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“I don’t remember. The last thing I remember is him kicking me in the face. After that is a blur.”
The police officer finished his notes and thanked Lacey for the information and walked out. I didn’t even want to hear anymore. I couldn’t imagine experiencing something like that. I would be terrified. The unusual thing was that he must have transported her here. How else would she get here? This caused me to feel sicker. The miserable asshole beat her unconscious and then transported her to the hospital? How did no one see him? It made no sense.
Over the following week, Lacey improved. All her tests came back good, and her doctor cleared her to go home. To be honest, I knew she couldn’t wait to leave. Hospitals were never fun, especially when you must stay in one for more than a week. Hell, I was thrilled to sleep in an actual bed and to be able to take a warm shower and put on pj’s.
I pulled the car around to pick her up. As I got out, I heard Lacey complaining that she must be wheeled out in a wheelchair.
“Ma’am, it’s hospital procedure. Do you need help getting in the car?” the nurse asked.
“No, I can do it myself!” Lacey snapped at the nurse.
She didn’t like feeling helpless. I didn’t blame her. Lying in that hospital bed waiting to be released couldn’t have been easy for her. Starting back to college in a couple of days, things needed to get back on track. I wanted to try and help her the best I could. I didn’t want her to feel like I was overstepping my boundaries, but I wanted to make sure she was okay. She couldn’t be mad at me for wanting to be a good sister.
Chapter 4
Laurel
“Laurel, I don’t know if I like you moving so close to me. I mean, I love you, but you don’t even have a job yet. I don’t want you barging into my business.”
My sister gave me no credit. I would never do that. Was I protective of her, yes, but that didn’t mean I was going to follow her around like a puppy.Gosh.
“Listen, Lacey. I won’t overstep my boundaries. I’m capable of it. I expect you to do the same while I’m staying here.”
I set my grocery bags down on the bed, admiring how big the apartment was for the rent. My apartment back home cost twice as much with half the space. However, I’d always kept my spending under wraps. I had enough in savings to tide me over for a couple of months at most.
“Classes and studying keep me busy. I don’t have a social life. Please don’t make things harder.”
I wasn’t her mother. I wasn’t here to babysit her and hold her hand through life. I didn’t know I was going to lose my job when I had flown out here to take care of her. I would go back, but there was nothing left for me. The single thing that detained me there had been my job. I’d thought about splitting a couple of times but didn’t want to leave. They compensated me well, and my task hadn’t been overly stressful or demanding.
“Well, tonight, let’s just order pizza and watch some movies.”
Lacey wasn’t hugely keen on that idea since we had just gotten here from stopping at the grocery store.
“I just spent a shit ton of money on groceries, and you want to order a pizza?”
“Just because we just bought it, doesn’t mean it has to be eaten right away. That’s why they are called groceries.”
After eating pizza and binge-watching movies, Lacey was ready to leave. As I got up to escort her out, my phone dinged.
Shawn: I miss you
Shawn and I dated for about a year but broke up about a month before I came to Dallas. The breakup was not a difficult decision. About a week ago, he called and asked if we could manage a long-distance relationship. I turned him down. I didn’t do long distance. It never worked. Shawn was kind, but I never saw a future with him.
The whole point of my coming here was to help Lacey, and a boyfriend didn’t weigh into that equation. Not to mention, I must find a job within the next month; I cannot deplete my entire life savings and become homeless. Dallas was radically different than the small town in Georgia that Lacey and I grew up in.
I waited to hear Lacey’s door close before heading back inside. Suddenly, the hair stood up on the back of my neck. What was going on? I sensed someone, but no one was nearby. I wanted to check on Lacey, make sure she was fine. I grabbed my purse and keys off the counter. I shut my door and swung my purse, using the momentum to hit as hard as I could. I knew someone had been observing me. Standing a few inches from me was a man. I quickly kneed him in the groin. He groaned and fell over, cupping his precious jewels.
He got up quite lively, his hands gripping around my waist and hoisting me like a rag doll. Spinning around, the man pinned me against the wall and gripped both my wrists. He was fit. I studied my attacker while trying to breathe. I felt like I possibly could be having a panic attack, complete with sweaty palms, an adrenaline rush, increased heart rate, and labored breathing. The defense classes my dad made me take when I was a teenager would finally come in handy. I had to remember to thank him later. The only problem was the man that had me pinned was by far the hottest man I had ever seen in my entire life. Not to mention, he was my sister’s former boss. Who would have known I’d run into him again? Like this? If I had seen him before kneeing him in the groin, maybe my reaction would have been slightly different, although it would still involve his balls. My eyebrow raised with the thought of it.
He was so close to me, and I felt his breath on my face. I took my time observing him. Dark-brown eyes and a few days of stubble gave his face a touch of masculinity. He had multiple scars on his face that told me he was no stranger to being attacked.
I kept projecting images of him in between my thighs with that stubble tickling my skin. My whole body tingled with electricity. This sensation wasn’t unfamiliar, but it only happened when I was on the brink of an orgasm.
If it hadn’t been for already recognizing him, I might have propositioned him.
“What the hell is your problem?”
His breath smelled like grapes, distracting me from his question while his eyes darted down to my mouth. In the past, I never handled these situations correctly. I had never been pinned to a wall by a man I had just kneed in the groin. Hudson being angry made me exceedingly uncomfortable right now. I needed to gain control of myself. His body being pressed up against mine didn’t help.
