Hayes
fifteen
When I walk out of the alley escorted by two police officers, I don’t see Paige. I quickly scan the area and nearly lose my shit and start screaming for her.
“Where’s my girl? Where is she?” The frantic tone is loud in my own ears.
“Cool it, buddy, she’s in the shop,” one of the officers says, pointing at the police car flanking my Mercedes. One door is still open, making it look like a bird with a broken wing.
“Hayes!”
I turn when my name is called and see Paige clambering out of the car and running toward me. Relief as I’ve never known rushes through me to see she’s safe and nothing happened to her. I meet her with open arms, catching her flying figure as she launches herself into my chest.
“Baby, you’re all right?” I ask, pulling her tight to me while she sobs.
“I didn’t—you were—so scared,” she cries, her words disjointed and hysterical.
“I’m okay. I just have to give a written statement and we can go home, got it?”
“What happened?” she asks. “You’re covered in blood!”
“It’s not mine, I’m fine,” I assure her gently.
I glance down and notice my shirt and hands are bloody and it’s now on Paige where she was pressed to my chest, smeared on her cheek and streaked on her sweater.
The sight turns my stomach more than the adrenaline of the fight did.
I don’t like seeing her marred by blood, especially the blood of a man who threatened her safety, no matter the outcome.
“Mr. Olsen?”
I look up when I’m called and see Antonio DeSano, the owner of Napoletana, coming over.
“Everything okay out here? I came out when the cops showed up and saw your car. I wanted to make sure you’re all right.”
I look at the police officers with me, wondering if I’m allowed to talk about it. The closest one shrugs and leaves me with the remaining cop.
“It’s good now, Antonio. I’m sorry this happened here. It’s a good area. I never expected to get carjacked in Buckhead.”
I shrug and my shoulder blares in pain. I reach over and feel the warm wetness of an injury I wasn’t aware of. I look at the last cop.
“You have a first aid kit? I could use a little patching up if we’re not going to have an ambulance here.”
Paige pulls away and looks at my shoulder.
“You’re bleeding! He cut you?”
“Apparently,” I answer, keeping calm for her.
Truth is, I came out of that far better than the other guy.
He left with a pretty bad stab wound thanks to falling on his own knife after I kicked him.
I seem to have managed only a few bruises and a slashed shoulder.
It could have been worse. I could have lost Paige.
My brain replays the instant my world became black and white, then went red.
When the carjacker showed up with a knife, threatening Paige’s safety, something just clicked.
My first priority became to keep her safe over anything else.
I went on instinct, but I saw the wrathful haze of red when the fucker continued to fight when he didn’t get the hands up acquiescence he had hoped for.
My own safety was a far lower priority and I leaned on some Muay Thai I did in my twenties to make sure that fucker stayed away from her.
But I’m too old for this shit. My ribs burn with every inhale, so I’m thinking I may have bruised a few, and my shoulder is throbbing.
Both are injuries that wouldn’t have kept me out of the gym the day after a brutal sparring session, but a decade later feel debilitating as the adrenaline leaves my system.
I’m just glad I had something to rely on when I needed it and didn’t end up stabbed and missing a car, and possibly without my girl.
I get my shoulder cleaned up and it thankfully doesn’t need stitches but will probably leave an ugly scar right across the top.
I write out my statement for the officers and give them all of my contact information in case they need to get in touch with me.
They likely will, as the criminal investigation will lead to a trial and all sorts of opportunities for my name to be dragged along in the press.
I’m not looking forward to the news tomorrow.
It’s not every day that a billionaire fights off a carjacker who leaves the scene in an ambulance.
When the police release us, I tuck Paige into the car, shut the door and make a call to Payton.
“Aww, Hater calling after hours. Miss me?” he asks when he answers the call.
“Hardly, but I need you on a situation.”
“What happened?” He’s alert and all trace of humor is gone from his voice.
“Some fucker decided he was feeling extra brave and wanted my car tonight after dinner at Napoletana. It wasn’t pretty and he left in an ambulance. Get our PR team on this immediately to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.”
“Are you hurt? Oh, shit. Did something happen to Paige? That would be so fucking bad,” he finishes almost to himself.
