Chapter 1 Crashed Into You

Present Time (6 months Earlier than the Intro Chapter)

Emily had just made her way to the back alley of the nearest bus stop and grocery store before she felt her legs give way and she collapsed to the cold ground. Gasping, her fingers clung tight to the brick wall as she struggled to catch her breath.

She had made it.

She was almost home free.

Lifting her head she took in her surroundings. No one had been following her. She had made a clean getaway. Finally.

Sweeping her dark hair back from her forehead, her eyes darted around the empty parking lot. Not a car in sight, at least at the back of the building. She just needed to get to the front, sneak in and buy her ticket and get on the bus as fast as she could.

Standing back up on shaky legs she checked her purse for the wad of cash she stuffed in it and any kind of ID they might need. She felt a sharp pain in her belly and clutched her stomach feeling more pain. She needed to hurry. She should have left sooner. She never should have waited this long. Till it got this bad.

Emily pulled herself along the wall and then when the pain subsided took off at a run around the building. Her thin dress whipped in the wind around her bare legs and she had managed to throw on some ankle boots but had not even thought to grab a jacket as she ran through the dimly lighted streets away from the only home she had ever really known.

She dug in her purse again as she ran to scoop up the little scrap of paper with the location on it. The address she had been seeking for months now, years even and now she finally had it. Her shaking fingers were trying to zip up her large purse when she ran right into what felt like a solid wall of muscle.

Emily cried out and tumbled to the ground, the contents of her bag spilling all over the pavement. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled keeping her head down. She could smell a strong masculine scent and felt a warm hand on her arm as she was trembling as she hurriedly scooped her things back in her bag.

"Hey, It's okay. Are you...okay?" a soft and soothing voice said and Emily caught herself looking up into the kindest and most unique colored eyes she had ever seen. They were gray and fixated on her as she stared back at him. He bent to one knee and was helping her pick up her things and she quickly shoved them back in her purse.

"Thank you, um yeah. I uh just need to watch where I'm going..." she stuttered and let the man help her to her feet. She felt sparks at his touch, literally and nearly jumped back. He towered over her at his full height and was well built and startling attractive with his jet black hair wrapped in a bun at the nape of his neck. She caught herself staring a couple seconds at how his tight gray t shirt stretched over his chest and he wore a black leather jacket and casual dark washed jeans and boots for the cool fall day.

Emily saw him look at her, clearly not dressed for the cooler evening air with her dress long sleeved but still feeling paper thin on her shivering frame.

"Are you sure? You look cold? Um.."

She knew he was curious about her name and she saw him already shaking his jacket down his arms. Was he going to just give it to her? He didn't even know her. She found herself now very curious who this handsome hero was. She didn't just meet people that rescued her. Her whole life she never had anyone rescue her so why would that change now?

As sweet as he was being Emily shook her head and tried to offer him what she hoped was an understanding smile. She gently squeezed his hand, seeking out those beautiful gray eyes once more and thanked him again. He nodded and smiled back at her, his smile just as soft and kind as every other feature she had seen already.

But this wasn't the time to be swooning over handsome strangers. She wasn't thinking of anything but getting to that bus in time then and now too was stumbling in her thanks for his help when she was the one that ran into him she hurried to get into the warmth of the bus stop building to get her ticket.

She glanced back at him as the door closed behind her and saw him bend down to pick up his keys from the ground before his head turned back the way she had gone and she found him staring back at her again.

What was it about him that had her so captivated?

But the call of the cashier for the next customer had her shake her head and move forward and lay her money on the counter. She placed the scrap of paper down too and told the woman she needed a one way ticket only. She was never coming back.

The lady rang the purchase through and she was told it would be 20 minutes till the bus arrived. She nodded and grabbed up her ticket.

Would it be safe to stay in the building that long or should she find a place to hide till right when the bus got there? She wasn't sure what was safer. But she needed to stay as out of sight for a little while longer and everything would finally be over. She glanced back to the back of the building where it was the most secluded before...

20 minutes and she would be out of there for good. She could make it that much longer. Couldn't she?

Roman stood outside on the sidewalk watching the woman who he had not even gotten to know her name, leave as quick as she had come.

He had not been paying any attention to where he was going until it was too late to stop her from running into him. He had been struggling with his remote for his new SUV he had just bought and not hearing it lock when he pushed the button and as he studied it the next second when he looked up she had crashed into him from around the corner.

