Read 03 Solar Flare - Spark Series for Free Online Page A

right. “No.” She
meant to add more, but the words slipped away. Smoke filled her
head, made it hard to think.
    “It’s okay,” he said with a smile she didn’t
trust. “You can trust me.”
    As if her brain had gone on vacation, she
missed the transition from refusal to being in his arms. Adrenaline
fueled panic cleared a window in her mind. Suddenly she knew if she
didn’t run now, she wouldn’t get another chance.
    He was all over her, his mouth on her ear,
his hands under her shirt. Fear rose, but fury was stronger. She’d
been raised in a bar, had dealt with more than one straying hand,
though none had ever had his advantage. As his hand slid into her
pants, she grabbed his hair and rammed her forehead into his nose.
There was a telltale crunch. He howled and grabbed for his face.
Blood bubbled down his upper lip.
    Brandy lurched to the side and kicked out.
She barely registered the noise as his knee collapsed under her
practical black shoe. She grabbed her jacket from the floor and
darted for the door. The room was fuzzy, details vague, but she got
out. The stairs were like a long, black tunnel, and she shoved
through dancers it would have been easier to get around.
    Maybe she shouldn’t have driven, but she
wasn’t thinking straight. It wasn’t until several blocks later when
she ran onto a curb and nearly kissed a light pole that she had the
sense to stop.
    She sat there, trembling. Everything was
fuzzy, and she needed help. She needed her com.
    She fumbled for her jacket and got the com,
but couldn’t think what to do…until a picture of Azor entering his
number flashed in her mind. She drew in a thick breath and searched
for his name in her address book. Seconds later he picked up.
    “Hello?”
    She sobbed, too overcome to say her name.
    “Brandy? Where are you?”
    She gulped and tried to look around.
“I’m…close to the club. There’s a tea house outside.”
    “Are you alone?”
    “Y-yes.”
    “I’ll be there in five minutes. Stay
there.”
    Time wasn’t working properly for her, because
it seemed he was there almost instantly. She jumped when he knocked
on the window and stared as he opened her door.
    “You should have locked the door,” he said,
then brushed her hair from her eyes. “I called for a tow. Come on,
we’re going to the hospital.”
    Her eyes widened. She despised hospitals.
“No! Why?”
    He helped her out of the car and glanced at
the light post, mere inches away. “That’s why.”
    She looked at it and drew in a shuddering
breath. “I’m not drunk.”
    “Tell me what happened,” he said as he
escorted her to his transport and gently helped her in. He did up
the seatbelt and she barely noticed.
    Her breathing sped up with stress. “He…he
took me to a room.”
    Azor looked at her grimly, but there was
sorrow there, too. “How bad did he hurt you?”
    She stared at him, confused. “No, I hurt him.
His leg…I think.”
    He looked relieved. “Good girl!” he said
fiercely. He stood up, but rested his forearm on the top of the
transport. He stood like that for several heartbeats. She could
only see the top of his chin, but his head was bent. In a moment,
he glanced at her and shut her door. His face was shadowed, but
there was something in his expression….
    He waited until they were well on the way
before he asked, “Did he give you anything to eat or drink?”
    She frowned. It was so hard to think. “He had
a drink. It was too sweet.”
    “How much did you have?” he asked,
concerned.
    “Just a taste. I ordered a scotch.”
    That surprised a laugh from him. He actually
grinned at her. “Thank God for whiskey snobs!”
    She frowned at him. “It was scotch.”
    He didn’t answer, but his foot got heavier on
the accelerator.
    They pulled into the hospital and he escorted
her into the waiting room. She looked around the room with dismay,
having forgotten they were going to a hospital.
    “Easy,” he said when she tried to leave. “A
quick blood test