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“Are you okay, ma’am?!” A woman hurried to my side. “I saw everything. I’ll call the cops. That was awful! Robbing a pregnant lady… men today, I swear.”
I wiggled my toes and sighed. “Don’t bother. Thank you, but I’m sure they’re not going to prioritize my shoes and necklace. He didn’t hurt me. That’s what matters.”
“I think you’re in shock. Why don’t I wheel you back inside and call the cops from there?” She was determined. I could see by the horror on her face that she’d probably never seen someone get robbed before.
Thankfully, before she could take me back into the hospital and force me to talk to the police, a car door slammed and Jake came jogging over. He looked pissed. “I told them not to discharge you until I was back. You shouldn’t just be sitting out here on the sidewalk. Where are your shoes?”
“She just got robbed! I think she’s in shock because she isn’t even reacting.” The good samaritan looked like she was going to cry. “We should call the police. He stole her necklace, too. Just ripped it right off her.”
I’d never seen Jake look so furious. He patted my knee and then shook the woman’s hand. “Thank you for staying with her. I’m going to get her home. I have a friend on the force that I’ll call from there. He’ll get the surveillance videos and we’ll handle it.”
He didn’t wait for her reply as he wheeled me over to the car he’d gotten out of. It wasn’t the normal car he drove, but it was still a sleek black number that fit into the Hawkes’ car persona.
“What happened to your normal car?” I insisted on sitting in the front seat with him, standing and waiting next to the door for him to unlock it. When he finally did and opened the door for me, I slid into the cool leather seat and looked up at him. “This is nice.”
He squatted next to the open door and looked at my neck. “Friction burn. Did he hurt you?”
I shook my head. “Nope. Overall, it was probably my top favorite robbery. I didn’t get hurt and I didn’t lose anything that I’d worked my butt off for. Ten out of ten.”
“Areyou in shock? You want to talk about my car and you’re rating robberies? Should I take you back inside?” He pressed his fingers to my forehead like he was checking for a fever.
“If I’m in shock, it’s not from being robbed. By now you know that I didn’t grow up in the nice neighborhoods. I got mugged at gunpoint in Jackson when I was seven. A grown man took my bike and pushed me down.” I shrugged. “To be fair, I’d taken it from someone else first. And now that I’m thinking about it, maybe that was the kid’s dad. Never mind, I don’t think that one counts as a robbery.”
Jake rubbed his hands down his face. “I don’t want to hear any more robbery stories right now, Memphis. You could’ve been hurt, all because they didn’t listen to me. I was gone for less than an hour.”
I patted his cheek. “I’m back to being a nobody. They don’t keep nobodies for longer than absolutely necessary, Jake.”
He swore under his breath and shut the door hard enough that I flinched. If he hadn’t been so nice, I might’ve felt like reminding him that I had a headache the size of a bull’s ass. As he got behind the wheel, it was like he already knew, though. “Sorry. I’m sure that didn’t feel good on your head.”
“I’m okay. I just have a quick question.” I buckled myself in and looked out the window. “Where are you taking me?”
“Home. I think you’ve had enough adventure for one day.”
Rubbing my temples, I tried to make sense of what he was saying. “Georgia?”
“The guesthouse, Memphis. Of course, I’m not driving you to Georgia. Not only would I rather tie my balls together than drive that far, ever, but you inadvertently got me a brand new car. I’m not adding that much mileage on it that fast.” He glanced over and saw my confusion. “You were rushed to the ER last night and my car was left outside, still running. I doubt even two minutes passed before it was stolen.”
I swallowed down all the guilt and shame I felt. I could tell that he loved the new car. “Why am I going back to the guesthouse?”
“Because that’s where you live.” He merged onto the interstate. “What did you think was happening?”
“I thought I was going to be homeless.” I groaned as my nose burned and my eyes watered. “Stupid emotions.”
“Never. I’d let you live with me before that ever happened.” He hesitated. “I don’t know what they’re thinking, Memphis, but you just need to stay strong.”
I turned to face him. “What does that mean?”
“Just try to remember that hurt people hurt people. They’re thinking from a place of pain right now and I don’t know how that’s going to look. I’ve never seen them hurt before. I’m always around if you need me, though.” He slowed down as traffic came to a crawl around us. “I hate traffic.”
I stared out the window the rest of the drive, running through a thousand things that Jake could’ve meant. I hadn’t expected to go back to the guest house. It was a world better than being homeless, so I wouldn’t ever complain, but I didn’t know what was expected of me. Remy’s face had haunted my dreams all night. I saw it every time I closed my eyes. He hated me. Why would he want me around?
Too soon, I was letting myself out of Jake’s car and looking up at the house. Nerves filled my body as I thought about what I was walking into. Jackson had broken so many of their mom’s things. I was going to have to clean up my mess in so many ways.
“I thought we talked about letting me open the door.” Jake looked down at my feet and frowned. “Here. Let me carry you.”
I didn’t get a chance to refuse before he had me in his arms, carrying me inside. “Thanks, Jake. For everything.”
He put me down and gripped my shoulders. “We’re friends, Memphis. If I ever need to be held while I’m pregnant and alone in a hospital bed, I know you’ll spend the night taking care of me, too.”
