“Actually, we’re not there. He needed me to check something on the computers at the office, so I ran down here real quick. I should be right behind you after I finish with all of this.” He sounds so stressed. With everything he’s been dealing with, I’m not surprised. Not only losing Coop, but now, Emmy. Work, worrying about me, and not knowing who the hell attacked me is eating him hard. We haven’t heard anything since I shot Adam. For all we know, that asshole is done with us, but Beck won’t let it go.
“Emmy?” I ask, because really there isn’t any need to say anything else. He knows I’m going to worry about her. That’s why he didn’t want me to know.
“Yeah, Emmy… I’ll fill you in later, but according to her letter, she’s not coming back. She’s going to stay with a friend or some shit in Florida. There’s more, but I’ll tell you when I get home.”
There’s that word again. Home. God, that feels good.
“Promise me that you’ll tell me, Beck. I need to know what’s going on, or I’ll never stop worrying about her.”
“I know. I didn’t mean to keep it from you earlier. I just worry about you, Dee. You can’t blame me there. With all this shit swirling around, I just need to protect you. I can’t explain it any better than that. I need to protect you, even if it’s from your own mind.”
How can I be upset when he puts it like that?
“I understand, I do, but I’m a lot stronger than you think. I love you for wanting to make sure that I’m okay. Just don’t shut me out. If things start to get too much, I promise to let you know.”
“Yeah, you sure are. Fuck, I’m so proud of you.” I can hear the smile in his voice, and it matches the one on my face.
I never thought it would feel so good to let me be free from all the webs I was trapped in. Being loved by John Beckett is the best feeling in the world.
We finish up our call, and I pull out of the parking garage. With a smile on my face, I hurry to finish my errands so I can get home and into my man’s arms.
“Ash?” I’m half-tempted to leave his ass sitting in my car. Hell, I’ve been sitting here for the last ten minutes attempting to get him up. If it weren’t for the awkward angle that his head has fallen, I would just leave his ass here. Well, that and I’m pretty sure he still smells like a bar and sex. Not a pleasant combination when you’re stuck in a car together.
“ASHER!”
There… I see a twitch this time.
“Seriously!” I sigh in frustration, “Asher James Cooper, wake the hell up and get out of my car!”
He peeks one dark blue eye open and just glares at me.
“Please?” I whine. His lips twitch slightly, and I let out the breath I’m holding. For the first time in two weeks, his lips have tipped up from the frown that has taken up a permanent residence on his handsome face.
“Next time, you don’t have to scream so loud.” He opens the door and unfolds his large body from my car. I expect him to just start trudging up the path to the front door, but he turns and walks to the trunk. He stands there for a few minutes, looking around. Even in his hangover and grief, he still seems to be keeping alert. Or at least he’s trying to.
I shake my head and climb out, walk around the car, and reach to pull the groceries from the trunk. Asher’s large paw crosses in front of me, and just scoops the massive amounts of groceries up. I watch him walk into the house, and I hear the sounds of him deactivating the alarm before I realize he has left me one bag and the milk. Seriously? That man was passed out two seconds ago, and now, he’s heaving my massive amounts of groceries like it’s nothing.
Not even attempting to understand how the hell he’s managing, I start to walk up the path. Even with the small load that he left for me to carry, I still have my arms full between my purse, briefcase, and groceries. My phone starts ringing in my back pocket as I walk over the threshold and into the house.
Maybe if I hadn’t have been so distracted listening to Love Sex Magic, the ringtone Beck set for when he calls, I might have noticed how still the house is.
I don’t even have two feet inside the house when I stop dead; everything I am carrying falls to the floor. I feel the milk explode and splash against my legs, but I can’t move. I just stand here, looking into the ice cold eyes of the man who beat me, and then left me for dead.
I should be worried about myself right now, but the only thing I can think of is Asher. He came in before me! He should be right here. Even knowing he isn’t anywhere near fighting form, he should be right here!
Oh, God, please, let him be okay!
“Hello, Denise. It was so sweet of you to leave the bodyguard detail to just the drunk for once. You, my dear, are a hard woman to get alone these days.” He laughs, but he sounds so mechanical, like he isn’t used to ever laughing so he doesn’t know how to make it believable.
I just stand there gaping at him, struggling to battle the talons of fear trying to sink into my skin, and keeping me frozen in place. When he moves to take a step towards me, I finally snap out of my daze.
No, just fucking no! I’m so sick of everyone trying to take my happiness from me. This is going to end now, no matter what!