Read Protecting Jessyka (SEAL of Protection) (Volume 6) for Free Online

neck to try to calm him, and the goose bumps that followed her movement shot all the way down to his toes. That had never happened to him before . . . and to happen now, in this situation, was almost unbelievable. He tightened his hold on her and held her a little closer.
    “Okay, Sir, if you would just follow me down the hall we’ll get her settled and a nurse will be in to examine her as soon as possible.”
    Benny ground his teeth together at her obviously fake polite tone and held Jess tightly as he followed the receptionist down the hall.
    He placed Jess on the bed carefully then went to sit in the chair next to it.
    The receptionist made a tsking noise and said, “Sorry, Sir, only relatives are allowed to be back here with the patient. You’ll have to wait out in the waiting room.”
    “Oh hell no,” Benny said impatiently. “I’m staying.” He sat in the chair and reached over to grasp Jess’s hand. He kissed the back of it and ignored the sputterings of the woman still trying to get him to leave.
    When she finally left, Jess turned to Benny and said with the first hint of a smile he’d seen since he’d found her earlier that night. “You’re going to get in trouble.”
    “I don’t care. I’m not leaving.”
    Five minutes later, a nurse pulled back the curtain and a security guard was standing next to her.
    “Sir, you’ll have to step out into the waiting area while we take a look at your friend,” the nurse explained.
    “No.”
    “Sir . . .”
    Benny broke into her explanation and looked at both her and the security guard as he spoke. “I got a text from my friend, Jess, tonight,” he gestured at Jessyka on the bed with his chin and continued. “She said she needed me. She has no immediate family in the area. The girl she loves like a sister killed herself today. Her roommate and ex-boyfriend beat the crap out of her, as you can see. She’s in pain and frightened, and she called me . I’m a Navy SEAL and I can protect her. I’m not leaving her side. I’ll plug my ears and sing a song if there’s medical shit you don’t want me to hear. I’ll do whatever it is you want me to do . . . except leave.”
    His voice lowered as he pleaded with the strangers to let him stay. “Please. She needs me.”
    And she did. They could all see it. Jess’s hand was gripping his tightly and she looked between Benny and the security guard apprehensively.
    “Ma’am? Do you want him to stay?”
    Benny knew they had to ask, but it still pissed him off. He knew they probably thought he was the one who beat her up, but he didn’t care. He wasn’t leaving, no matter what they thought.
    Jessyka obviously knew what they were thinking too. “Yes. God, please, let him stay. I feel safer with him here. If he’s here I know Brian can’t get to me. Please . . .”
    The nurse glared at Benny. “Okay, but if you cause any problems I’ll kick you out so fast you won’t know what hit you. Navy SEAL or not.”
    Benny could only nod jerkily. They were letting him stay. He immediately dismissed the nurse and looked back at Jess. “You’re damn right he won’t touch you while I’m here. Just relax. They’ll make it so you don’t hurt anymore and then I’ll get you out of here. Hang in there for me.”
    Benny sat with Jess, while the nurse, then the doctor, examined her. He moved when they told him to, but he never lost touch with Jess. Benny kept a hand on her head, then her arm, then her foot, then back to her head. Wherever the doctor wasn’t examining, Benny was there, touching her, reassuring her that she wasn’t alone.
    Now that they were in the light, Benny got a good look at Jess’s neck for the first time. It took all he had not to stalk out of the room and hunt Brian down. She had bruises on her neck in the shape of fingers. The bastard had choked her. It was obvious they were a few days old, so it hadn’t been done tonight. No wonder she’d been wearing a turtleneck when he saw her last.
    Benny