Capri sagged in her seat, resigned to follow through with what needed to be done. “I understand, but then I’ll see how it goes and decide on my own if I’m staying there or not.”
Her tone was final, but that was never happening. She may as well know it now so there were no more surprises.
“I’m sorry, darlin’, but if I have to throw you over my shoulder and walk you to the condo, I will. What I won’t do is leave you alone there after what just happened.”
She folded her arms across her chest and huffed. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“I definitely would. It’s good for you to know that now in case you find yourself upside down with your sweet ass in the air.”
Her eyes widened in surprise and I thought maybe I’d gone too far. I was trying to be funny and take her mind off the break-in at the bakery, kind of like when I kissed her earlier in the evening so she wouldn’t panic, but I was thinking I might be really fucking things up.
But then her eyebrows raised and a small smile started to form on her plump lips that I happened to know were very kissable, and when laughter rang out, I relaxed.
“Thanks for the warning but just so you know, that isn’t happening,” she sassed. “Now let's get this over with.”
She squared her shoulders and I could see her resolve turn to steel right before my eyes. Gone were the tears and in their place was a strong, capable woman who looked ready to take on anything. I wondered who she had in her life besides our group of friends to help her when shit hit the fan.
I turned on the car and started back toward her shop. “I guess I should’ve asked if there was anyone you wanted to call. But make no mistake, you are still going to the condo tonight so I can make sure you are safe.”
Expecting her to argue at the last part, I was surprised when she said nothing except…
“I have nobody.”
And that was the end of it, she didn’t say anything else. Her tone was flat and void of emotions but when I glanced over for a second at her profile, I could see her lips tremble slightly.
“You have me and you have our whole group. Never forget that,” I told her just as we pulled up to her place and parked in front, along with multiple cop cars.
Before we even got out of the car, Braxton and the other guys were pulling up in a few of their vehicles and headed toward us.
“You ready, sweetheart?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” she mumbled as she opened the car door and got out.
“Dammit, you should have waited for me to come around!” I hollered.
A head peeked inside. “Why is that when I’m right here?” Gyth said, causing a growl to slip from my throat.
He chuckled and closed the door.
“Asswipe!” I yelled and heard another deep chuckle from outside.
I said the whole group was there for her and I’d meant it, but I planned to be front and center every step of the way when it came to protecting Capri.
* * *
Seeingthe anguish on her face was a punch to the gut.
After talking with the police and giving statements, we entered through the front bakery doors. By the time the cops had pulled up, there was no intruder on site and the shop itself was seemingly untouched.
That wasn’t the case for her home upstairs.
Taking the lead as we walked through the doors, I hoped it would have been fairly unscathed like the shop. But if not, then by going first maybe I could prepare her.
There was no way to soften the blow to the wreckage we walked into.
As she came in behind me, she gasped so loud I thought for sure she’d stopped breathing. For seconds she probably had.
Seeing the look on Braxton, Gyth, Rowan and Lyric's faces over her shoulder, it was instantly clear that they’d picked up on what I had. This was not random.