He bent now to pick up his key fob from the cement and this time when he pushed it he heard the lock click. He could feel her eyes on him, turned his head and in seconds locked gazes with her as she stood just inside the doors to the bus stop building.

His steely gray gaze held hers till he saw her move forward and out of his view. He wanted to know more. Hell he didn't even know her name. Where was she going in such a hurry? Was she okay? Would he ever see her again?

Tucking it in his pocket he turned back away from his car and headed back around the corner toward the grocery store. She was at the bus stop so she was leaving, at least for now. Why did his damn brain act like it mattered so much anyway?

Pulling the door open to the grocery store Roman sighed and just pushed the thoughts away. He had just gotten here and if she was leaving that was not in his control at all. He had just received a job here in the small town and was spending one night in a little motel by the highway with his U haul before getting the keys to his house tomorrow.

It was time for a fresh start and he was very grateful for his friend that offered him the open position that he had just vacated when he wanted to move closer to his wife's family up north.

Another buddy he had known since high school had moved to the town here a couple years ago and joined the police academy and had graduated last year and just been promoted this summer too. He had been renting his apartment from one of the sergeants and when Seth heard that his friend was moving to town he practically begged him to take over his lease and give him the freedom to move away further from his boss.

Roman had no problem living near any police presence and he told Seth he thought it would probably be good for him to know the neighborhood would be safer. Starting his job at the hospital he was prepared for long shifts and late nights and likely sleeping at all hours so having the cops around he thought would make him sleep easier anyway.

So all was arranged and he would start moving in tomorrow and meet his coworkers at the hospital first thing in the morning too.

He wandered though the store and gathered a few things he would need just for the night and for breakfast. He didn't have more than a mini fridge in the motel and so he wasn't looking for much now anyways. A couple other ladies caught his eye as he made his way through the aisles but none like the way the woman outside had.

No, she had made a much deeper impression on him in barely a few minutes. He had been ready to literally give her his jacket, his favorite jacket the second he saw her shivering. She had been wearing a thin dress that offered little if not any warmth in the cold air. Her hair was long and silky smooth in such a rich dark brown. Her eyes he saw were equally dark like chocolate and had shone and sparkled in the dimness of the streetlights.

Roman smiled politely at two younger woman that waved and giggled as he went by. It wasn't that he was used to the attention per se but his Samoan bloodline taught him that his cousins and uncles and brothers, they all had that kind of ooh with the ladies too and Roman was no different.

But he wanted people to see deeper in him that just his looks. He could have probably gone into acting or theater but no, he had always wanted to help people like his uncles had in joining the marines but more close to home. So studying to be a doctor had been his top priority in the last years and he had dove in headfirst and given it his all to be the best he could be.

He put his items on the counter and paid, making small talk with the cashier as the nice young man packed his groceries up in two paper bags. Roman nodded his thanks and scooped up the bags and pushed the door open and was met with a blast of cool fall air. He was ready to get back to his room, crash for the night and order pizza and maybe watch a movie before he had to be at work bright and early the next morning.

A muffled scream caused him to jerk his head fast in the direction of the sound. He had just rounded the corner toward his SUV and was digging in his pockets for the keys when he heard it.

Instantly his gray eyes zeroed in on a struggle just barely around the corner to the back of the building. "Hey! What the hell..." he started to yell out. He caught sight of dark, long hair and a long dress and dropped the bags and broke into a run.

It was her and she was hurt...

One man came at him with a fast punch and Roman caught his arm and twisted it back behind his head and slammed his head against the brick wall. But he heard her cry out and swung his head toward the sound. The other man looked to have had a knife at her throat and grabbed her by the hair and kicked her in the stomach with his other hand and she tried to hold the knife back.

But the man Roman had a hold of now smashed his head against his fast and elbowed him in the face and Roman fell to his knees. He kicked out and swept the other guys feet out from under him and then dove head first at the man attacking the woman, taking him down hard onto the cement behind him, the knife falling from his grasp.

He could hear her scream and get thrown back, her head hitting the stone wall hard as she crumpled to the ground. Roman scrambled to get his hands around the mans throat as they rolled around on the ground. Roman was pinned down and felt the man's hands squeezing tighter and tighter as he looked back to her seeing her just barely moving on ground a few feet from him.

