Perfect Fit (Serendipity's Finest) - By Carly Phillips Page 0,102

she wouldn’t hurt her throat even more.”

Yeah, Cara remembered that now.

Once they’d brought her to the hospital, all she could think about was Bob’s big hands around her neck, trying to choke the life out of her. She couldn’t let him do the same to Daniella. Dizzy and still in pain, Cara shut her eyes again, thinking jail was a good place for the bastard. She hoped they kept him there this time.

“Can you get word to Daniella for me?” Mike asked. “Let her know what’s going on? Cara would want that.”

The man was a keeper, she thought, before remembering he didn’t want to be kept.

“Thanks, Sam,” Mike said.

Aah. So he was talking to his brother.

A sudden spasm hit Cara in the chest and she coughed—or tried to. The pain in her head and throat blindsided her, and she moaned.

“Gotta go.” Mike spun around and was by her side in an instant. “You’re awake.”

“I—”

“Don’t talk. Alexa said it’ll hurt if you try. They’re going to keep you overnight to observe your breathing, and they’ll let you go home in the morning. Okay?”

She nodded.

He brushed her hair off her face, his eyes warm and full of emotion. “Cara, baby—”

She turned her head, a tear leaking from the corner of her eye. She didn’t want his sympathy or pity any more than she wanted to hear whatever he was going to say. Anything sweet and caring would unravel her. She still wasn’t over him and probably never would be. The physical ache in her throat now was bad enough. Adding the emotion of wanting to cry had the pain increasing tenfold. He needed to leave.

Instead his big hand covered hers. “You scared me,” he said, so softly she could barely hear. “Thank God you’re okay. I don’t know what I’d do if I lost you.”

Nice words that he couldn’t possibly mean. He was merely feeling the shock of her attack, she thought, keeping her head averted and her eyes closed tight. She kept her focus on breathing through her nose.

Soon her limbs grew heavy, and behind her eyelids things began to spin. Maybe she still had the sedative in her system. Or maybe she was on painkillers. Something was making her dizzy.

“Sleep, baby,” Mike whispered, his voice gruff. “I’ll be here when you wake up.”

Mike didn’t know how long he’d slept, but a hand shaking his shoulder woke him, and he bolted up from his half-prone position on Cara’s bed where he’d laid his head. He rose from the chair, every muscle in his body protesting the night he’d spent there.

“I brought you some coffee,” Sam said softly, so as not to wake Cara.

“Thanks.” Mike gratefully accepted the cup.

Sam tipped his head, indicating they should step out of the room.

Mike paused to glance at Cara. She lay against the hospital bed, eyes closed, her face pale, and with the white sheets, the bruising on her face and neck stood out even more. It was a good thing Sam had handled booking Bob Francone, because if Mike got his hands on the man, he’d kill him and save the state the cost of a trial.

Mike followed him into the hall.

“Were you here all night?” Sam asked.

Mike nodded. They’d moved Cara to a private room, which was why the sympathetic nurse had let Mike, who wasn’t family, stay with her. Then again, Mike had towered over the male nurse, flashed his badge, and made it clear he wasn’t leaving.

“Listen,” Sam said. “I just came here, one, to check on her, and two, to apologize. If it weren’t for me, you’d have gotten to her much sooner.” Sam’s guilt was palpable.

According to Alexa, Cara had just stepped outside to her car to get her bag and when she’d taken too long to return, Mike’s gut, which never steered him wrong, told him to go check on her. But Sam had insisted Mike give her time to cool off. And he’d forced himself to wait another few minutes.

Mike knew how much his brother cared about Cara. “Don’t do that to yourself. There’s no way either of us could have anticipated she was in danger.”

Francone had gone quiet since his release and nobody suspected he’d go after Cara.

“But—” Sam geared up to argue.

“Shut up,” Mike muttered to his brother. He might be silently cursing them both for the time he’d wasted, but Sam’s guilt wouldn’t change anything. “She’s going to be fine, and that’s what matters.”

Sam nodded. “Thanks. I’ll go look for Alexa and see when she