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“I’m not asking you to miss work, but I can’t leave you exposed. So, this is what we’re going to do. You’re going to work as normal, but you’re keeping Lucifer by your side as well as allowing two prospects to keep watch. One inside and in plain sight. The other will stay hidden and maintain a perimeter. After work, you will be escorted back here where I can keep you safe. I want you to sleep here. With me.”
“You’re being overbearing,” she replied without any heat in her voice.
“I’m being protective,” I shot back. She started to shake her head in denial, but I stopped her. “Alex, you were almost raped in your bed tonight. Do you really want to fight me on this?”
Chewing her bottom lip, she shook her head. “No.”
“Good. Why don’t you get some sleep.”
“You’re not going to leave me here, are you?”
“No, baby. I’m staying right here.”
As Alex drifted off into a fitful sleep, I began making a list of all the things I was going to do to MaddoxbeforeI pulled the trigger and put a bullet in his brain.
Chapter 24
Alex
Nick had insistedon taking me back to my apartment the next morning, while the two prospects he’d roped into babysitting followed behind in a car filled with lumber and tools to fix the office door. I hadn’t protested because the thought of returning to the garage alone made me feel a little nauseous. Nick had been right. What Maddox called foreplay could’ve easily turned into a vicious rape. His brutal violation of my safe place was severely playing with my head. It was only the years of therapy I had under my belt that was keeping me from falling apart.
Running my finger along the door that had been broken yet again, I stepped inside the office and looked around. Nothing looked out of place. The Post-it notes with dicks that Bliss had drawn were still there. The pile of invoices waiting to get paid. The hole in the vinyl seat cover of one of the chairs in the office. Everything looked the same yet had changed irrevocably.
“Everything’s secure,” Nick said, coming back into the office, Lucifer at his heel. He must’ve read the expression on my face, because he added, “You can change your mind, you know. We can shut the shop. Tell Bliss she has the day off. You can come back to the clubhouse.”
As good as that sounded, I knew I couldn’t cave in to my crippling anxiety. “Bliss doesn’t work on weekends, but even if she was here, I can’t close for the day. I have a couple of long-term clients booked in.”
Nick brought his crooked finger under my chin, lifting my face to his. “You don’t have to be brave if you don’t want to be today. What happened last night was traumatic.”
“Not the worst I’ve been through, though,” I whispered back, reaching down to run my fingers over Lucifer’s short fur when he pressed himself into my side.
Nick’s mouth compressed into a firm line, and I could see how much this was costing him. Letting me make the decision to stay. “Colton won’t leave your side,” he said fiercely.
My gaze shifted to the man in question. He had dark-blond hair that flopped over his forehead, bright blue eyes, and a serious set to his expression. Nick’s fingers tightened on my jaw, urging my focus back onto him.
“You need anything, ask Colton. After Mateo secures the door, he’ll be around, too, but you won’t see him.”
Lucifer whimpered at his feet, and with a roll of his eyes, Nick added, “And Lucifer is here too.”
I hadn’t felt this kind of concern since my brother, and thinking about Luca now made my throat tight. I wondered what he would’ve made of all this—what he would’ve thought of Nick. Knowing my brother, he would’ve given Nick hell before accepting him as a part of my life. “I’ll be fine. It’ll only be half a day, tops. I won’t accept any drop-in clients.”
He stepped closer into my personal space, sealing his mouth on mine in a possessive kiss. I clutched at his cut, holding him against me until Colton cleared his throat. When Nick pulled away, he threw a look of disdain at the prospect and kissed me once more.
“Half a day,” he repeated. “Then Mateo and Colton bring you back to the clubhouse.”
Not wanting to sound like a needy woman, I asked my next question casually. “Will you be there?”
“I have club business today, but I’ll see you tonight.”
“Okay.”
“Oh, and there will be more members at the clubhouse later this afternoon. They’re here for Molly’s funeral tomorrow. I want you to come with me.”
I nibbled on my bottom lip, unsure. “I wouldn’t want to impose.”
“You wouldn’t be. You’d be there with me.Iwant you there.” He cupped my jaw, pressing a kiss to my lips. “If I’m not there when you get back to the clubhouse, stay in my room.”
I nodded, tipping my head up to accept another kiss.