Roman spun them again, this time being on top of him and using his hands to squeeze the man's throat. But the other man must have gotten up and kicked him hard in the head, throwing him off balance and making his vision spin. The one man threw him off of him but not before Roman felt the stab of the knife in his stomach and ripping it back out fast. Then one man scooped up the woman's bag on the ground before she could stop them and they were both running off down the alley and around the corner into the darkness.

Gasping for air and looking down at his stomach he saw the blood pooling at his wound and he groaned again. The woman came crawling closer and looked from the wound to his face as if she was wondering what to do. How she could help.

She was crying now, tears streaming down her face as she sobbed. He saw too that she had bruises and blood on her face and her dress was torn at the sleeve too. He reached his hand up to her cheek and stroked his palm down her face.

"Hey, hey, look at me," he commanded her, trying to calm her. "Just breathe, in and out. Anything broken? Can you move? You will be okay...um?" She cried out, clutching her stomach and gritted her teeth.

"Emily," she whimpered, her palms spread wide over her belly. She cried out again, both hands around her stomach. "It hurts...I..."

She looked like she was in shock and was looking wildly at him but barely any words were coming out. His heart literally was breaking seeing her tears streaming down her face and he wanted to make everything go away.

Roman groaned and sat up, leaning against the wall and seeing her still crying more and now her shoulders started shaking and he shrugged his arms out of his jacket and wrapped it around her, pulling her in against him.

"It's okay Emily." He soothed her and ran his hand down her hair, feeling it sticky with blood too and he felt her bury her head in the crook of his neck. "You are okay. They are gone. I promise I won't let anyone hurt you. Can I check.. if anything is broken?"

He cleared his throat and despite the pain, was so happy to learn her name. "I'm... Roman by the way." She nodded to his question and smiled slightly and he moved his hands up and around her shoulders, arms and spine and stomach and legs and back. It seemed like nothing was broken. He was about to ask if he could check for any internal bleeding, from seeing that creep kick her in the stomach too when he felt more sharp stabbing pains in his side.

Fighting back another groan he laid his head back and looked around for something to put pressure on the wound. "Um Emily, we need to call 911. Can you do that for me? Please?" His phone he saw was smashed and laying on the ground just a few feet away and must have gotten damaged from the fight. It would be no good now.

She looked around and he saw her pointing down the alley. "They took my purse. My, my phone was in there Roman. Everything was in there." Her gaze went back to him and she lifted up more. He had held her against him and cringed at the pain but his wound was still bleeding and hurt like a bitch.

In seconds she was tearing the bottom of her dress off and rolling up the fabric to press it to his bloody shirt. He groaned again and swallowed hard. But when he lifted his head next he saw more blood on her and not from him.

"Emily..." he gasped out and after she had torn her dress till nearly mid thigh he saw a trail of blood dripping down the inside of her leg. "What.. oh God...what happened?"

Roman cursed under his breath and wondered how the fuck long had she been trapped against that wall with the knife at her throat. What the fuck had those two creeps done before he got there? Had he really saved her from anything?

With no phone between them and her clutching at her stomach and crying more he didn't care how much pain he was in. He pulled himself to his feet and grabbed the keys from the ground before reached down and pulling Emily up into his arms, cradling her against his chest.

He hissed the air out through his teeth at the sharp pain he felt at his skin possibly tearing more and just ignored it completely and unlocked his SUV and laid her down in the back seat. The blood was seeping more down both her legs and she was doubled over in pain.

Emily reached for him before he closed the door, after carefully making sure she was buckled in. He didn't care that blood was getting all over his brand new leather seats. Her arms wound around his neck, as she pulled him in.

"Roman, I'm scared..." she whispered. His hair had fallen out of its tight bun already and she curled her head under the curtain of his dark hair. He nuzzled his face against hers, feeling the wetness of her tears against his cheek.

God he wished he knew how to get her to stop crying. He barely knew her but he felt like he was breaking apart by the sound of her sadness too. He wanted to fix everything in her whole damn world at that moment.

The hospital was only a couple blocks away and he had already driven the route just to go by it earlier. They were not expecting him till tomorrow but would be in for quite the surprise tonight.

"I know, I'm so sorry. I'm going to get us to the hospital right away okay?" Roman pulled his body back from hers just enough to lock his eyes with hers. "I know you don't know me but you can trust me. You can." He cringed in more pain, feeling his side tingling and almost numb likely from the shock from his wound but his focus was on her right then and nowhere else.

