Page 53 of Written with Love

Then, before he could react, pain exploded at the back of his head.

A sharp, blinding agony overtook him, and his knees buckled as the world spun. He barely had time to process what had happened before everything went black.

Minutes or hours later, the distant sound of voices pulled him from the darkness. His head throbbed, and as he tried to move, he realized he was lying on the cold basement floor, half-covered in dust.

“Max?”

Juliette’s voice. Urgent. Worried.

He blinked against the dim light, wincing as he tried to sit up. “Here…” he croaked. His throat was very dry.

Then she was there, dropping to her knees beside him, her hands on his face, checking for injuries.

“Oh my god, we’ve been looking everywhere.” She hugged him.

He reached up, feeling the back of his head. His fingers came away slightly damp, and when he looked, he saw the smear of blood.

“Someone was down here,” he muttered. “I—I didn’t see who.”

Juliette’s face paled. “We need to get you upstairs.”

As she helped him up, the realization settled deep in his chest. Someone had attacked him.

And whoever it was… could still be there.

With her help, he climbed the stairs and sat in a chair at the kitchen table. When she rushed over to grab the towel for his head, he glanced out the window and realized that it was almost dark outside.

“How long was I down there?” he asked.

She glanced at her watch. “It’s almost five now. When did you go into the basement?” She handed him the towel and then rushed to the freezer to get a bag of frozen peas. “I’m calling Doctor Stevens,” she said after he placed the cold bag on the bump on the back of his head.

He groaned. “No, I’m…” He stopped when she gave him a look, the kind that said he’d better shut up and not argue the fact that he was going to be seen by a doctor no matter what.

He sat and waited as she talked on the phone.

“There you are.” Palmer came into the kitchen. “Dude, are you okay?” He sat across from him. “We’ve been looking for you for almost an hour.”

“Basement.” He motioned and then felt his head spin.

“What happened?” Palmer asked.

“Someone hit me over the head,” he answered, closing his eyes.

“What? Seriously?”

“Yeah. Right after lunch, I went down there to start hauling all that stuff out so your men can begin work down there next week and then wham.” He sighed. “I guess I’ve been down there since then.”

“We only realized you were missing about an hour ago, when Juliette showed up. We thought maybe you’d gone to help her move her things over.”

He shook his head. “Was there anyone else in the house today that you saw? Besides your crew?” he asked. He kept his eyes shut since it helped settle his stomach.

This wasn’t like the first time he’d hit his head on the cabinet. This time the pain had easily reached a ten out of ten.

“No, but I can ask around and see if any of my crew saw anyone else,” Palmer said, and then the room went quiet.

Juliette was back and took his hand. “Dr. Stevens is on his way. He thinks you should go to the hospital and have some scans.” He opened his mouth to argue, but she stopped him. “I convinced him to come over here instead.”

“Thanks.” He leaned his head back.