Her Marine Next Door - Aliyah Burke Page 0,63
I was just brought down by a fucking platoon of plastic green army soldiers.
The second he struggled to sit, he paused at the bite of glass in his palm. It took a while, but he managed to get to a seated position. There was blood on his head and hands, and he needed to get help. The stab of his cell in his pocket had him breathing a sigh of relief.
Withdrawing it, he pressed the call button and almost held his breath as he listened to it ringing.
…
The chiming of those damn bells wouldn’t effing stop, and Skylar fumbled around in bed to slap the alarm that continued to go off.
Her phone.
She lunged for it, swiping her finger along the screen to answer it. “Yes?”
“Don’t hang up, Skylar. Please. I need you.”
It took a few moments before it sank in that this was Parker on the other end of the line. Squinting at the clock, she did a double take at the time. Half past one in the morning. The rain pounded heavily on the roof and windows.
Her heart flipped over at the raw need in his tone, but she struggled to harden her emotions to him once more. “What for?”
“I think I have a concussion, I’m bleeding, and—”
“I’m on my way,” she interrupted him, exploding up out of bed, all trace of sleep gone. “Be good, Alpin.” And she was out the door, running barefoot across the lawns between them, drenched in seconds. “Your door open?” There was no asking about the other person who could have been there—he called her.
“No. Sliding door in the back is.”
Skidding in the soft grass, she headed for the gate and was in his backyard, hurrying to the door. She shook her head as she stepped inside and searched for the light switch she knew was close. It took her a few moments to find it, and as the light splintered the dark, she blinked a few times, then hurried toward the living room.
Skylar hung up the phone and dropped it on the end table, where she turned on a light.
“Holy hell.”
The coffee table was broken, and Parker sat on some of the broken glass and wood. The man himself leaned against the couch, and she could see blood.
Cutting her gaze to the front door, she skirted the mess and shoved her feet into his black combat boots before going back to crouch before him.
It looked like there had been a brawl, and if he’d come out on top, she’d hate to see the other guy.
“Parker,” she whispered. Touching the side of his jaw, she called his name again.
He finally allowed her to see those green-blue eyes of his.
“Hey.” Pain laced his tone.
“What the fuck happened? Can you get up, or do you need me to call an ambulance?”
“I fell.”
“I know you weren’t drinking. So what happened?”
“I fucking fell when I was coming back from checking on Cullen.”
She hid her amused smile at the sight of Lord knew how many army men strewn over the floor.
He muttered something, but she ignored it as she went to his front door and slid free from his boots before dashing once more into the rain and running flat out for her house. Once inside, she yanked on a sweatshirt and wedged her wet feet into a pair of canvas slip-ons. Apparently Gemma wasn’t there, which was why he called her.
Phone. Where the fuck is my phone?
His place. On one of the end tables.
She took a deep breath and swiped her keys, doing her damnedest to ignore how much they shook. Skylar ran to her truck and hopped inside, only to lift her ass with a squeal. Reaching behind her, she withdrew one of Cullen’s army men toys that had been wedged in the seat.
Tears burned her eyes as she pitched it over her shoulder to land in the back seat. Ugly thoughts and locked-away memories pushed to the forefront of her mind about that rainy night when her entire life changed, and she ruthlessly shoved them back. It wasn’t time for her to think about how much she missed Brennen. Her truck’s engine roared to life, and she went next door, backing up to the garage. Leaving her large vehicle idling, she hustled back to his side.
Parker had managed to lift himself to the seat of the couch, but that was it. He still looked disoriented.
“You sure you don’t want me to call an ambulance?”
“Let’s go.” He surged to his feet—he had to be in pain,