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Right now, though, my only mission was making sure Chanel was okay. I would not allow anyone to harm her ever again. Not on my watch. I would make sure she came out of this unscathed, and that Luke paid for what he’d done to her. One way or another.
I ordered room service and had a little bit of dinner, still listening out for Chanel. I briefly heard Ana come back to the room after the dinner gathering, and I heard the two of them talking in the hallway. I stood by the door to see if I could make out what they were saying, but all I could hear was Ana. She was talking about how she was volunteering for one of the shows that night, which meant I would be on duty until at least midnight.
Then, there was a knock at my door.
“Hey, Ana. What’s up?”
“I came by to check on Chanel. You still good with keeping an ear out for her?”
“Yep. I’ll be here all night. Just finished dinner, and then I’m going to stand out by the door again,” I said.
“Good. I won’t be back until late. I tried to get her to come with me, but she doesn’t want to go anywhere,” she said.
“It’s okay. I’ve got her. You go have some fun and keep an eye out for that creep. If you see him, let security know right away.”
“Oh, I will, and then I’ll beat the shit out of him with my shoe. I put the extra pointy ones on tonight.”
I watched Ana walk down the hallway, but I was uneasy with leaving Chanel alone in her room. I closed the door and quickly got changed before I went over and knocked on Chanel's door. It took a few knocks before I heard rustling around behind the door, and then her voice slowly filtered through the barrier.
“Who is it?” Chanel asked.
“It’s Rhett. Can I come in?” I asked.
The door quickly flew open, and she pulled me inside.
The door shut behind me with a thud before Chanel made her way back to her bed. My eyes took stock of her body as I followed her, sitting on the edge of the bed as she lay back down. I could tell she had been crying. Her eyes were very puffy, and her cheeks were redder than I had ever seen. Her hands were still shaking, and her body was curled up into the tightest ball she could get herself into.
She wasn't doing well, and I wanted to help her.
“How are you?” I asked.
“Fine,” Chanel said.
“You want to try again and be truthful with me?” I asked.
“Stop asking questions you already know the answer to,” she said.
I sighed as my hand descended onto her leg. She jerked, her head whipping around to me before her body settled back down. My eyes connected with hers, and I could see a desperation behind them I had never seen before. The sadness was so great, and the anguish was so deep that it caused a lump to form in my throat. Chanel didn't deserve this. She didn't deserve any of it. She was a beautiful, vibrant, successful woman. The thought of what could have happened to her had I not gone against her wishes shook me to the marrow of my bones.
I gathered her into my arms and held her against my body, trying anything to get her to open up to me.
She burst into tears, her body wracked with sobs as they soaked the front of my shirt. I needed her to feel safe again. I needed her to feel like the confident woman she was. I was pissed that this had happened to her and I was worried because I didn’t know where that slimy little asshole had gone. What if he had come back aboard the ship and decided to try to get at Chanel again? He had proven that he was surely crazy enough.
It made me sick to think about.
“So long as I’m here, no one will ever come close to hurting you again,” I said.
“I’m so scared to leave this room,” Chanel said.
“I’ll be by your side every step of the way. No one will get close enough to touch you again, Chanel. I promise,” I said.
She was shaking violently in my arms, and I was getting worried. If she couldn't calm down, she was going to make herself sick. I had a feeling she hadn't eaten dinner, so tried to get her to calm down enough to be able to eat something. Though I knew I could keep her safe, I knew that in the unlikely event something happened to me, she needed her strength to be able to defend herself.
I sat her on my lap and pressed her face into the crook of my neck. I rocked her side to side, my hand sliding up and down her back. I whispered into her ear and blew cool air down her neck. I felt her hands clinging to my shirt, pulling me closer to her body as I tried to comfort her.
Then, without thinking, I turned my lips to her cheek and pressed a kiss to her skin.
She paused, her eyes looking up into mine. I craned my neck down to look at her, prepared to apologize for the gesture, considering what she’d been through. The last thing she needed after the day she had was another man trying to intimately touch her in some way.
