He groaned, tumbling to the floor, his big body twitching.
“Oh my God!” Kiesha cried as Brick raced into the room, gun in hand, his eyes focused, deadly. Ed came next, his gaze eating up the room, his gun drawn. Xavier followed. He looked pale, terrified.
“Do they hand out awards for being a badass?” Kiesha asked. “Because, boss man, I totally deserve one.”
“Juliet, sweetheart, are you all right?” Xavier was suddenly in front of her. He ran his hands over her, as though searching for injury. She was vaguely aware of people gathering in the hallway outside the bathroom door.
Ed was securing the big guy on the floor, while Noah was talking to Gladys. Georgie was hugging Kiesha.
Where was Brick? Then suddenly, he was in front of her as well. They were both here. They sandwiched her between them.
“I think she’s just in shock,” Xavier said. “She doesn’t appear to be injured.”
“Thank fuck,” Brick said, drawing her close and kissing the top of her head.
“Kiesha, what happened?” Ed asked.
“Gladys came in, she was talking about how Juliet had ruined her life,” Kiesha told them. “It was all bullshit stuff about how she used to date Reuben and he’d dumped her because of Juliet. She blames Juliet for losing her job. And she tried to kill her by cutting up shrimp and sticking it into her sandwich at the diner. Actually, it kind of sounded like she’d been stalking her or something. Then this big guy comes in and says he’s sending a message to Reuben. He was a real looney.” She sneered down at the man.
Juliet looked from the big guy who was still twitching, to Gladys who looked to be in shock then up at her men. “Reuben is going to be so pissed.”
They were coddling her.
She had a feeling they weren’t going to let her out of their sight after this for a long, long time.
They’d called Reuben on the way home. That hadn’t gone well. He’d exploded. Then he’d told them that he would make certain nothing like that happened again. Apparently, this guy hadn’t been called off like he should have been or had gone rogue. She wasn’t sure exactly which. Reuben was being his usual vague self.
Now Brick was carrying her into the house. She was wrapped around his front like a monkey, unable to let go.
“I’ll check the house is secure,” Xavier told them. “And get her a drink so she can sleep. You want it in your baby bottle?”
She nodded. She liked the baby bottle when she was extra anxious.
Brick grabbed her some pajamas, but she shook her head. “Skin.”
“All right, baby girl,” he soothed. He stripped them both off, then they brushed their teeth together. As soon as they were in bed, she started scooting down.
“Please, can I have your cock, Daddy?” she asked.
“Take whatever you need.”
She took his dick into her mouth. For the first time, it wasn’t at least semi-erect. She guessed that everything that had happened had dampened his arousal as well.
Surprisingly, her eyelids soon started drooping. She’d been certain that it would take her forever to fall asleep.
“She’s under the covers?” Xavier asked as he walked into the bedroom.
Brick gave him a tired nod. “Pretty sure she’s fallen asleep. Help me move her and we’ll talk outside, yeah?”
Xavier nodded, setting the baby bottle down on the bedside table next to her pacifier. Brick managed to slide free from her mouth, with only a small murmur of complaint from her. Xavier carefully moved her, tucking her in while Brick put some pajama pants on.
Xavier picked up her pacifier, pushing it against her lips. She immediately took it into her mouth, sucking on it.
They stepped out into the hallway, leaving the door open.
“Fuck,” Brick said. “Fuck, I can’t believe we nearly lost her tonight.” He started pacing up and down the hallway, while Xavier leaned against the wall.
“I know. I’m going to have nightmares, thinking about what could have happened.”