green eyes again. But one thing he knew in that moment was that the girl who’d given him a peck all those years ago still meant the world to him. He reached into his pocket. His fingers traced over the pocket watch—his good-luck charm. He was about to pull it out and press it into her limp hand when he noticed her fingers move.

“Jax? Where am I?”

Cleo’s voice was weak but clear. He’d never heard anything so wonderful in his whole life. He longed to pull her into his arms and hold her close.

“You fell, but don’t worry, you’re going to be fine now.” She tried to sit up, but the straps on the gurney held her down. “Not so fast, they still have to check you out. You got quite a bump on your head.”

She glanced over, noticing the paramedic reading off her stats to the hospital.

“My leg hurts and I can’t move it.”

“They immobilized it. Looks like you banged it up pretty good.”

She closed her eyes and he worried that she had slipped into unconsciousness, but she quickly opened them again. “I’m sorry to be such a bother.”

He held her hand between both of his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “You could never be a bother. Right now all you have to do is concentrate on getting better.”

He wanted to ask her what happened, but now wasn’t the time to get into it. Still, Cleo wasn’t a clumsy person. When you lived on a ranch, you learned to be fast on your toes. So what exactly had happened to her?

He was still holding her hand as they backed up to the emergency room entrance. Her fingers were cold as she kept a firm grip on him. When he tried to pull away, she wouldn’t let go.

“It’s okay. They’ll take good care of you.” He stared straight into her eyes, noting the worry reflected in them. He lifted her hand and pressed his lips to her delicate skin. “You’re safe now. I promise.”

“Will...will you stay?”

“You bet. They couldn’t drag me out of here if they tried.”

“Thank you.”

The fact that she wanted him with her, that he was able to provide some sort of comfort, stirred a strange sensation in his chest. It wasn’t the protective feeling of a big brother watching over a little sister. No, this was something different—something much deeper. Much more powerful.

The scare had been of a magnitude that he’d never experienced before. He didn’t know where the feelings came from or what to do with them—he just knew his place was right here by Cleo’s side.

The ambulance doors swung open and they rushed her off. He wanted to go with her—to make sure that nothing happened to her. But as he started to follow Cleo’s gurney, a nurse stepped in front of him and pointed the way to the waiting area, promising they would notify him when he could see her.

Frustration knotted his gut. The last time he’d let her out of his sight something bad had happened. But Cleo was safe now. She was in the hospital. Doctors and nurses would be seeing to her needs.

He entered the spacious waiting area lined with rows of black cushioned chairs. He took a deep breath as the reality of his location struck him. It wasn’t so long ago he’d been the patient. Even though it had been a different hospital, the memory had him on edge. He didn’t want to be here—not at all.

But he’d promised Cleo he’d stay. He wouldn’t break his promise to her. It was the least he could do for her. He tried sitting but that lasted all of thirty seconds. He paced the length of the room. Back and forth. He wasn’t the only one wearing a concerned expression. The waiting area was filled with young and old people all waiting for word on a loved one.

“Excuse me, Mr. Monroe.”

He turned to find a police officer. “Yes.”

“I’m here about the incident at the Glamour. Did you see anything?”

The police were involved. This wasn’t good. “No, I didn’t. I was inside and heard about the commotion by the pool. I went to investigate and that’s when I found Cleo. Do you know what happened?”

“I’m still piecing things together. We have a report of a man getting into a scuffle with Ms. Sinclair and your name was mentioned.”

“Have you talked with her?”

“Not yet. That’s where I’m headed next.”

Dread dug at Jax as he wondered if it had anything to do with his mysterious calls. “There’s something you should know.”

The officer turned his keen, observant eyes on him and listened intently as Jax revealed how he was a key witness in a federal money-laundering case. He also mentioned the strange phone calls that had started in New York.

The officer asked a few more questions, jotted out some notes and gave Jax his contact information. “If you think of anything at all that might be helpful, let me know.”

“I will.” And he meant it. He wasn’t going to take unnecessary chances with the woman he...he...cared about.

Whether he liked it or not, she was definitely getting to him. She was making him feel things that he didn’t have any right to feel. The only way to stop this growing attraction was to follow through with his plan to leave Vegas. He eyed up the exit. But he couldn’t break his promise to her. He’d wait until he saw her and was certain she was going to be fine.

Almost a half hour later, a nurse stood at the security door that led into the examination area. “Mr. Monroe, you can come back now.”

When he came to a stop next to Cleo’s bed, he was stunned by what he saw. A white bandage was wrapped around her forehead. Her face was nearly as pale as the sheet. And her injured leg was elevated. He didn’t know what he’d been expecting, but it wasn’t her looking weak and helpless.

She studied him. “Do I really look that bad?”

He’d obviously let his poker face slip again. Still, the sight of her lying there injured had shaken him more than he’d anticipated. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting to find you all bandaged up.”

“Jax, there’s something I need to tell you—”

“And how’s the patient?” A male voice came from behind him.

Jax turned to find a doctor in a white lab coat standing at the opening in the curtains surrounding the bed. He glanced back at Cleo. “We’ll talk later. I’ll just wait outside.”