The sweet dark haired beauty nodded, her arms still tight around his neck. "I do. I lost everyone... I can't even... " she started whimpering again. "Nothing I do will ever..."

Roman shushed her and surprised even himself as he untangled her arms from him and bent to press his lips to the crown of her head. His eyes closed for a second, just soothing her, but also feeling the wave of calmness wash over him too at the intimacy with this near stranger. He could taste blood at his lips from a cut on her head and had seen blood on her face too, and bruises and God knows what else on her had been damaged before he had gotten around that corner.

She seemed to melt into his strength too, her arms still around him, her fingers clutching at him like if she didn't hold on he would just simply disappear. Her sobs had stopped in that moment too, a gasp escaping her trembling lips and when he pulled back he saw her eyes had fallen closed too.

God she was beautiful, he thought.

He couldn't stop himself from smoothing a lock of her dark hair back behind her ear as her eyes fluttered back open. Startled now by another sharp pain in his side he pulled ever so reluctantly away and closed the door and dragged himself slowly and gingerly into the drivers seat. He was getting blood all over this seat too. His tight gray t shirt looked nearly suctioned onto his abs soaked in his blood. Damn.

Roman gritted his teeth in more pain and yet smiled through it when he glanced in the rear view mirror at her as he backed them up and out of the parking lot.

Groceries were forgotten, broken phone forgotten, motel forgotten he needed to get them to the hospital.

Squealing into the ambulance bay at the emergency entrance he didn't give a damn that he wasn't supposed to park there or unload there or anything. He slammed on his horn a couple times to get anyone's attention and pulled open the back door.

Roman gasped at the amount of blood that covered the seat and the floor and she looked so so pale in the bright florescent lighting. Her head lolled to the side as he heard her whimper his name as he gathered her up, still wrapped in his jacket in his arms and stormed through the doors of the emergency ward.

He felt dizziness start to overwhelm him as he walked but fought to stay focused. His eyes kept darting back and forth between her half closed ones and the stretcher just a few more steps away. He could make it...

A woman nurse ran up to him as he nearly collapsed with her onto the stretcher before he saw the room starting to spin in front of his eyes.

"Mugging! She was attacked behind the grocery store and possible concussion. Was kicked in the stomach, held at knife point." Roman choked on a sob as he pulled himself to sitting on the bed with her still in his arms. "Possible rape," he forced the words past his gasps of his own pain, showing the nurse the blood all down her legs and soaked through her dress.

The nurse looked up at him already taking her pulse and yelling for more help. "And you are?"

Roman blinked through his tears. "I.. I just found her. We just met tonight..." he mumbled. "I saved her..." He was rocking her in his arms and the nurse and other staff were already trying to pull her from his arms to lay her down. He didn't want let her go but he knew he needed to.

Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. He could feel the nurses hands pulling on his arms, the loud sounds of everyone in the hallway talking over each other, the grip of her fingers on his arm not wanting to let go of him, the softness of her hair against his cheek, the loud calling through the intercom, the whimpered gasp of his name from her lips before her eyes fell closed and she slumped in his arms.

In shock Roman laid her down fully, now scared that holding her too long would put her at more risk and they needed to get her into an exam room to see what else might be wrong. He watched them wheel the stretcher down the hall and through the double doors before the whole area was plunged into silence.

He slipped down the wall, across from the doors and laid his head on his knees. His hands were covered in blood now too and he could hardly think straight likely from all the blood loss. He saw a nurse coming toward him but his eyes just could not stay open and just as she knelt at his side he felt everything go black...

Author Note: Huge Roman fan here loving enjoying his dominance and having fun at the top of the mountain right now. He's my oxygen in a long crazy week and with stress of real life. Miss when he's not on every week anymore. But glad he's getting the rest and family time he needs too.

I would love to support other authors here in this fandom too. Please let me know of other stories you love with him and other authors I could support and read and review their work and I hope to find fellow authors and readers that love mine too.

I hope you are enjoying my story.

I have about 20 chapters written so far of this one. Still a work in progress in between finding a new job and raising teens and finding time to write and all balance it all as kids are leaving home here too. We also just got a new puppy that chews everything so I am keeping my lap top very safe away from her too! Happy reading!