Take (Fury Brothers #4)

She wore dark jeans and a green-flecked sweater. There was blood sliding down the side of her head and matted in her dark hair.

“Frankie.” She was alive. Relief hit me like a sucker punch. “Are you okay?”

A sob escaped her, and she took two steps toward me.

I reached out and hugged her, pulling her to my chest. She was so small. She seemed taller when she was sassing me.

“I’m okay.” She grabbed me and held on tight. Her voice was shaky.

I ran a hand up her back.

“The guy ran off,” she said. “But he took my laptop.”

I pulled back. “You confronted him?”

“He would have found me, anyway. He was taking my laptop, my research. No way I could let that happen!”

I touched her head where she was bleeding. “And this?”

“Well, he really wanted my laptop. We kind of played tug of war over it.” Her nose wrinkled. “He won.”

I gritted my teeth together, anger building. “He had a gun, Frankie.”

“I didn’t think he’d actually risk shooting me.” She looked around. “I couldn’t let him take my work, Reath. This is my project. It’s important. It will help so many lives.”

I shook her gently. “It was a bad choice.”

She shoved against my chest. “I couldn’t just hide in the corner.”

“Yes, you could. To stay alive.”

“I’m fine, except he shoved me into a workbench.” She gingerly touched her head.

I growled. Stubborn, independent… I grabbed her arms.

Her face lifted and our gazes locked. I felt that pulse between us. The same as the first night we’d met at Wildfire.

This time, it was amplified by a whole lot of anger and frustration.

And fear.

My fear that she’d been hurt or worse.

“Reath.” My name was a soft whisper on her lips.

I pulled her closer and our mouths met.

Then I stopped thinking and kissed her. Our tongues stroked, and she moaned. I plundered her mouth, wanting to taste her, wanting to know that she was all right.

With a groan, I hauled her closer so I could kiss her more deeply. She nipped my bottom lip, and I growled.

When we broke apart, we were both panting, and I wanted more. Much, much more.

But I could hear footsteps running down the hall. I pulled back just as campus security arrived.

“Secure the scene,” I ordered. “She was attacked, and her laptop was stolen.”

The man and the woman in guard uniforms glanced around, then nodded.