Page 14 of Dario

"You saw me?" I ask.

Dario smiles softly and wraps a finger around a strand of my wet hair. "I was sitting in my car after a swim when I saw you arrive. I'm only here now because I wanted to swim with you."

There are tears in my eyes that I try to hide. I should have known better. Dario cups my face and strokes my cheeks with his thumbs.

"Dario, are you in here?" A female voice calls from what I assume is the doorway.

Dario kisses me on the tip of my nose. "I'm getting dressed," he calls.

"You got Gemma in here with you? The cops and paramedics are here."

My eyes widen. "She called for help?"

"Give us a minute, Megan." Dario pushes me off his lap and quickly goes through the locker he used. He gives me his back and quickly dries himself. The view is amazing, especially when he drops the towel and I find his firm butt practically in my face. He chuckles as he pulls on the sweats. He turns to me and says, "Your turn."

I'm too numb to say anything as he pulls me to my feet and starts drying me. I wince. "I need clothes."

"I have spare ones. Don't worry." He places another pair of sweats and a sweatshirt next to me.

I nod. "Let me take off the bathing suit."

He swallows hard and I'm sure he's muttering, "Give me strength."

I manage to wriggle out of the wet thing and drop it at my feet as I kick it away. I dry myself with a towel and let Dario help me into the pants and sweatshirt before throwing the towel away.

"Megan," he calls. "Send them in.

The paramedics insistedthat I needed to be taken to the emergency room, and with Dario standing guard over me, I agreed. Dario held my hand all the way to the hospital and is currently sitting in an uncomfortable chair next to the bed. I'm tired, hungry, and out of sorts. I have no idea why someone would want to drown me. The police know about Wayne now. He's the only one I could think of with a grudge. As for trying to kill me, I can't imagine him doing that.

This morning was so out of the blue. I have nothing going on in my life that would warrant such a reaction. It doesn't make any sense. Dario told them about Davy, which made meuncomfortable. The man is my boss. This is going to be awkward when I'm back at work.

Dario called the big boss, Wyatt Peters, and told him what had happened. I was officially on sick leave for two days. Except for the ripples of shock that go through me, I feel fine. The doctors want me to stay overnight as a precaution. I didn't need resuscitation, but they want to err on the side of caution.

The door opens, breaking the silence I’m enjoying while Dario sleeps with his head on the bed. We both stare and watch as the officer from earlier enters the room. He smiles as his eyes sweep over me. Dario bristles and reaches for my hand, wrapping his larger one around it. He intertwines our fingers, making my heart miss a beat. I like holding his hand. He winks at me and then turns his attention to the officer. "Do you know who that was?"

The officer winces. "No one saw the would-be killer enter or leave the building. The camera—surprisingly—had gone offline the night before. We got a technician out, and on closer inspection he found that some wires had been cut."

"It was planned." Dario looks at the officer. "I know it was early, but someone must have seen something. What about the drive-through coffee- house across the street. They have cameras."

"We know. My partner is waiting for the manager to come down so we can check them. There's a chance the person went out the back, in which case they're in the wind." He sighs. "The staff here knows not to let anyone in the room unless you know them. In the meantime, I'll run down the two names you gave us."

"Thank you, Officer," I say.

"Will you keep us informed?" Dario asks.

"That's why I'm here." He smiles. "Be careful, okay. I'll be in touch."

I close my eyes, feeling nervous, which I don't like. "How can I be careful if I don't know where the threat is coming from?"

Dario kisses my fingers and hovers over the bed as I open my eyes and search his. "I'm scared."

"I don't think I've ever been as scared as when I heard you scream. Then when I saw you being held underwater, my heart stopped." He drops his forehead to mine. "You were my priority, but I wish I'd gotten my hands on that bastard."

"Thanks for saving me," I whisper, getting lost in his brown eyes. "Don't you have a game to get ready for?"

"You want me to go?"

It's on the tip of my tongue to say yes—that I want him to go so I don't lose my job. But I don't do that, I speak the truth. "No. I don't want you to leave my sight. You make me feel safe. But you have an important game coming up. I don't want you to be benched because of me."