Jackson knelt down next to Matt. “Look at her arms,” he whispered.
Matt lifted her arm and pulled back her long sleeve to expose her skin. Bruises wrapped around her wrist, extending halfway up her arm.
“Is Miss Raina okay?” Chris’ voice wobbled.
He turned around. Usually the boys were right underneath him but even they could sense the gravity of the situation and were a few feet back, holding Nick’s hands. When he caught his brother’s eye, he was surprised to see that Nick looked deeply shaken.
“She’s okay. Maybe you should take the boys back to the house.”
Nick nodded mutely but didn’t move. It was odd to see his usually jovial brother so disturbed. Although, if he was honest, he was disturbed as well.
Violence wasn’t something they’d ever had to deal with. Seeing the effects on a woman he knew, even if it was only a casual acquaintance, made his stomach turn.
“Raina isn’t even supposed to be in town. She told me just a few days ago that she’d be gone for two weeks straight. She had a bunch of modeling jobs booked in Asia. She seemed really excited about—“
Matt held up a hand and he halted mid-speech. “She’s waking up.”
They all watched as Raina turned on her side and exhaled a long, slow breath. When her eyes opened, they darted around wildly. When she noticed Matt right next to her, she started scrabbling backward.
“Easy, it’s okay.” Matt backed away.
She got to her knees and blinked rapidly.
“Raina?”
She held up a hand as if the sunlight was too bright. He wondered if she could even see them.
“It’s Jackson. Are you okay?”
Her wide, brown eyes locked on his face. She stared at him for a minute, then glanced away before looking back. Then her lips curled up into a small smile.
His stomach dropped. The sensation was like falling while standing still.
Shock forced him to take a step back. He’d never had this reaction to Raina before, despite the fact that she was an extremely beautiful woman. When she was dressed impeccably and made up like she was going to a photo shoot, he’d only felt the general attraction that most red-blooded men feel around gorgeous women.
But in that moment, as her eyes held him captive, she was more beautiful than he’d ever seen her. With her hair wild and a streak of dirt on her cheek, all he could think was…
Wow.
* * * * *
RIDLEY HAD ALWAYS been the good twin. The one who followed the rules. Her sister was the one who seduced, cajoled and manipulated to get her way. She’d never understood why her sister did the things she did. Lying seemed like more work than just telling the truth.
So, when she realized the man in front of her thought she was Raina, she knew what she needed to do. Correct him. Tell him who she was.
Then she looked at him and forgot all of it.
Good lord he’s gorgeous.
He crouched down and met her gaze. “I’m sorry if we scared you. The kids saw you passed out in the grass. We’ve already called 911, so don’t worry.”
“No! You can’t call 911.” Ridley jumped up, then swayed when another wave of dizziness hit her.
He caught her and lowered her back to the grass. “Don’t try to stand yet. Just take it easy.”
In that one instant, she understood her sister’s dishonesties better than ever. Because she was willing to allow this man to think she was Raina if it meant she got more time with him treating her like this.
Like someone he cared about.
“I traveled overnight to get here and I must have been more tired than I thought. Please don’t call for an ambulance. I’m fine.”
Her voice failed and heat flooded to her face as she noticed all of the other people standing around watching. There was another man with a buzz cut on the ground near her. A blond man stood off to the side on a cell phone. The two boys she’d seen earlier were there, too. They were holding the hands of another man who looked a lot like the guy in front of her.
Jackson, he’d called himself.
Despite how bad she felt, all she could think was that she needed to stay under the radar. Her name in some sort of incident report was hardly incognito. If someone was looking for her, she wasn’t going to make it that easy for them to find her.
“I thought you were supposed to be out of town for two weeks?” Jackson asked. “Did something happen?”
Ridley sighed. That explained why no one had answered at her sister’s house. The last time they’d talked had been a month ago and it hadn’t ended well. Her sister had always been bossy but she’d been unreasonable lately. They’d both said things they shouldn’t have and hadn’t spoken since. She’d assumed that Raina was just ignoring her calls. But if she was out of the country, then she’d come all this way for nothing.
There was no one here to help her.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” The guy with the buzz cut looked at her arms. She pulled her sleeves down further to cover the bruises on her wrists.
“Yeah, I was in a car accident. But I’m fine. I actually should be going.” Something in the back of her mind warned her not to give out too much information. Being too trusting was how she’d gotten in her current situation in the first place.
“I’d really be more comfortable if we took you to the hospital.” Jackson gestured toward the one with the buzz cut. “Matt’s trained as a medic but he’s not a doctor.”