After taking their orders, I tell them that I’ll be right back with their drinks. And as I turn to leave, one of the men reaches out and grabs hold of my wrist. His fingers dig into my skin. I freeze, and panic takes over. That fight-or-flight thing that is supposed to kick in? Yeah, it never does with me. I just become a dear caught in the headlights.
“How about you give me a tour of the back room, sweetheart? I’ll make sure to tip you well,” the man says to me.
My entire body is shaking. My mouth opens and closes. I have no idea what to do. I can’t make a scene. I try to pry my arm out of his grip, but he just holds on tighter. Before I can say anything, he lets go, and I stumble into someone at my back.
“Whoa, it’s okay,” a deep voice says from behind me.
The man who was grabbing me is screaming now. When I look down at him, he has a knife sticking out of his hand. Blood dripping all over the floor.
“What the fuck?” he yells at Lex, who steps in front of me.
“You touched something that doesn’t belong to you.” Lex shrugs. “You really shouldn’t have done that.”
“What on earth?” My boss appears to my right, and I snap out of my trance.
“I didn’t…” I shake my head.
“You’re fired. We don’t need this kind of trouble in here. Get your shit and get out,” the older woman, who seemed so kind two days ago when she hired me, hisses in my direction.
Tears well at the corners of my eyes. “Please. No. I need this job. I didn’t do this.”
“Caitlyn, get your bag. I’m taking you home,” Lex tells me before turning to my boss… or I guess my ex-boss. “And you will be hearing from the family. You can’t just fire my sister because some douchebag can’t keep his hands to himself.”
I close my eyes.This can’t be happening. I really, really need this job. What am I going to do now?
Chapter Seventeen
Aleksi stops in my office. “Henry Sawyer boarded a plane bound for New York two hours ago,” he says.
“He found her,” I say out loud.Good, saves me a fucking trip to California.“Have someone ready to grab him from the airport.”
“Already done. There’s something else.” Aleski eyes me warily.
“What?” I’m standing and picking up my wallet and keys. Nothing good ever comes from that look he’s giving me.
“Lex just called, said you need to get to your parents’ house now. He’s taken Caitlyn there.”
“What? Why the fuck would my brother take her home?” I grunt.
“There was an incident at the diner,” he says, stepping out of the doorway as I approach.
“What kind of incident.” My body is humming with rage.What the fuck happened?
“Word is… some asshole grabbed her arm and wouldn’t let go. Lex put a knife through the guy’s hand, and Caitlyn got fired.” Aleksi follows me into the elevator.
“What the fuck?” Someone touched her. Someone touched something that belongs to me.
I pause at the thought. Does she belong to me, though? I just met her yesterday. I have no claim over her. Except that’s exactly what I’m doing. Claiming her as mine.
My finger stabs at the button for the garage. “She got fired?” I repeat. “She didn’t fucking do anything.”
I don’t know what happened, but I do know Caitlyn thinks she needs that job. She’s going to be devastated. Not to mention scared of the now unknown situation she’s found herself in.
“Yeah.” Aleksi folds himself into my passenger seat. I look over at him. “Drive. I’m coming,” he says.
“Why?”
“She’s family.” He shrugs. “And she’s yours. Which makes her a priority.”