“Just a little cut and bruised, nothing too bad. Paige is fine, but this will get ugly when her parents find out.” I scan the area and notice a few bystanders with phones out, recording video and snapping photos that will likely be all over the news, or worse, the gossip sites, tomorrow.
“We can’t stop our names from getting out, so we need to tighten up at Olympus for the takeover. ”
“I’m on it. Take your girl home and make it up to her. Damn, your first public appearance together had to be a big one, huh?”
“Not really my intention,” I grumble.
“Yeah, yeah, I know. Night, Hayes.”
I hang up the call and pocket my phone. I look over at Antonio standing near the restaurant, his arms crossed as he surveys the continued commotion the police presence brought to his doorstep. I walk over and extend my hand. He takes it in both of his for a moment and gives me a worried look.
“I’m sorry Antonio, this is a shitty situation to drop on you. Let me know if it affects business. I’ll make it up to you.”
“Oh, no, I’m more worried about you, man,” he says, his hands held out in front of him. “Can’t have my best customer and investor attacked right here. I’m going to look into security for the lot. This is unacceptable.”
“Everything will be fine. You couldn’t have stopped this.”
“Looks like the police are leaving now,” he says, looking over my shoulder. I turn and catch the cruisers pulling away from the lot.
“I guess I should get going, too. Thank you for checking on us.”
He nods and motions for me to go. I wave as I turn and walk back to the car.
I slide into my seat and start the car. I reach for Paige’s hand and hold it in mine, scanning her head to toe to make sure she is okay.
She seems fine, physically, but I can tell she is exhausted.
The late hour combined with the emotional adrenaline dump leaves her wasted and quiet in the seat next to me.
I keep her hand in mine, fingers laced tight as I drive home.
Every time I lose her touch, panic surges.
Cerberus greets us at the door when we get in, his stubby tail wagging as he smells us. His tail stills and he growls low as he looks out the door behind us until I shush him. “They didn’t follow us home, you badass, but thanks for having my back. I could have used you earlier.”
He follows at my heels all the way up to the bedroom where I help Paige undress in the bathroom. I crank the shower on and return to where I left her leaning against the sink. It takes two seconds to pull my shirt over my head and get out of my pants so I can help her into the shower.
Her bleary eyes open wide when the water hits her, but she doesn’t move except to bring her hand to my shoulder where bandages cover the three-inch cut.
It’s really not that bad. I feel like I need to get a tetanus shot, but I’ll figure it out in the morning.
Right now, Paige is my priority and I’m focused on removing the blood from her creamy skin and washing the bad night off of her.
Once she’s clean, I duck under another showerhead and scrub my body raw, trying to get the smell of the alley and the carjacker’s blood off me.
I kept pressure on his wound after he fell. Partly because I don’t want to be even a little bit responsible for anyone’s death, even a criminal. Also because it will be much easier to deal with a trial where he’s on the stand for attacking us, not me being grilled for killing in self-defense.
“Oh!”
Paige’s voice has me rubbing water out of my eyes and looking over at her.
“You’re naked.” She brings her hand up to cover her mouth but doesn’t look away.
I chuckle, glad to have her innocence bringing me back to the present.
I wash the soap suds from my body and turn my back to her so I don’t wake the beast between my legs that would like to scoop her up and impale her against the shower wall.
I shut off the water and grab a towel to wrap around my hips and a second to dry her off.
She stands still, water droplets falling off her chin and down her back from her hair as I smooth the towel over her skin.
Once she’s dry, I pass the towel over me quickly and wrap her up so I can carry her to the bed.
She doesn’t object and rests her head on my chest until I set her on the side I now think of as hers and go to the closet.
I pull on pajama pants and grab a T-shirt before returning to her and slipping it over her head.
“You okay, angel?” I ask, a little worried.
“I was so scared,” she murmurs, her hand brushing wet hair off my forehead. “I thought I had lost you.” Tears well in her eyes, making the clear green brighter.
My heart clenches in my chest and a fiercely protective emotion rises up in me as I wrap her in my arms.
“I’m not going anywhere. You got me, honey.” The only flaw to my statement is if someone else takes away my ability to be here for her. It was too close tonight. That’s not happening again.
The sun streaming through the curtainless windows wakes me before I’m ready. I squint and pull a pillow over my eyes at the slight.
“Fucking sun, how dare you,” I growl hoarsely.