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"I don’t know what just happened," she stammered, her voice cracking. "I—I was just making sure my friend got to her car in one piece, and then, they came out of nowhere, they were..."
"Hey, hey, take a breath," I told her, and she closed her eyes and drew in a long, shaky one. As she let it go, she looked up at me again.
"Thank you for that," she murmured. "I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t been here."
"It’s okay. I was. That’s what matters," I assured her, glancing back toward the hotel. "Are you staying here? Do you want to walk me to your room?"
She paused, her eyes moving back toward the building. It was clear she didn’t much like the thought of stepping back in there, and, after what had just happened, I couldn’t blame her. She was visibly shaken, and must have worried someone else was waiting to jump out of the shadows at her.
"No, I really don’t," she confessed, lowering her eyes to the ground. "But I don’t have anywhere else I can go. I’ll have to call for a car. I hope they can get here fast.” There was doubt in her voice.
"You can stay with me, if you want," I offered, before I had a chance to think about how ridiculous the words probably sounded. I wasn’t trying to get her back to my place, not like that, anyway. But I couldn’t just leave her standing around here waiting for an Uber, feeling it was a better alternative than returning to her room. She deserved better than that.
She parted her lips in surprise, and I could tell she was about to turn me down. She likely thought I was just trying to get into her panties, even though I had no intention of anything like that.
"I’m not trying to sleep with you, if that’s what you’re worried about," I told her quickly. "It’s just—” I looked into the shadows “—you don’t want to be out here alone."
She paused for a moment, considering the offer. It clearly wasn’t what she had expected, but I could tell she didn’t want to be out here any longer than she needed to be. Her shoulders sagged, and she nodded.
"I don’t like the idea of standing out here alone," she admitted, finally. "Not after what just happened. I hope you don’t think I’m crazy..."
"I just saw you get confronted by two thugs," I reminded her. "I don’t think you’re crazy for not feeling entirely safe. Hey, my name’s Scott, by the way. Scott Stewart.” I held my hand out to her to show her I didn’t bite.
Her soft hand managed a firm shake. “Thea Simpson,” she said.
She managed to smile. She had a nice smile, slightly crooked but warm and welcoming. Now that the danger had passed, I couldn’t help but notice how attractive she was. In her simple black dress and heels, she could have looked like any other girl out on the strip for a fun night on the town, but there was something different about her; something about the way she carried herself, her athletic body set in confidence, despite what she had been through.
"Come on, let me get you to my car," I told her, and touched her shoulder, steering her toward where I had parked. The last thing I had expected when I came to this meeting with Mark was running into trouble like this. Still, I supposed I should have been ready for it. Much as I liked Mark, and as much as I was sure I could turn his business into a lucrative opportunity for the two of us, he had been in financial trouble when I had stepped in. No doubt there was a stack of debts he had to pay off and plenty of guys who would do whatever it took to get them paid.
But they hadn’t expected someone like me to turn up. Never did. I mean, honestly, I doubted they had imagined a person like me would have been anywhere near a place like this, but that was the point—it was the perfect cover for some of our finances because nobody would have expected me to invest in a hotel as unremarkable as this one.
I could figure that out tomorrow, though. Right now, there was a woman who needed my help, and I was sure my father’s spirit would have struck me from beyond the grave if I hadn’t done everything I could to help her.
She paused in front of my car, eyebrows raised, and then turned to me.
"This is yours?"
"It sure is," I replied, opening the door for her. It was a sleek Mercedes Roadster I had picked it up last year, the newest model, and I had to admit, I liked the chance to show it off whenever I could.
"This is nice," she murmured as she slipped into the soft leather seats. I grinned, taking the driver’s side, and watched as she admired the handsome interior I had selected.
I pulled away from the hotel and heard her breathing begin to slow down and steady as she relaxed. I stole glances at her out of the corner of my eye and silently thanked whoever was watching over her that I had been around to help before anything went too crazy.
"I don’t even know why they came at me like that," she muttered once she had managed to pull herself together. "I just...they targeted me specifically, but I can’t figure out why. I’ve never had something like that happen to me before, not in the whole time I’ve lived here. Not really."
"You lived here long?” I asked.
"Most of my life," she replied. "I came back a few weeks ago, just finished college, but I grew up here before that."
"Welcome home," I remarked, and she let out a wry laugh.
"Yeah, not sure this is the welcome I was hoping for," she replied, settling back into the seat.
Finally, we pulled up outside my place, and her eyes nearly bugged out of her head when she saw where I had taken her.
"You have a townhouse?" She asked, sounding stunned. "Those things cost, like..."
"A lot," I finished up for her. She seemed to be getting it through her head that I had a decent amount of money, and I wasn’t exactly planning on playing it down. I was proud of everything I had, everything my family had worked for, and I didn’t see any reason to pretend I wasn’t.
