man was close to her own unimpressive height and nearly as slight, but grim determination was etched into his grimy face. He slammed into her, sending her sprawling to the pavement. She hit with enough impact to jar her teeth, but the strap was wrapped around her wrist now.
He jerked again and this time dragged her a few feet before he let out a snarl of rage and backhanded her. Her grip loosened and out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of silver.
Fear paralyzed her when she saw the knife coming toward her. But her attacker slashed at the strap, sending her flying backward as the tension was released. He was gone, melting into the crowd as she lay sprawled on the curb holding her eye.
It had only taken a few seconds. Under a minute, surely. She heard someone shout and then someone knelt next to her.
“Are you okay, lady?”
She turned, not recognizing the person who’d spoken, and she was too stunned to respond. Then she saw a sleek black car screech to a halt in front of her and a huge mountain of a man rushed out to hover protectively over her.
He moved with a grace that belied his enormous size and he knelt in front of her, his hand cupping her chin as he turned her this way and that to examine her eye.
He barked rapidly into his Bluetooth but she was too muddled to know what he said or to whom he had spoken. She hoped it was the police.
“Miss Morgan, are you all right?” he asked urgently.
“H-how do you know my name?”
“Mr. de Luca sent me.”
“How would he know what happened?” she asked in a baffled tone.
“He wanted to make sure you made it to your hotel safely. I didn’t catch you in time to give you a ride. I was looking for you when I saw what happened.”
“Oh.”
“Can you stand?” he asked.
She slowly nodded. She’d certainly try. As he gently helped her to her feet, she clutched at her belly, worried that her fall had hurt her child.
“Are you in pain?” the man demanded.
“I don’t know,” she said shakily. “Maybe. I’m just scared. The fall …”
“I’m taking you to the hospital at once. Mr. de Luca will meet us there.”
She didn’t protest when he ushered her into the backseat of the car. He got in beside her and issued a swift order for the driver to take off. They were away and into traffic in a matter of moments.
She sank back into the seat, her hands shaking so badly that she clenched them together in her lap to try and quell the movement.
The giant beside her took up most of the backseat. He leaned forward and rummaged in an ice bucket in the console and a moment later held an ice pack to her eye.
She winced and started to pull away, but he persisted and held it gently to her face.
“Are you feeling any pain anywhere else?” he queried.
“I don’t think so. I’m just shaken up.”
His expression was grim as he pulled away the ice pack to examine her eye.
“You’re going to have one heck of a bruise. I think it’s a good idea to have a doctor check you out so you can be sure the baby wasn’t harmed.”
She nodded and grimaced when he put the ice pack back into place.
“Thank you,” she murmured. “For your help. Your timing was excellent.”
His face twisted with anger. “No, it wasn’t. If I had been there a moment earlier, he wouldn’t have hurt you.”
“Still, thanks. He had a knife.”
She swallowed the knot of panic in her throat and drew in steadying breaths. She could still see the flash of the blade as it slashed out at her. A shiver stole up her spine and attacked her shoulders until she trembled with almost violent force.
“I don’t even know your name,” she said faintly.
He looked at her with worried eyes as if he thought his name was the last thing that should be on her mind.
“Ramon. I’m Mr. de Luca’s head of security.”
“I’m Bryony,” she said, before realizing he already knew her name. He’d called her Miss Morgan earlier.
“We’re almost there, Bryony,” he said in a steady, reassuring voice.
Was she about to melt down on him? Was that why he was staring at her with such concern and speaking to her as if he was trying to talk her down from the ledge?
She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. He followed with the ice pack and soon it was smushed up against her face again.
A few seconds later, the car ground to a halt and the door immediately opened. She opened her eyes as Ramon removed the ice pack and hurriedly got out of the car. He reached back to help her out and they were met by an E.R. tech pushing a wheelchair.
Astonished by the quickness in which they got her back to an exam room, she stared with an open mouth as she was laid on one of the beds by two nurses and they immediately began an assessment of her condition.
Ramon hung by her bedside, watching the medical staff’s every move. As if sensing Bryony’s bewilderment, Ramon leaned down and murmured, “Mr. de Luca is a frequent contributor to this hospital. He called ahead to let them know you’d be arriving.”
Well, that certainly made more sense.
“The on-call obstetrician will be in to see you shortly,” one of the nurses said. “He’ll want to make sure all is well with the baby.”
Bryony nodded and murmured her thanks.
The nurse went over a series of questions as she did her assessment. Bryony was a little embarrassed over all the fuss. Near as she could tell, all she’d suffered was a black eye and a bruised behind. But she wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to make sure all was well with her baby.
She’d leaned back to close her eyes when the door flew open and Rafael strode in, his expression dark and his gaze immediately seeking out Bryony.
He hurried to her bedside and took her hand in his. “Are you all right?” he demanded. “Are you hurt? Are you in any pain?” He took a breath and dragged a hand through his hair in agitation. “The … baby?”
Before she could respond, his gaze settled on her face and his eyes darkened with fury. He tentatively touched her cheek and then he turned to Ramon, his jaw clenched.
“What happened?”
“I’m fine,” Bryony said in answer to the barrage of questions. But Rafael was no longer concentrating his efforts on her. He was interrogating his head of security.
