My hands caught the worst of my fall, jagged bits of a shattered pot cutting into my palms. My eyes watered as I blinked rapidly. Footsteps thundered past me and down the stairs. They weren’t going to hurt me any worse. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath, and as I pushed to my feet, my vision swam. I darted for the door, but my steps were wobbly, as if I’d had one too many drinks and not enough dinner.

I gripped the railing as hard as I could as I rushed down the stairs. Two steps from the bottom, my feet tangled, and a startled scream escaped me as I began to fall. I collided with hard, muscled arms with an oomph.

“Whoa, Trouble. Where’s the fire?” Ford righted me, and his amused expression immediately turned to concern as he took in my face. “What the hell happened? What’s going on?”

“M-m-my apartment. Someone broke in. They—they tore it apart. I thought they were gone. They weren’t.” The shaking was only getting worse. It was at least sixty-five degrees out, and I felt like I was freezing.

“Jesus, Bell. Your face. I have to call the cops. An ambulance. Are you hurt anywhere else?” His gaze ran up and down my body, searching for any other signs of injury.

I gave my head a small shake and winced. Ford began to release me, to reach for his phone, but my fingers dug into his arms. “No. Don’t leave me.” The words were out before I could stop them. I hated the sound, the meaning behind them. But most of all, I hated the weakness.

Ford wrapped his arms around me in a tight hug, resting his chin on the top of my head. “It’s okay. I’m not going anywhere. I’m right here.” He kept his hold on me with one hand while he fished his phone out of his back pocket with the other. He quickly dialed. “Yeah, I’m at The Catch on Anchor. There’s been a break-in and an assault in the apartment above the bar.” Pause. He loosened his hold on me just a bit so that he could look me over. “No, there’s no one here now. I think she’s okay, but she has an injury to her face.”

Ford seemed to be looking at me as if to double-check. I nodded. Nothing in his body language relaxed. He was on high alert as he took in the surrounding area as if waiting for someone to jump out from behind a tree. A shiver ran through me at the thought. Had the intruder watched me while I worked?

Ford pulled me in tighter again. “Okay, thank you. We’ll stay outside.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket. “They’re sending someone out, but it will be a little bit. Why don’t we sit down?”