23. Ember #3
The man chose that moment to groan, his hands sliding along the soaked grass below his shoulders so he could lift himself up.
Jack’s foot landed in the middle of his back, and he collapsed back on the ground with an oof. “No,” my husband answered me. “Unfortunately.”
“I think it’s a good thing, actually,” I answered. “I don’t want to go to prison.”
More men ran up to us, four of whom wore the Marswood Security uniform. I recognized Bennett and Knox in the group. A bit further behind them, a staff member jogged along holding an umbrella over Oren’s head.
“What the hell is going on?” the billionaire demanded.
Jack ignored Oren and snarled at Spider, who was in plasticuffs and being hauled to his feet by Knox and one other. “Who paid you?”
Spider laughed.
“Talk, asshole.”
Spider shook his head. “Can’t do that, unfortunately.”
“Who paid you to harass us?”
The biker grinned at Jack, then looked at me. He winked.
Jack looked like he was getting ready to punch him, but Bennett pushed him back. Jack growled, and Bennett said, “Look after your wife. We’ve got this.”
Jack spun. He picked me up like I weighed nothing and turned to Oren. “My wife needs medical attention.”
“I’m fine,” I said.
“Your arm is bleeding.”
Surprised, I glanced down at my arm. The criminal’s fingernails had dug into my arm and left deep red scratches that were weeping blood. My gorge rose again. I was going to puke.
Jack didn’t wait for an answer. He started barking orders at his men. “Call the cops. Tell them we need a medic as well. Bennett, go to my vehicle and get the duffel out of the trunk. Ember needs something warm and dry to wear.”
Bennett flashed me a smile. “Good work, Ember.”
Jack growled at him. Literally growled. Bennett just laughed. Then he looked at Spider, and his expression went flat. “You’re with me.” He smiled again, but this one was horrible and cold.
I shivered. There was more to Bennett than met the eye.
“Get him out of here,” Jack snapped. “And Bennett, get that duffel.” He glanced at me. “You’re not getting sick on my watch again. You need dry clothes. I knew this fucking party was a bad idea.”
Oren jogged beside us. “I’ve got some clothing she can—”
“The only clothing my wife will wear is mine,” Jack snarled. Oren lifted his hands in response, an assessing glance flicking between the two of us. He backed off.
Jack’s jaw was hard, his eyes boring holes into his most important client’s face. Ready to blow up the contract just to get the other man to back off. I put a hand on his cheek and forced him to look at me.
“I’m fine,” I said.
His chest rose and fell with a deep breath. “You need to get checked out. And then we’re going home.”
I nodded. “Okay,” I whispered, and I let him take me into the house.
JACK
My heart wasn’t working right. It kept beating too hard, the force of the thumps crowding out my lungs. I couldn’t get a full breath in. Every time I looked over and saw the drying blood on Ember’s arm, my vision tunneled and I struggled to breathe again.
Distantly, as if the knowledge came from someone else’s brain, I realized I was having a panic attack.
I held Ember as we were led to a small library on the first floor of the home.
She settled in my lap, resting her head on my chest, but even her closeness didn’t seem to help calm my rioting heart.
I focused on the weight of her in my arms and the feeling of the breath moving in and out of my lungs, but the hulking shadow of what-ifs rose above me, darkening my thoughts.
She could’ve been hurt. If that scumbag had had a knife or a gun or a weapon of any kind, she could’ve died.
The thought sent ice through my veins as my heart punched again and again and again. So hard I wondered if my ribs would crack.
It was Tanya all over again. It was the woman I loved bleeding out and dying just as I allowed myself to imagine a life with her. Hope snatched away from me when I’d finally allowed myself to believe in it.
Why hadn’t Ember gotten out of the way? Why hadn’t she listened?
She lifted her head as paramedics came in and tended to her arm. Then there were the cops to speak to. I itched with the need to be next to her, to touch her, to make sure she was okay.
I couldn’t live like this. I couldn’t go through this again. Despair swirled in my gut, sick and acrid. Losing Tanya had been hell. I’d been a shell of a man for years, and then I’d patched myself up by focusing on my daughter and letting off steam by finding women for casual sex.
Losing Ember would destroy me entirely. The cracks in my soul were still there. I still felt the loss of my first wife like it had happened yesterday. I felt the bleakness of the grief. The never-ending waves of darkness. They were still there, waiting to bear down on me once more.
As we finally got in the car and headed for home, I realized Ember had the power to crush me. I couldn’t handle the thought of her being hurt. The thought of her dying.
The thought of her leaving.
I’d let her into my life—into my heart—and now I knew it had been a mistake.