“Like that cunt Andrew is banging. She got bounced for shit that didn’t even happen at the club,” Josh mumbled before he placed another kiss on Ali’s cheek.
“Yeah, well, she ignored his safe word. She deserved to get banned,” Ali agreed.
“The guy clearly doesn’t understand the etiquette expected at Oxygen, let alone the rules. I was irritated that he mumbled anything at you guys as we walked by. Had I not stopped to say something, he would continue to think this was acceptable behavior to heckle and push people around verbally.”
“I knew something had happened when you met me in the main room. You were way too frazzled. Now I know why you were a bitch to Shane when he came by,” Josh said quietly. His eyes had been closed for a few minutes, and he was drifting.
“After he slapped you in the hallway, he pursued you again?” I questioned.
It was extremely bothersome to hear that there had been three run-ins with this asshole inside the club before the parking lot incident. Even if Josh and I were the only ones reporting it, it would be reported.
“Yeah. There was the thing in the hallway by the women’s locker room. Then when I was sitting with Josh,” Ali admitted.
“Then his inappropriate interruption as the three of us walked to the room for our session. That’s three incidents prior to the parking lot,” I recalled.
Ali nodded and tilted her head slightly to her left to lean against Josh’s head. He hadn’t opened his eyes, but instead he nuzzled his head closer to her. Josh reached across her waist and curled his hand around her hip. They needed sleep.
“Tomorrow we’re going to report this,” I announced.
“No police! You promised, Sam!” Ali was almost in hysterics again.
“Ali, he’s a danger to other club members and has no place at Oxygen.
“The police don’t care. It’s just one of many assaults they respond to each day,” Ali said.
“Oxygen will remove him,” Josh said as he yawned. “The police need to be notified,” Josh agreed.
“No police!”
“Ali—” I began, but she cut me off.
“He said he knew where I lived. He said if the police found out, he’d kill Josh and make sure I wished I were dead,” Ali explained. “I doubt he meant it. He’s just trying to scare me.”
Knowing that bit of information changed things drastically. My pulse raced as I started to think.
“The fucking pig man threatened to kill me?”
“Josh, please,” Ali begged him to try to calm down.
“I’m not afraid of him or anyone. I’ll be waiting for the pig,” Josh boasted.
Ali pulled on Josh’s arm to get him to lie down. “Until further notice, the two of you are staying here with me.”
We chatted for a few minutes about getting them some necessities and about their jobs. Once they realized I wasn’t kidding about them staying here with me, Josh finally settled down and snuggled next to Ali. Shane had most likely talked out of his ass to scare her. But either way, I wasn’t going to take any chances. The guy knew she lived with Josh, and that knowledge was enough to concern me.
“We won’t let anything happen to you, Ali,” Josh told her.
“Iwon’t let anything happen to either one of you,” I promised. “I’m going to call Garrett in the morning,” I said.
“I doubt the FBI cares. They’re busy dealing with real shit. Stuff like that human trafficking crap and how they found Bran,” Ali sleepily drawled as she squeezed my hand.
“We’ll see. I think they take death threats seriously. Try to rest, you two.”
I leaned over and kissed Ali’s cheek, then I stretched my neck a little farther to Josh. I kissed his forehead and then pulled the sheet up over all of us. As soon as I laid down on my side, I edged closer to Ali. Feeling safe, secure, and comfortable was what she needed tonight. She had Josh right beside her too. As much as they balked and jabbed at one another with jokes, it was clear to see they had a special bond and needed one another.
“Wake me up if either of you need anything,” I told them. Not that I planned on sleeping much. I almost wished I had known about the threat before we left the hospital. I would have paid more attention to if someone might have been following us.
“Yes, sir,” Ali said with a hint of playfulness in her tone. I looked at her face, and even in the darkness of the room I could tell she was smiling. I won’t lie—I enjoyed the fact that she respected me enough to call me “sir.” I was also thrilled that considering everything, Ali was doing pretty well.
