Nine
BEAU
The second I round the corner and see that bastard standing over Hollie, something inside me breaks. She’s frozen, terror written across her gorgeous face, and for one horrifying moment all I can think is that I’m too late.
My heart slams against my ribs as panic tears through me. Not for myself—for her. For the woman who has somehow worked her way under my skin without me even realizing it. The woman I’m falling for.
The thought of him hurting her sends a violent rush of rage through my veins. I don’t think. I don’t hesitate. I run.
The world narrows until there’s nothing but Hollie and the man threatening her. I launch myself onto the deck and grab the asshole by the scruff of his shirt. With a savage shove, I slam him against the side of the bungalow hard enough to rattle the walls.
He gasps, but I barely hear him. My eyes flick to Hollie, making sure she’s still standing, still breathing. Relief and fury collide inside me as I press my forearm across his chest and lean in close. “The lady said no,” I hiss.
My other hand fists into a ball, I’m ready to slam it into his face when Matt squeezes my shoulder. “He’s not worth it. Hollie needs you.”
Hollie needs you. Those three words cause me to remove my arm.
The guy is lucky Matt is here because who knows what I would have done.
Before I can get to my girl, security arrives.
Matt and I tell them what happened. They take hold of the guy ad lead him away, advising they’ll be back soon.
With the asshole taken care of, I turn to find my girl.
Walking over to them, I rub Hollie’s back in circles. She looks over her shoulder and when she sees me, she pulls away from Lacie and throws herself at me.
Enveloping her in my arms, I hold her tightly as she at once breaks down. The adrenaline of what just happened has slammed into her. Her body is shaking and the tears streak down her cheeks.
Without saying a word, I head into the bungalow and make my way to the closest bed. I perch on the end with Hollie snuggled into me.
After some time, she lifts her head and looks around. She wipes at her tear-stained cheeks and mumbles something about being fine, but we all know she’s anything but.
Security returns with the hotel manager and they advise the man has been dealt with.
The manager offers to comp the girls stay and dinner this evening will be on them, it’s the least they can do if you ask me.
They leave and a silence falls over us, Hollie suggests drinks down at the beach, but I’m not sure that’s the best thing to do, until she adds a meek, “Please?” With arrangements made, Matt and I leave the girls and we head straight to the bar. “I need a drink,” I tell him.
“You and me both,” he agrees. “What kind of asshole does that?”
“If I see him again, I won’t be held accountable for what I do.”
“As much as I agree, do you really think violence is the answer?”
I hate when he’s right but I’m not telling him that, instead I order us two beers. As soon as mine is placed in front of me, I pick it up and chug it back. “Better?”
“Getting there,” I tell him, and Matt, being the great friend he is, slides his beer across to me and orders two more.
Taking a sip from the second one, I find myself beginning to relax. The tension in my shoulders begins to dissipate.
“You know,” Matt says, interrupting my thoughts, “Hollie is right, we need to let this go, and in order to do that we need beer and cocktails. Therefore, I say we order a bucket of beers and a jug of that cocktail the girls have fallen in love with, and we enjoy our time here before we have to head back to the real world in a few days’ time. ”
The thought of never seeing Hollie again is gut-wrenching, but considering we’re both from the same area, who knows what might happen.
What I do know is, I’m going to spend every minute I have left with Hollie Merlin here in paradise and hope, in the future, we can be more than just a vacation fling.