Curious, she stood and walked toward the window to look outside. When she was a few feet away, a tremendous thump on the front door made her jump. Instantly, she darted out of sight and leaned on the wall behind the door.
“Hey, ass wipe!” The person pounding on the front door continued nonstop.
Saylor could see the wood moving under the force of the blows. Would it hold? She wrapped her arms around herself, trying not to freak out. After checking her pocket for her phone, Saylor glanced over at the couch. She’d left the device on the cushion.
“Yeah, ass wipe! That’s almost too good a name for him!”
“Get out here and apologize. We aren’t leaving until you learn how to treat women.”
“You would have been trading up to get us instead of that bitch. I bet her hair isn’t even blonde.”
Saylor covered her mouth to quiet her breathing. They were talking about her now.
“We’ll pull it out by the roots and find out!”
She needed to get her phone. Walking across the room would expose her in the window. They were sure to see her and get more riled up. How could she stay hidden and snag her phone?
Forcing herself to stop looking at the door, Saylor scoped out the room. Max didn’t have a lot of furniture. Could she crawl behindthat chair and use the coffee table for cover? It was better than waiting to see what they would do next.
“Hey!” A new voice came from a different direction. Across the street? A dog barked, sounding ferocious. Saylor moved as that woman continued, “What are you doing? Get away from that door! I’m going to call the cops.”
By the time the threat was out of the neighbor’s mouth, Saylor had used the distraction to run across the room and snatch up her phone. She ducked behind the couch and took deep, slow breaths, trying to calm her breathing.
“Ah!” Saylor dropped the phone in her hand when it buzzed. She clapped her hand over her mouth, hoping they hadn’t heard her.Please, please, please!Surely those women would leave when threatened with calling the police.
The thumping ended abruptly. It was working! They’d stopped pounding on the door.
“How many fucking women does this jerk have?” a voice close to the door asked.
“What a creep!”
She held her breath, trying to hear anything else. What was going on out there? A few seconds later, she heard car doors slam and the squeal of tires.
Saylor looked down at the phone and spotted a message from a name Max had sent her a short time ago. Aspen.
We came to check on you. Are you in Max’s house?
Her phone buzzed again.
They’re gone, Saylor. Are you okay? Can you let us in?
Bolting to her feet, Saylor raced for the door and threw it open. She stopped for a second to take in four women of various shapes and sizes who stood on Max’s doorstep with an enormous dog. The dog looked at her and woofed softly. That sound broke her paralysis.
Saylor stepped forward to hug the closest woman as she stammered her thanks. They all wrapped their arms around her, surrounding Saylor in a giant embrace that went straight to her heart. The women patted her back and reassured her that those awful people would never come back. Finally when she thought she could step away without crying, Saylor forced herself to back up.
“Thank you all,” she said, blinking her eyes. “I’m sorry I’m so emotional. That terrified me.”
“Those bitches are lucky that the guys weren’t here. They don’t put up with shit like that,” one brunette said, scowling. Saylor guessed immediately that she didn’t take crap from anyone.
“Wow, Giana. Your daddy would spank your bottom so hard for saying those naughty words,” a petite brunette with long hair said. “I’m Aspen. Jerico is my daddy. This is Rexy. Don’t be afraid of him. He’s a total sweetheart.”
Rexy stepped closer to Saylor and sniffed her hand when Saylor held it out to him. He lapped his pink tongue over her fingers and shifted to lean against Saylor’s leg. Saylor stroked his soft fur and returned the pressure to the sturdy canine. The giant dog grinned up at her.
“Rexy likes you. That tells us immediately that you’re a good person. I’m Brooklyn. My daddy is Caden.”
“I’m Giana. Sorry about my mouth. I hang out at work with a bunch of guys. They tend to swear a lot. Oh, my daddy is Koa.”
“Hi, I’m Pippa. Zale’s my daddy,” a brunette with curly hair said with a friendly wave.
