Page 79 of Manny's Surprise Baby
He pounced on the phone, dialing the front desk with shaking hands. I touched my temple, seeing a smear of blood on my fingers, but I got distracted when Lola started screaming and struggling again.
By the time the cops arrived, Brodie had removed the first knitting needle from his shoulder. Lola hadn’t done much damage with that one, although his pajama top was a little bloody. If she’d succeeded in jabbing his face though, she might have actually managed to kill him.
Lola sobbed and shrieked as the cops took her away, and Brodie watched in horror. I gave my version of the events to the police, and Brodie did the same. Then I called my boss at Shield and explained what had happened. He arranged to have another agent sent within hours so that I could go home. That suited me fine. I was so disgusted by Brodie, I could barely look at him, and he seemed embarrassed to look at me too. You’d think the asshole would have thanked me for saving his life, but then again, his wife probably wouldn’t have wanted to skewer him if he was a gracious guy.
When my replacement arrived, I took a taxi to the airport. As I slid into my seat on the plane, I exhaled a long, tired breath, trying to shake off some stress. The wild-eyed image of Lola was stuck in my brain. I still couldn’t believe she’d misunderstood my empathy for a green light to murder her husband.
I hadn’t called home yet because it was still the middle of the night and I didn’t want to disturb Pierce while he slept. But I wanted to talk to him so much it hurt. I wanted to hear his voice and maybe make him laugh. Anything to erase the last few hours from my mind. Something about the ugliness of witnessing the destruction of Brodie and Lola’s relationship had me feeling depressed.
I suspected part of my problem was that I knew I was in love with Pierce. It terrified me. I’d never fallen for anyone before, and I hated that I wasn’t in control of my emotions. I couldn’t demand he fall in love with me too. And what if he didn’t? What if I was just the guy who’d gotten him pregnant and he eventually moved on to some other alpha?
The memory of the raw hatred on Lola’s face toward her spouse sent chills through me. I knew there’d been a time when she’d loved Brodie and he’d loved her. But then he’d changed toward her, and she couldn’t make him love her anymore. What had happened? How had it gone so horribly wrong? Was love really so fragile that it could be mangled and twisted over time until it became hatred?
My head ached from banging it on the nightstand. The paramedics that had arrived on the scene had butterfly bandaged it for me, but I hadn’t wanted to go to the hospital or do anything that would have delayed me getting back to LA. It was just a scratch, and I’d had far worse injuries over the years.
I closed my eyes and comforted myself with the knowledge that soon I’d be back home with Pierce and Emily, and this dark cloud would go away.
Chapter Thirteen
Pierce
When I walked into the house after dropping Emily off at school, I was excited to see Seth’s suitcase in the foyer. He was home early, and my heart skipped a beat as I headed down the hallway.
“It’s just me,” I called out so I didn’t startle him. “Don’t shoot me.”
He came out of the bathroom area, drying his hands on a towel. His face warmed the second he laid eyes on me. “Hey.”
My eyes immediately jumped to the bandage on his temple. “What happened to your head?” I moved toward him, feeling uneasy. “You’re hurt?”
He grimaced. “It’s nothing. Just a little bump on the head.”
“Did someone try and attack your client?”
His laugh was hard. “You’ll never believe who.”
“The chauffeur?”
“What? Why would you think the chauffeur attacked him?”
“I don’t know… Isn’t it always either the driver or the butler who’s the bad guy in movies?”
He was only a few inches from me now, and I could see tired lines around his eyes. “Well, believe it or not, this time it was the wife.”
I bugged my eyes. “His wife attacked him?”
He nodded and then wrapped his arms around me, tugging me close. The hard feel of his body pressed to mine did funny things to my stomach. I hugged him back, feeling breathless and excited to have him in my arms again. “You’re okay though, right?” I pulled back and studied his face.
“Yes. I got ambushed by a nightstand, that’s all.”
“Why would his wife attack him?” I frowned and fingered the bandage gently.
“The guy was a jerk. He was hitting on girls with her there, and she just snapped.” He shivered and let go of me. “I felt sorry for her, but I couldn’t exactly let her kill him just because he was a dick.”
“Wow.” I shook my head. “Here I thought that was a safe gig and you’d be in no danger.”
“I thought the same thing. Well, until I saw her trying to stick her knitting needles in his eyeball.”
I winced. “Jesus.”
