Chapter Thirty-Three
Dominic
My head spins as I hold her close to my body while ignoring everything else around us. What would’ve happened if I didn’t show up when I did? Would he have–
No. I block the thought out. Someone else would’ve heard her. If he wanted to truly hurt her, he wouldn’t have tried to do something in the middle of the day on Main Street.
But he did enough. My hands ball into fists behind her back. He choked her and shoved her against a wall. The asshole pushed her around. I inhale a ragged breath and pull back, looking down at her gorgeous green eyes and thanking God she’s safe. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” She nods as if she’s trying to convince me. “I’m fine. My neck and shoulders hurt, but Sam and Ben have done worse when we were messing around.”
“When?”
“Stop, don’t get all macho on me.” She stands on her tiptoes and kisses me. “Thank you.”
When she rocks back on her heels, her eyes flash with worry. “Dom, you’re going to get fired over me.” She yanks from my grip and grabs my hand, turning it over while looking for damage. Her fingers are cold against my flesh. “You have swollen, red knuckles and cuts.” She trails a fingertip over the longest one.
“No worse than I’ve had while messing with your brothers.”
“Touche.” She laughs weakly and runs her hands over my cracked knuckles. Her touch is so gentle that it makes my heart clutch in my chest.
“Wildflower, I seem to always be coming to your rescue.” I wink, trying to lighten the mood as the voices around us sink in. Bella’s parents are chatting with Coach Hall, and Mrs. Martin is fawning over Jake.
All of us ignore Brock, who’s stuck in the back of the police cruiser, glaring at us like we’re the ones who have done him an injustice. He looks good with a busted nose and caked blood streaked along his cheek.
“Jake….”
“Yeah, buddy?” He glances at me over the crowd.
“Don’t let him clean up before taking his mug shot. This one will look good next to his Most Likely to Live in His Dad’s Shadow photo in the yearbook.”
“Yes, it will.” Jake chuckles as he pats Mrs. Martin on the shoulder and shifts his focus to Bella. “We should go down to the station and get your statement.”
“Yes.” She straightens her spine and brushes her hands on her jeans. “I’m ready.”
“I’ll take you.” I place my hand in the middle of her back, reading to steer her toward my pickup.
“No.” She doesn’t budge. “You need to get to work. It’s bad enough that I’ve repeatedly made you late, got your hand messed up twice, and now, you’re going to be a no-call, no-show.”
I yank my phone out of my back pocket and wait for Rissa to answer. “Twisted Ink.”
“Ris?”
“Yes? Is everything okay?”
“Bella was jumped by her ex.”
“What?!” Her voice is shrill as she hollers into the phone.
“What’s going on?” Rob’s voice comes from the background.
“Dom’s girl got jumped by her ex.”
“What in the fuck? Does he need backup? We can be there in twenty minutes.”
“Tell Rob it’s fine and that it takes longer than twenty minutes to get here.” Brock jerks forward in his seat as Jake slides into the driver’s seat.
The man is going to lose his shit and get into even more trouble. This happens when a child is spoiled rotten, never told no, and never had to work for anything a day in their life. They don’t know how to handle people who don’t bow down and do whatever they say.
“No, it doesn’t. Not if Rob’s in rescue mode.”
Right. I should know. I cut ten minutes off the drive yesterday.
“The guy violated the restraining order and assaulted her, so I’m going to the station with Bella while she gives her statement. I realize this is–”
“You take care of your girl.” Rissa cuts me off, and what she says goes.
Bella shifts from foot to foot as she clutches my arm. “Bella, it’s fine.”
“No, it isn’t.” The worry in her eyes almost does me in. She was the one that was attacked, and she’s worried about me.
“Rissa, can you talk to her? She’s freaked out that I’m going to get fired.” I’d lose my job to protect her in a heartbeat, but I’d miss them.
I shove the phone at her, earning me a dirty look. Jake says something to Brock and starts the cruiser’s engine.
“Sister, are you okay? You have us worried.” At this point, if I showed up without going with Bella to the station, I’d be more likely to get fired than showing up late.
“Yes.” Her cheeks pinken as she listens with the phone and inch from her ear so that I can hear the conversation. “I’m fine. Really, I am. Dom got there just in time.” She wrinkles her nose as if she remembers our earlier conversation. “He was supposed to be on his way to work.”
“Thank God he stopped to see you first.”
“Yes, thank God.” I wink and tweak her nose.
‘You’re annoying,’ she mouths while listening to Rissa rattle on. It isn’t long before her eyes are wide, and she’s giving me a strange look. Yep, I know that look. Rissa doesn’t let anyone get a word in edgewise.
Once she hangs up, she hands me the phone and braces her hands on her hips. “Fine, you can go with me, but why are you here?”
“Because I’m not about to let a dick pic get into the wrong hands.” I cup her face. “And I missed you.”
“I just left your place an hour ago.”
“Yes, I know.” I kiss her lips, effectively silencing her. I’m never going to be able to get enough of her. She’s my entire world. If anything happened to her... “Bella, I love you, but you’ve got to stop taking years off my life.”
“I can’t help it.” She raises a shoulder. “I draw the attention of obsessive men. It must be my bone structure.”
“Wildflower, you’re lucky I don’t take you over my knee and paddle your backside.”
“Promise?” Her eyes dance for the first time since she left my front door.
“I’ll gladly paddle your sassy ass. Name the time and place.” I haul her closer and grind into her soft body. She molds perfectly against me.
“Well….” She smirks. “What time do you get off work?”
“Eleven o’clock. I’ll have to pull a couple of hours over to make up for being late, but it’s worth it. I rescued my girl again and all. That should earn me some brownie points.”
“What do you want as your reward?”
“Let me think about it. I’ll send you a list of my demands later today.”
Her eyes fill with heat as she rubs against my erection, but then she stills as her bottom lip pokes out. “You still owe me a dick pic, and not one of those shriveled-up ones that look like a pink wiggle worm. I want one in all its glory. Hard. Prominent, bulging veins. Piercings on full display.”
“Jesus.” I shudder and loop my arm around her shoulders. “You’re rotten. If I send you one, do you promise never to show it to anyone?”
“Who?” She clutches her chest. “Me? I would never do that.”
God, yes, she would. This is a horrible idea.
“Please….” Her bottom lip trembles. “I’ve had a bad day. I deserve a prize.”
“You’re incorrigible.” I stomp toward my pickup, knowing good and well, I’m sending her a dick pic later today.
I was supposed to get a prize for rescuing her. How did this get turned around on me?