Page 9 of The Alpha's Protective Mate

I stay there like that for what seems like an eternity before someone begins banging on the shutter.

“Oh, shit.” I blurt. “Oh God, Ricky’s here.”

“Robert! Robert, are you in there?!”

Relief fills me, and I practically shove the Alpha off my lap before running to the door. It’s hard to see out of my swollen left eye; it’s really hurting. I open the shutter and glare at the man around my age standing outside. “Keep it down! I’ve got two dead vampires in here!”

He stares at me and then growls. Before I can blink, he grabs me by the throat, his teeth bared in a vicious snarl.

“Stop it!” I struggle to speak. “I’m the one who called you!”

“Liar!” the boy roars. “Is this a trap? Did you lure me here to—”

“Are you blind, you idiot?!” I snap back. “Look behind me!”

He moves his head to the side, and his eyes widen. “Robert!”

Pushing me to the ground, he makes a dash for the unconscious Alpha. “Robert, are you okay?”

Coughing from his attempt at strangling me, I sit up. “He’s got wolfsbane in his system.”

“You—”

“I didn’t do anything to him!” I scowl, angry now. “I saved his life. And if you don’t believe me, you can check the security camera footage!”

“I will,” he declares furiously. “Come on, Robert.”

I get to my feet. “You’ll need a vehicle. You can’t carry him. He’s got stitches.”

“My car’s outside.”

“I’ll help you.” At this point, I really just want both of them out of here.

“You’ll help?” Harry looks suspicious.

“Help carry him to the car,” I say, annoyed. “Look, I’ve got enough to deal with here. There are two dead vampires in the back shed, one broken glass door, blood everywhere, and the human vet is about to arrive. I don’t have time to deal with you. I’ll help you carry him, and then please, never come back here.”

Harry flinches. “Okay.”

I grab Robert’s legs, but as I do so, my sweater falls off of him.

I drop him immediately.

“Hey!” Harry shouts indignantly. “He’s an Alpha! Have some respect!”

“You take his legs, then!” I can feel my ears burn. Robert Montgomery is wickedly attractive even with the scarring on his face, and I would rather not look at him any more than I have to. It’s bad enough that I’m harboring a crush on this man; do I have to look at his naked form, too? My heart can only take so much!

“You’re crazy,” Harry hisses through his teeth. “Wait till Robert wakes up. He’s going to have a few things to say to you…”

“Those words better be ‘thank you’ and ‘I will never bother you again’!” I pant as I help move the unconscious man, who really is heavier than he looks, to the car.

Once Robert is secured in the back seat, Harry turns to look at me and then the damage. He must not have realized the extent of it when he first got here. His expression distorts. “Um, I can have a team here in ten minutes to clean everything up and deal with the bodies.”

“Really?” My irritation fades.

He nods. “Just wait here.”

He starts the engine, and I watch him drive away.

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