Page 48 of Betrayal & New Beginnings

He stood from his desk, andIturned around quickly to grab my purse from my cubby in the breakroom.Withmy purse in hand,Iturned to seeWadein the doorway, but just as we were about to leave,Samcame walking toward us.

“HeyEllie, some guy left this for you on one of your tables, said he forgot to leave a tip earlier,”Samsaid, handing me an envelope of some kind.

I thanked him and lifted the lip of the envelope to open it.Ithad a folded-up piece of paper inside, whichIopened.

Confused,Ilooked back at the piece of paper and unfolded it, andIsuddenly got light-headed.Itfelt like all my blood rushed to me feet, andIknew my face had gone bone-white.Insidewas a very simple handwritten message.

“Whores don’t belong here!Thatman does not belong to you.Donot put your filthy hands on another man.Youdon’t belong here.Youbelong inTennessee.Youwill be going home whether you like it or not.”

Wade must have seen the reaction on my face, because the piece of paper was taken from my hands, butIdidn’t remember much in that moment because my mind started spinning andIfelt myself getting dizzy, scared, and angry all at the same time.

I feltWadegrab my arms and set me down on the bench and heard him talking to someone before he crouched down in front of me and put his hands on my face.

“Ellie, baby look at me,” he said softly to me.Ilooked up at him but didn’t say anything. “You’resafe.”

“He knowsI’mhere, and he knows about you,”Isaid asIlooked in his eyes and started to panic.

“Breathe, baby.Justbreathe.Wedon’t know it was him personally.Hecould have gotten someone else to do it,”Wadesaid and that got my attention.

“You think so?”Iasked softly.

“Diego is upstairs in the office still, soI’mhaving him check the cameras to see what this guy looks like,” he said calmly, thoughIwas sure he was only calm for my benefit.Hegot up and walked back to the doorway.

“HeyChuck,” he yelled down the hall to the kitchen area, whereChuckwas still cooking. “Needa favor.Canyou go getSamand tell him to come back hereASAP?Thanks.”

He turned and came back to me, squatting down to my level.Hiseyes were looking me over, assessing me, likely to see ifIwas going to break down.Heput his hands on the top of my thighs, and his thumbs rubbed softly across my jeans, almost soothingly.Thismotion oddly calmed me, andIfelt my panic attack starting to subside.

“I’m okay,”Itold him.Hestared at me as if trying to assess whetherIwas telling the truth or not.

“What’s up, boss?”Samcame into the doorway then glanced down atWadein front of me, with me probably still a little pale. “Everythingokay?”

“Can you describe the man who gave you the envelope to give toEllie?Recognizehim?”Wadespoke as he stood, staying close to me.

“Uh, no, didn’t recognize him,”Samsaid, scratching his head. “Honestly, the dude kept his head down, just mumbled he forgot to tip you, and he dropped the envelope off at the bar.Iwas mid-drink pour, butIgrabbed it so no one else would help themselves to it.Dudewas old-lookin’ though.Myguess, late fifties or sixties.Lookedrough too.Likehe hadn’t showered in a few days, maybe even homeless.”

“Right, thanks.Youcan head back to the bar,”Wadesaid toSam.

Sam nodded but hesitated walking away.Heprobably sensed something was up but also knew he was leaving the bar toChuckand needed to get back.

Wade made another call toDiegothen hustled me safely out of the pub and up the stairs to his apartment.

“Go ahead and get changed, babe.Doyour routine, andI’llmeet you in the bedroom in a minute,” he declared, brokering no room for argument.

I could tell he was angry, though he was trying to keep calm, likely for my sake.Iwas too tired and angry myself to argue with him, soIwent back to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth.Ireally was wiped from a long shift, and then the letter nonsense took the last bit of energyIhad.Iwas walking back into the bedroom, andIcould hear he was on the phone.LikelycallingArcherorVince, or both, to update them.

I couldn’t wait to get to a point in time when these men were not spending all their time fixing my problems.Icouldn’t wait to not have to deal withRandallat all.Igrowled low in my throat.Ihated that man for not leaving me alone.Ijust wanted to go to school, have a jobIenjoyed, see my brother again, spend time with friends, and just have a normal, quiet life.Itried to still my racing brain and focus on the task of getting ready for bed.

I’d just finished changing into my pajamas whenWadecame into view, standing in the doorway.Hisface was blank, butIfocused on his arms, which were stretched out to the top of the door frame.Hismuscles were on full display.

The back of my mind still raced from the letter andRandall, but at that moment,Wadelooked so gorgeous, it was hard to ignore.Histhick, corded muscles fully flexed as though he was using the door frame to support himself.Itwas total arm porn, andIbit my lip, enjoying the sight.Withhis arms up, his tee now bared a hint of skin over his stomach, and a peak of his sculpted abs were on display.Ilooked down even further, andIcould see the evidence of a bulge in his pants.God, what that man could do with that part of his body.I’dobviously seen it in use, butWadewas more of the take charge, “we do it my way” kind of guy, soIhadn’t really been able to explore that particular part of his anatomy in great detail with my hands or mouth yet.Irealized in that moment,IwishedIcould.

“Ellie, my eyes are up here,”Wadeteased.

I grinned back at him, knowing he’d caught me looking, butIdidn’t care.Hisface softened and he started to walk toward me.

“We need to talk about tonight,” he said softly. “Youdoing okay?”

“Surprisingly yes,”Itold him, andImeant it.Irealized that even though the letter had spooked me,Wadewas a calming presence and had brought me back to the here and now, whereIknewIwas safe.

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