Page 24 of Healed By Doc
That was ages ago, and yet, despite the events that followed, I wouldn’t change anything in the past as it all led me to where I am now.
It led me to her.
Cara Dupree.
The receptionist flashes me a smile when I walk in, and it doesn’t falter even when she spots the club patches on my jacket. For all the good we do, the Steel Rebel MC still doesn’t have the best reputation in the city. Not that we’ve ever cared to clean up our image, but it seems not everyone hates the sight of us, as the receptionist doesn’t seem to mind my presence, or if she does,then she’s hiding it well. “Hi there, are you here for the cooking workshop?”
I can’t stop the laugh that breaks out. My eyes drop to the nametag and then back to the brown eyes staring up at me. “No, I’m here for the Haven House donations.”
“Right. Cara, I believe her name was, mentioned that someone would show up to help her.” She beams. “Just walk down the hall, you’ll find her through the third door to your left. It’s hard to miss it.”
“Thank you, Maria.”
“You are welcome,” she chirps, and I can feel her eyes on me as I walk away, but I don’t turn around. She’s a pretty woman, and perhaps a few weeks ago, I might have encouraged the interest I saw in her eyes, but not now. Not ever again. I already have someone who’s stolen my heart. Someone I haven’t stopped thinking about since we parted this morning. I’m practically vibrating with anticipation and excitement.
I can almost smell her perfume and taste the sweetness of her lips.
God, I want her so bad, and I find that I cannot move fast enough. I’m hurrying down the hall when it reaches me—a pained whimper that stops me dead in my tracks and rips through my excitement. The sound is not unlike that of an injured animal, and it chills my blood. I find myself sprinting the rest of the way before my brain can catch up, my legs pumping and eyes locked on the door. I burst into the room, eyes furious as I look around, and what I see instantly turns my world into a raging inferno.
Pressed against the wall is the woman I swore to protect, and crowding into her is a man in a janitor uniform who looks vaguely familiar, with his hand clamped around her arm. Cara’sface is contorted in a grimace, and those beautiful green eyes are flooded with terror.
My blood turns to ice, then boils over. Rage, pure and unadulterated, floods my veins and all thoughts vanish as I focus on one.
He’s dead.
This man is fucking dead for putting his hands on what’s mine!
My fist is drawn, and I catch the man’s surprise before it connects with his jaw with a sickening thud. He releases Cara and stumbles back, recovering quicker than I expected as he throws a clumsy punch that I easily deflect. That is all I allow him to do before sinking a punch into his gut in a spot I know will hurt the most. He howls, bending over in pain, but I’m only getting started on the fucker. I grab his shoulder and drive a knee into his face, watching with satisfaction as blood drips from the broken nose.
Kill him!
It’s the only thought in my mind as I follow the staggering man, but someone steps in front of me before I get to him. “James,” Cara says shakily, placing a hand on my chest and stopping my movement. “You need to stop.”
“Move aside, Cara.”
“No,” she breathes, attempting to push me back, but I am a rock, and I don’t shift an inch. My eyes are on the man behind her. He’s still breathing. The fucker is still breathing after he laid his hands on what’s mine. He’ll not leave this place with a pulse!
“Cara!”
“No,” she shouts, her voice raw with emotion. “Stop, please! I’m not going to let you kill him. You’d be arrested forkilling him. I’d be all alone if they take you away. Please, James… I can’t lose you again.”
She lifts her hand to my jaw and forces my gaze down to hers. Her touch, her voice, they’re enough to break the spell. The fear in her eyes manages to lift the red haze clouding mine, and I realize for the first time that we’re not alone in the room anymore. There is chaos around us as people swarm in, drawn by the commotion. Someone mentions that the cops are on their way, and another rushes to check on the janitor, but I don’t take my eyes off her.
“No one is allowed to touch you.”
“I know,” she whispers, dropping her head to my chest and wrapping her arms around my waist. “But I refuse to lose you. I…I can’t lose you, James. Not when I just found you.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” I assure her even as I vaguely register the sound of hurried footsteps and the muffled shouts outside.
Two figures in uniform enter the room, and I watch as they take in the scene, eyes darting between me and the man still on the floor. Someone must have stuffed a tissue in his nose because it’s stopped bleeding. “What the hell happened here?” one of the officers demands.
Cara’s pathetic excuse for a stepfather raises his head at the voice, his wrinkled face seeking the officers. “That fucking monster,” he croaks, trying to get up but wincing at the move. His side is going to be hurting for weeks, I made sure of it. “I was talking to my daughter when that man stormed in here and attacked me.”
His words had me going on alert like a shark scenting blood in the water. “Daughter!” I hiss, regretting that I didn’t kill the fucker after all. “You dare call yourself Cara’s father?”
Recognition finally dawns on his face as I speak. “You!” There is venom in that one word. “Arrest him, officers. This is the psycho that killed my son, and now he wants to kill me too.” The man limps forward, crying out in pain before pausing to lean against the wall. He isn’t hurt that badly, but he’s giving the best show he can. “Tell them, Cara. You better tell these officers the truth!”
Just like nine years ago, I want to shield Cara from all this attention, tuck her away safely, and deal with this on my own, but she pushes back from my embrace and turns to look at her stepfather. “Eric’s death was an accident,” she says calmly, but her voice carries through the room full of people watching this all unfold. “James was protecting me. Eric fell and hit his head on the table. It was an accident, not James’s fault.”
