7. Chapter Six
Chapter Six
Reed
All the thoughts of punishing Ali for talking badly about her stunning body, her lies, her smart mouth, and the fact that she is keeping the name of the person who scares her a secret flies out of my mind when I see the state of her Jeep. Now, I’m running on autopilot, scanning the crowd, looking for a threat, and moving closer to her and Caleb. The need to protect them is clinging to every blood cell pumping through my body. Watching Ali’s eyes widen in fear as she crumbles to the ground is the hardest thing I’ve witnessed. And I’ve seen some tough shit in my thirty-two years on this earth.
I pull my phone out and send a message in the group chat.
Me
911. West parking lot at the college.
“Everyone get going now. Unless you have some information to pass along to the police.” I raise my voice but stop short of full-on yelling. I bend down and take Caleb out of his stroller. He is still crying for Ali, and his pants are wet. Looking over my shoulder, I see only a few students standing around. “Did either of you see anything?” They shake their heads at me. “Then fucking leave,” I growl, and they obey.
“Mommy,” Caleb screams, which seems to snap Ali out of it. She looks up as if she is seeing us for the first time. She moves fast and pulls him from my arms. Jacob starts to wake up and wiggles in my arms. I adjust him more toward my hip, that is, until I feel something wet and warm run down my stomach. That makes me pull him away from my body.
“Little One, I think someone had an accident.”
Jacob smiles at me like he knows what he did and laughs. Ali turns around to look at us, and sure enough, my shirt and his pants are wet.
“Jacob, you are supposed to tell me when you have to go potty. And we don’t laugh about peeing on someone,” she says, reaching toward her Jeep, but I stop her.
“Don’t touch it,” I bark, and she jumps back. The sound of fast-approaching vehicles pulls the attention of everyone walking to their car but not mine. I know who is coming, so my focus stays solely on my Little One. “Whoever did this might have left prints behind.”
Ali steps back further, clutching Caleb tighter to her. “I didn’t think of that. I have extra clothes for them in the back of the Jeep. They usually sleep in diapers, but I forgot to change them before we left.” She ducks her head as if she has something to be ashamed about.
Stepping forward, I tilt her head back up so I can see those gray eyes. “It’s okay, Little One. I’ll get their clothes.”
“What the fuck happened?” Gabe asks, sounding as pissed as I am about the state of her Jeep.
“Holy shit, is the boss man holding a baby?” Jessie asks.
“I’ll start looking into the camera feed,” Nick says. Out of those three, he is the only one with a level head on his shoulders and jumps into work without being told when something is going on.
Ali turns around, taking in my team of guys. Her eyes widen as she takes them in. We each command the room independently, but together, we look scary, or so I’ve been told. Jessie is the smallest out of each of us, and that fucker stands at six foot two and weighs two twenty.
“Wh… who are you?” She asks, stepping closer to me.
Pride expands in my chest at that slight movement. I’m sure she didn’t even know what she did, but I do. My girl feels safe with me. “Gabe, Jessie, and Nick,” I say, pointing at each guy before slipping my arm around her waist. “They all work with me, and together, we will find out who did this to your car.”
“Their teachers?” Ali looks up at me as if she doesn’t believe me. The boys have started babbling at each other in a language that no one but them could possibly understand.
“God no,” Jessie says, reaching a finger out for Jacob to take. Jacob snuggles closer to me, glaring at Jessie.
“Teaching is only my part-time job. I own and run a security company. Gabe, I need you to remove all of Ali’s personal items from the Jeep. The boys need a change of clothes. Jessie, pull my SUV around and transfer the boys’ car seats into it.” I give out orders, and they start obeying me.
“Wait. I’m confused,” Ali says, shaking her head.
“I’m hungry, Mommy,” Jacob says.
I grab Ali’s hand and intertwine my fingers with hers. “I know you are, and I promise to explain everything, but not here. Right now, we need to get the boys changed and settled into my vehicle, and then we will head to my house.” I leave no room for any arguing with my tone.
“I can’t go to your house. I need to figure out what to do about the Jeep, and then I have things to do,” Ali says, pulling her hand from mine to place it on her hip.
Oh, I love a good fucking brat, and I’m going to love punishing her for disobeying along with lying to me. But right now, I have to focus on finding the person who is threatening her and putting an end to their lives. “I’m taking care of your Jeep, and you are going to my house. Take a look around Ali. Someone did this to your car. They threatened you, and I won’t stand for that. The only place I can keep you safe is there. Where I can see and touch you. Do you understand?”
“No, I don’t understand. You don’t know me.”
“I’m well aware, but I plan to change that. I don’t question my feelings,” I say, stepping closer to her. I wrap my arm around her waist, bringing us as close as possible with two boys between us. “You can question why there is a pull between us or why I make you feel the things I do all day long. But you will do that inside my house. Behind my security system and with me right by your fucking side.” Bending down, I lightly press my lips against hers. Her hand grabs a handful of my shirt and pulls me closer.
My lips tingle, my heart races, and my body feels like electric currents are running through me. Ali moans, and I swallow the sound but also use the opportunity to push my tongue inside her mouth. Getting my first taste of her and fuck does she taste delicious. A throat clearing behind us makes Ali pull away. Her gray eyes are darker and filled with lust.
“You promise you won’t hurt us?” she asks. Instantly, I want to demand she tell me who hurt her in the past so I can erase them from existence. Slowly. Painfully.
Leaning down, I press my lips directly to her ear. “The only way I’ll hurt you is when you are begging me to let you come after edging you for hours. Or when you beg me to tie you to my bed, Little One.”
“Boss, everything has been moved into your SUV,” Nick says, stepping up beside me, unable to read the situation between Ali and me.
“Let’s get the boys changed,” I say, walking backward and pulling Ali along with me. She follows me, and we get to work changing the boys. They both start saying they are hungry in the adorable way only two-year-olds can do. We get them in their seats and buckle them up without a single complaint from either of them.
I walk around the SUV and pull open the passenger door. Ali stops and turns toward me. “Thank you,” she whispers, pushing onto her toes and kissing my cheek. I help her up into the seat. Reaching over her, I grab the seat belt, bring it over her, and buckle it. I let my hand fall to her upper thigh and gently squeeze.
“You don’t ever have to thank me. I’m going to talk to the guys, and then we will go. Think about where you want to take the boys to eat while I’m gone,” I say, stepping back and closing the door. I take a second to squeeze my dick through my jeans and will it to calm down.
Gabe, Jessie, and Nick are waiting for me beside the Jeep. “I don’t care about any other case we are working on. This,” I point to the Jeep, “is our number one priority. Find whoever the fuck did this and bring them to me.”
“Yes sir,” they all say at the same time.
“I’ve emailed Leon about finding out more about Ali’s past. He said he would call when he found something. Call him and loop him in.” They nod, and I leave them behind to start digging.
“Reed, what do we do about the Jeep?” Gabe asks.
“Call Dan, have him come get it and fix it. Not just what they did but anything wrong with it. I want it looking and sounding brand new,” I say, opening the door and sliding in beside Ali.