“Can’t,” she grunted. “Need both hands to get up.”

He swore again, a quiet whiplash of profanity. “Call me back as soon you can.”

“I’m not going to call you back right away. I’m going to try to make it back to my apartment.”

“Fine, dammit. Give me the address and I’ll meet you there.”

She told him, hung up, and concentrated on getting upright, finding her purse and keys, and slipping out the back door.

To her left, the edge of the scene was barely visible. She couldn’t see the car itself, which was around the corner, but she could see the glow from the fire along with a few people who had gathered. Their attention was on the unfolding drama.

She didn’t think anybody noticed as she slipped around the garage to where her car was parked in the driveway.

Climbing in made every injury flare with such intense pain she almost passed out. Hunched over and panting shallowly, she started the ignition, reversed, and eased down the street in the opposite direction from the fire.

Once she was stationary and had the Jeep in motion, driving became easier. Her body decided it was a good time to start shaking, so she took her time. When she finally turned into the driveway by her apartment, a dark, powerful, low-slung car waited down the street, lit by a nearby streetlight.

She put the Jeep in park. Her door was yanked open, and Josiah’s big body filled the open space. When he saw her, he hesitated, and his face tightened.

“Okay,” he said carefully while a muscle bunched in his lean jaw. “You’re going to be okay.”

She gave him a thumbs-up. “Piece of cake.”

Something happened to his tight features. She was too preoccupied with her own problems to figure out what it was.

Gently, he cupped long fingers around her hand, upraised thumb and all. “Can you swing your legs out?”

She thought that over. It was a surprisingly complicated maneuver that would mean shifting her ribs and using abdominal muscles. “Sure. Give me a few minutes.”

“You don’t have to,” he told her. “I can move you, but that’s going to hurt too. Are you ready?”

She nodded. He slipped a hard, muscled arm underneath her knees. When he eased her legs out, the broken ribs ground together. A cry tore out of her, and stars flashed against her eyelids.

Then a black hole swallowed her whole, pain and all.

Chapter Eight

Josiah had been spending the weekend reviewing the last of the open case files his office inherited from the previous DA. Working extra hours didn’t bother him in the slightest. The sooner he got through the backlog, the sooner he could concentrate more on his own agenda.