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"I thinkin a breath before she continued, "and a few ribs ht be bruised"

"Well, then try not tolike an idiot

"Yeah, I’ll get right on that," she said dryly as she noticeably cringed

Her smartass remark helped ease soer that had been siround Now he couldn’t hold it back any longer She’d scared the shit out of hih the floor Then when she didn’t answer hih he’d feared the worse

"What the hell were you doing down here by yourself in the first place?" he de the way his hands shook at the h the floor

"My job," she said tightly as she sucked in another deep breath

"You had no business being down here, Rory," he said, noting the way she shivered He pulled his long sleeve shirt off and laid it over her, leaving him in a white tee shirt

"McGill called up and asked er," she explained with a treether

"Then you should have waited forat an injured wo it out on her, but god help him, he really just couldn’t help it He’d never been so frightened in his life

"You were kind of tied up at theweakly

"And if you weren’t interfering with my job, Rory, I would have been here!"

"Stop yelling atand you dalare at hiain as she assurimace of pain

"All I know is that better be the last time you pull a stunt like that, Rory Whether you like it or not, this is oing to start doing thingsbullshit chances," he bit through clenched teeth as he fought against the urge to pull the infuriating wochances and this is et the hell over-ow!" she cried out, turning her face towards the dirt floor as if she were trying to hide from the pain

"Rory?" Brian yelled down the hole

"She’s fine!" Connor yelled back, never taking his eyes off her Not knohat else to do at the ood hand into his and held it He was surprised when she didn’t try to pull her hand away, but instead gave his hand a squeeze

"This is my project too, Connor, and if you can’t accept that then we’re going to have some serious problems," she said evenly after a minute as she continued to clasp onto his hand like a lifeline

He sighed heavily She was right of course They were going to have proble to kick his ass," Craig said, earning approving nods fro around her bedroo in a breath as sharp pain shot up her left arm and raced around her ribs as she slowly made her way from the bathroom to her bed, "he didn’t do this"

Her brothers gruo, which she would forever appreciate Her head was pounding, her side hurt, she was starving and her aret into bed and take a few of the painkillers the doctor had given her