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I was jugglingto text hi not to drop the last part ofattention to where I was going or what I was doing I als stretched out in front ofevery sord I knew as my very tasty lunch flew out of my hands My purse and my keys followedas I took in ht brown eyes were ringed in ugly black bruises Her bottoh cheekbones She had an Ace bandage around her wrist that she was cradling against her chest and she was looking up atto kick her with the toe of aze and her busted lip trehbor let ot home but" She trailed off and one fat tear slid across her inky lashes and fell along her battered cheek

"Poppy" I said her name quietly and crouched down so I could put a hand on her knee I swore silently as she flinched away from me I scooped up my keys and offered her a hand

It made my heart squeeze so hard that it hurt when she hesitated a fullit so I could help her up with her uninjured arht on her left foot I reached out and pushed some of her honey-colored hair off of her shoulder and hissed out a furious breath at the sight of very clear yellow and green fingerprints left around the side of her throat

She was crying in earnest now and all I could think was I had to get her inside and take care of her I had the keys in the door and was pushing it open when I heard a fa puppy paws on the back of my knees

I looked overon to ood chance I would’ve orgas jeans hite in all the best places His T-shirt was tucked into the back of his pants like he liked to do and he was indeed sweaty and dirty None of that hat did it, though Even though all thehis torso made me want to drool, what had me ready to howl at the moon like some kind of unleashed sexual as the fact that he had an old straboy hat on his head and was peering out frorin It was a look that worked well for him, beyond well, and he knew it I felt rin slid ahen he saasn’t alone

Recognition crested like waves in a storm as his eyes shifted from happy blue to blustery navy in between blinks

"Poppy?" His tone was anything but welco, and sharp with emotions I couldn’t identify He didn’t seeot even darker when he took in her battered appearance

"Rowdy?" She breathed the noise out and he pushed the hat up a little farther on his forehead

Ji around in circles between the two of us, obviously concerned why his hu around like statues

"What happened to you?" His voice was hard, and even though there was a lot of anger in it I didn’t think any of it was directed atsister

I blew out a breath and it sent so on otten that far yet She just showed up and I just got hoaze shifted froaped at hi else that looked an awful lot like shame It didn’t exactlytheir tense standoff

Sick of the aardness and alive with rage that anyone had dared to put their hands on my little sister in such a violent way, I reached out and shoved the door open Ji to come in?"

He finally looked at me and his mouth pulled down hard in a frown "No Call me later"

He pulled his shirt out of the back of his jeans and yanked the hat off his head in a bunch of stiff and jerky movements He pulled the fabric on over his broad chest and looked at my sister with blustery eyes "I can’t believe you’re back in this saain, Poppy"

He turned on his heel and disappeared down the hallithout a backward glance at uided my sister into the apartment and then took a minute to clean up the mess I had left in front ofup out of the blue I wanted to tear her a new one for not lettingon and I wanted to cuddle her up and kiss her forehead because she just looked so beat down and mistreated My first instinct was to call Saint and have her come look my sister over to make sure she was okay, but Poppy looked like she was about to break apart, so that was going to have to wait

Poppy drifted over to the couch and just sort of folded in on herself as she sat down I went to the freezer and dug out a few ice cubes that I wrapped in a dish towel I gave her the makeshift ice pack and took a seat on the coffee table across frohter than mine and the way the bruises darkened her complexion and shadowed her eyes et here?" I figured I would start out easy with her since she seeo to the hospital and I knerist was really messed up This time he went too far"

I sucked in a breath so fast it whistled through my teeth "This time?" They had been uess how long this had been going on I felt like I should have known better when Poppy started to pull away froed "I called Dad and told him how bad I was hurt and that I needed help He toldOliver’s treatain and the hand that wasn’t holding the ice to her face curled into a fist on her leg "After all, Oliver is a deacon in the church and he’s a good, God-fearing uy has been hitting you and is blae

She just nodded and groaned, as the motion obviously hurt her "I waited until Oliver left for work, packed a bag, and left I drove and drove I had no idea where I was going I just knew I hurt and felt sick and that the last place I wanted to be was Loveless It wasn’t until I stopped to get gas at the border that I realized I was headed to you"

I reached out and took her hand "Why didn’t you ask me for help? I would’ve come and rescued you"