Page 37 of Luck Be a Genie

“It’s okay, Lucks. It’s okay,” he soothed, rubbing my back and effortlessly keeping me afloat.

My heart was pounding so hard it felt like I was going to throw up, and no matter how much air I dragged into my lungs, it didn’t feel like enough.

After a few minutes, when I finally calmed down enough to speak, I said through chattering teeth, “They pushed me off the cliff.”

“I know,” he growled. “I’m going to go kill them in a second. First, let me get you over to Mae and Carl.” He got me to shore, and helped me out. Carl and Mae were there waiting with a towel, both of them radiating kindness and concern.

I immediately turned to my boyfriend after they’d helped me out. “You can’t kill them, Nick.”

Carl tutted, wringing his hands as his wife wrapped the towel snugly around me. “I would if they’d done that to my Mae.”

“Now, Carl, you know you can’t hurt a fly,” Mae said kindly. Then she turned her warm brown gaze to me, and started rubbing my arms with the towel to warm me up. “Hon, I think you’d just better let your boyfriend handle it. They could have killed you!”

Nick looked deeply into my eyes for a moment, kissed my forehead tenderly, then started running toward the cliff. I watched him go with my heart in my throat.

He was really going to kill them.

I dropped the towel as I broke away from Mae and Carl and started running after him. Mae and Carl shouted behind me for me to come back, but I ignored them. I couldn’t let Nick ruin his life like this. It wasn’t worth it.

Taking a moment to rip off my other shoe so I could run faster, I ran for all I was worth, reaching the top in record time—only for it to be completely deserted.

“Nick!” I yelled as I hunched over my knees for a second, gasping for breath as I scanned the surrounding trees. “Where are you!” Having caught my breath, I started moving into the dense foliage, still calling for him.

“Nick!”

That was when the screaming started.

The sound made my blood run cold.

“Nick!” I screamed, running toward the sound. I started making threats out loud, tears streaming down my face, a sob choking my chest. “I swear if you kill them, I’m going to kill you. They’re not worth it!”

I kept tripping over every root and rock on the ground, hissing in pain when I sliced my right foot open on one of them. Limping and bleeding now, my heart pounding louder than a drum, I kept heading in the direction the scream had come from.

Then Nick was suddenly beside me, blinking into the space so quickly that I almost stumbled and fell again.

When he saw my condition, he scowled and picked me up, guiding my legs around his waist. “What are you doing?” he growled. “You can’t be out here without any shoes on.”

I blinked at him in astonishment. “What am I doing? What am I doing? What are you doing, Nick? And please tell me you didn’t kill them!”

“I didn’t kill them. I took them to Finn, and let him process them. The one who pushed you is getting charged with aggravated assault and attempted murder. The others are being charged as accomplices.”

“Did you hurt them?” I asked quietly, already knowing the answer, but needing to hear it from him.

He stopped walking and looked down at me. Even though I was attached to him like a monkey, I was still shorter. “Yes. Finn suspended me for two weeks, once my vacation time is up. He said he understood, and would have done the same in my position, but he had to suspend me.”

I swallowed thickly. “But you get to return to work after?”

He kissed my eyelids. “Yes. I promise. I’m sorry I scared you.” He looked down at my torn and bloody feet, wincing. “And I’m sorry about your feet.” He looked up with the barest of smiles. “I should have known you wouldn’t stay where I put you.”

“Don’t you dare laugh, Nick Steele!”

And then I burst into loud, messy sobs.

Nick immediately stopped walking, and pulled me tighter against his body. He kissed my neck, rubbed gentle circles on my back, and just let me cry it all out.

When the storm had passed, I was drooping from exhaustion. I rested my head in the curve of his neck, and closed my gritty-feeling eyes as Nick started down the cliff again toward where I could hear Mae and Carl talking.

“Oh, honey,” Mae said, as soon as we came into view. “You look done in. Here.” She wrapped the towel around me again. “You keep that. Carl and I have plenty.”