Chapter 8
“Sir, I do think you should go to the hospital. Get yourself checked out.”
Scott shook his head at the EMT and waved his hand toward the door. “Just get them there. Make sure they’retaken care of.”
The two gurneys rolled out behind the emergency crew and he sighed. Damn it. More problems. A supporting wall had collapsed as they’d begun work. It shouldn’t have happened. He’d checked the wall thoroughly, made sure it was safe. But something happened and two of his men had gotten hurt.
Rubbing his elbow where he’d been hit with debris, he pulled out his phone, pressed the buttons and putit to his ear.
“Jian, do you have a crew of men who I could hire for a security detail?”
He listened to his friend then gave him the short version of the story. He’d have men here in an hour. It might not be smart using members of a street gang to protect his building, but he trusted them more than anyone he could hire. Something was happening here, he just didn’t know what. Jian assured him it had nothing to do with the gangs. He believed him. But what the fuck was it?
“Okay, let’s get back to work. We need to find a way to get this beam back up and make this damn wall strong enough so the whole fricking building doesn’t fall down on us.”
The dozen men working on the first floor grabbed tools and headed toward the wall. Thank God he’d kept the job down here today. Imagine if someone had fallen through from upstairs when this wall went down. As it was his insurance premiums would go through the roof with the injured men.
They got back to work and his aching muscles screamed in protest. Screw them. He’d stay here all night until the building was safe.
An hour later the wall and beam seemed secure. He’d gotten word from the hospital that his men would be fine and were currently being released to family members. Thank God.
“Scott, what happened? Are you all right?” The click of heels warnedhim who it was.
No, he did not need the warrior princess here today messing with his mind. What they’d done a few weeks ago at the wedding still flashed through his memory too frequently. Luckily, she’d avoided him since then, aside from the occasional text to check onthe work site.
“Get out of here,it’s not safe.”
She looked around, her expression concerned. Yeah, she should be. It was costing them money every time one of these damn screw-ups happened.
“I stopped by to check on progress and someone outside told me what happened.Are you hurt?”
Nailing in a last board, he dismissed the other men then turned to her. “I’m fine.”
“You don’t look fine. You’re covered in dust and scrapes.” She pressed a finger to his arm. “Yourshirt is torn.”
Looking down he noted a rip from his shoulder to his elbow. Blood soaked through the fabric. Shit, it was anew shirt too.
“I’m tougher than I look. Now get the hell out of here. I don’t want you in here while we’re still doing renovations.”
“This is my building too, so don’t tell me what to do. Why is it okay for you to be in here but not me?”
“Because I know what I’m doing and I’m not wearing a skirt with three-inch heels.”
“Then I’ll get myself a pair of work boots and you can’t kick me out. What are you going to do now?”
“I’m waiting for a security detail.”
“Security? Do you think someone did this on purpose?”
“It’s a distinct possibility. Made even stronger by the rash of other shit that’s been going down since we took onthis project.”
“But why would anyone object to us renovating a building? It makes no sense. It’ll only add value to theneighborhood.”
“Your guess is asgood as mine.”
“Dude, your task force is here.” Jian walked in with two large lethal-looking men.
“Thanks, man. Appreciate the quick response.”
