Masters at Arms - By Kallypso Masters Page 0,9
too. Even his legs and foot ached from his impact punches.
Bring it on. He focused on this new pain. Funny, but the physical pain helped the emotional pain to recede a bit, even if it was only a temporary reprieve.
Adam walked up to the ticket counter and waited as Karla got a refund for the ticket she wouldn’t be needing—not for a few years at least. The dispatcher announced his bus departure in five minutes. Oh, well. He’d just have to catch the next one tomorrow. He asked when that would be.
“Nine-fifteen.”
“Good. Just a few hours behind schedule.”
“No, sir. P.M.”
Fuck. He hoped he could make it back to Pendleton on time.
But no fucking way was he letting Karla wander the streets alone tonight to get back home. With that wild pink hair, she was nothing but a trouble magnet.
* * *
Karla didn’t know what to say to him, so they rode in silence most of the cab ride home. He had to spend another day in the bus station waiting for his bus, all because of her. Was he mad at her? He just stared out the window, looking at the lights of downtown as the cab made its way to her Lincoln Park neighborhood.
Jeez, she’d sure messed things up tonight. Who was stupid enough to run away the night before Thanksgiving? Only you, Kitty. She could hear her friends now when she told them about her night.
But Adam had gotten hurt and now she had to face her parents. They weren’t going to be very happy with her.
“Why the long face?” He must have gotten tired of watching the scenery going by.
“I screwed up big time.” She couldn’t look at him and remind him of how she’d messed up his plans.
“They might be mad at first, but they’ll be glad to have you home safe.”
Karla felt him continuing to stare at her. She chewed on her lower lip; then finally got the courage up to look over at him. Over and up. Jeez, he was tall, even sitting down. The street lights lit his face—off, then on, then off again. She noticed the cut on his lip was still bleeding, but just a trickle. She wished she’d brought more paper towels.
Adam had fought to protect her tonight. He could have been killed. There were three of them and they’d had weapons! Instead, he’d saved her from whatever that guy had wanted to do with her. Probably rape her, or make her a hooker, or even sell her to a sex-slave operation. She knew about these things. She watched enough TV.
What she didn’t know was how she could ever get Adam to forgive her. Well, she’d be home in a few minutes and probably would never see him again. Still, she needed his forgiveness.
“Adam…I’m sorry I got you mixed up in this. And I’m really sorry you got hurt on account of me.”
He was quiet for a little while, his eyes kinda sad again. She hated that she had made him sad this time. Then one side of his mouth tilted up in half a smile. The side that wasn’t cut. Her stomach clenched every time she looked at his wound.
“I’d do it all over again to keep you safe. Just promise me you won’t run away again. Next time, you might not be so lucky.”
The cab stopped. She looked out the window and saw they were in front of her house. The porch light was on and Mom’s goofy wreath with all the harvest vegetables on it was displayed on the door. A pumpkin sat on the post at the top of the stairs. The big brick house and hokey decorations never looked so good to her before.
Tears spilled down her cheeks. She probably looked like a raccoon again, but she didn’t care. On impulse, she turned around and wrapped her arms around Adam, well as much of him as she could reach around. He had the hardest, widest shoulders she’d ever felt.
After a moment, he wrapped his arms around her, too. His arms felt good around her. She felt safe. She wondered what it would be like if he kissed her.
What the hell, Kitty?
He squeezed her really tight, making it hard to breathe. Or was the lack of air the result of her heart beating so fast? She decided to just let him hug her as tightly as he wanted. Ian had hugged her that way, too, before he’d left home the last time. Adam might not get