"Dammit!" he roared, furious, as he took in my face. He pulled me into his arms and held me tightly. His breathing was fast and hard. He was upset. "God, baby, I am so sorry. She's gonna pay for this," he said as his hands starting roaming my body to make sure I was okay. I wasn't okay. But I would be.

"It's fine. I think Blaire scared her," I assured him.

"What did Blaire do?" he asked.

"She pointed a gun at her and threatened to pierce her ears," I explained.

Woods cocked an eyebrow. "So, Alabama pulled her gun out again? Thanks, Blaire," he said before kissing my head. "I love you. I'm here and you're going to be okay. Stay with me. I got you," he whispered in my ear. He knew I didn't want them to know how close I was to getting lost in my head.

"I'm glad I found them. You need to do something about that woman; she's a crazy bitch," Blaire said, then turned to walk back to Rush.

"Thank you," I called out after her. She'd literally saved my life.

"You're welcome," she replied with a sweet smile. She didn't look like someone who had just pointed a gun and threatened to pierce someone's ears with it. I now knew that under that beautiful, innocent-looking exterior, Blaire Finlay was a tough badass. I wanted to be her one day.

Woods

I turned on the shower, then reached for Della. Streaks of blood were still visible on her face. She'd tried to clean it but she'd left some of the proof behind. A bruise was forming on her face and blades of grass in her hair clung to the tangled mess.

She wouldn't let me call the police. She'd cried and begged me not to. I was going to kill Angelina myself. She'd hurt the most precious thing in my life and she would pay for it. I'd make sure she paid over and over again. But right now I had to keep Della lucid and out of her head.

I reached for her shirt and had started to lift it over her head when she cried out in pain. I froze. "What's wrong, baby?"

"My ribs," she said in a tight whisper.

Fuck. I forced myself to calm down. The anger rolling over me was getting worse. I was going to snap. The tank top she was wearing was ruined. Blood and grass stains had made it unsalvageable. I reached up and grabbed the neckline, then ripped it in one swift move. It fell to the ground behind her and my eyes found the bruised skin. It was too much. Seeing the dark bruise covering her side broke me. I had let this happen to her. I had left her alone and let this woman into our lives. This was my fault.

My knees gave out and I fell before her. Knowing that she was hurting was too much. The sob that filled the bathroom was mine.

"Woods, please don't," her sweet voice begged. Della's hands caressed my head in her attempt to comfort me. Me. I wasn't the one who had been attacked. She was the one with bruises and covered in blood but I was the one on his knees, crying. "It's okay, I'm okay," she tried to reassure me. She was in pain and she was worrying over me. I was a man, dammit. I couldn't break apart on her. It was my place to take care of her, not the other way around.

I forced myself to stand up and focus on undressing her. I needed to clean her. I had to fix her. Make the pain go away.

"Woods?" Her voice was soft and unsure. I knew the tears were still rolling down my face silently. I couldn't seem to make them stop. I was trying. They weren't going away.

"I need to clean you. Let me clean you," I said, finally lifting my eyes to look into hers. She wasn't about to leave me anymore. The glazed look that I'd seen in her eyes earlier was gone. I had her back with me.

"Okay," she said simply, and stepped into the shower.

I undressed and followed her inside. She wasn't standing under the warm water.

"I need to wash your hair," I told her, moving close to her body and running my hands down her arms.

"Be gentle with my head," she said.

Her head? What the f**k did Angelina do to her head? "What's wrong with your head, baby?"

She dropped her eyes from mine as she stared down at the marble floor. "She pulled a lot of my hair out. It burns," she said so softly I almost missed it.

My body trembled. Holy hell.

"I will be gentle. But we need to clean it. Do you trust me?" I asked as she stared warily back at the water. Then she nodded.

I moved her under the water and pressed kisses to her lips while whispering comforting words to her as she winced.

Gently, I washed her hair, then moved to clean her body. She flinched as I touched the tender spots. Each flinch from her body caused my chest to constrict. Once she was clean I wrapped a towel around her and carried her to bed. I needed to hold her but first I wanted her checked out.

"I'm going to call a friend of mine. He'll come here and check you out. I need to know you're okay. Your ribs could be broken."

She started to shake her head but I couldn't give her this. I had to know she was okay. "Della, I have to. I can't not make sure you're okay. Please, baby. He's a sports doctor. We use him at the club during tennis tournaments. He's a friend. It's okay."

She finally nodded. "Okay," she agreed.

I didn't want to leave her in there alone but I wanted to talk to Martin without her hearing me. I didn't want to scare her.

"Hello," Martin said after one ring. I had his private line for emergencies. The club had been using him for over twenty years.

"Martin, it's Woods. I need you to make a house call. My girlfriend was beaten up tonight by my crazy ex-fiancée. I'm worried her ribs could be broken or she could be internally bleeding. I don't think Angelina is strong enough to actually cause internal bleeding but I still need Della checked out. She won't go to the hospital."