Page 55 of Needing More
She crossed the foyer in seconds, letting out a short exhale as his strong arms circled around pulling her in tight against his firm chest.
"Here he comes," Vic warned.
Sapphire's breath caught as the door opened and Hayden stepped through the door. His glittering grey eyes found hers immediately. With his thick brown hair hanging loose around his face combined with his paint stained clothes that matched Vic's he looked like some sort of angry wild man towering in the doorway.
Not bothering to shut the front door behind him, Hayden stepped forward and then pointed to the truck out in the yard.
"What the hell happened?" he demanded.
"Calm down. There is no need to get this worked up," she tried infusing her voice with a measure of calm that she wasn’t sure worked. Her mind was still racing with a way to tell him what happened.
"Sapphire," he warned. "Tell me what happened?" he said evenly.
She reluctantly stepped out of the safety of Joel's arms. Biting her lip, she looked between the three of them. Deciding to just rip it off like a band-aid she said the words in a rush. "I blew a tire down the highway and as I was about to YouTube how to change a tire a friend of yours showed up to help me."
Hayden's brows shot into his hairline. Joel took a step toward her, forcing her to step back and stand awkwardly in the middle of the foyer as all three men surrounded her like some sort of tribunal while Vic just stared at her like a statue.
"What friend?" Joel asked, the humor now gone from his voice.
Nervously, her eyes darted from Hayden to Joel. "He said he was a friend and he didn't try to kill me so I figured I was good-"
"Godammit Sapphire, who was it?" Hayden exploded, making her flinch.
Finally coming to life, Vic stepped away from his spot in the living room doorway and stepped in between her and Hayden.
Sapphire didn't have to see their expression to feel the sparks between the two opposing men kick off. Joel's widening eyes as he watched with unashamed glee was enough for her to know she needed to intervene.
"He said his name was Sebastien Kreager," she rushed out the words. "A little older than you. Long hair, green and silver bike with laughing skulls on it," she offered.
Joel's body relaxed and he leaned back against the stair railing and laughed in relief. "Oh yeah, that's him. He's fine."
Running an agitated yet relieved hand through his hair, Hayden tore his angry gaze away from Vic and looked sharply at her. "Yeah, but it's not fine you didn't call us. Why didn’t you?"
"I didn't want to bother you," she tried weakly.
Hayden scoffed.
"Okay, angel," Vic turned around and lifted a brow at her. "Even I think that's bullshit."
Not liking at all how they easily saw through her lie, she folded her arms and replied tartly. "I was going to figure it out."
Holding out a hand, Hayden began to tick things off. "You're not eating. You've been acting strange and jumpy lately."
Sapphire opened her mouth to argue, but Hayden cut her off.
"If you open your mouth to lie to me again, I’ll not be responsible for what I do," he warned.
By now the small pain in her head mutated into a heavy thumping with each pulse of her heart. Weakly she looked to Joel for support.
Joel just returned the same waiting look Hayden fixed her with. "I've noticed it, too. You're not sleeping well and I see you staring off into space with a frown nearly every day. But every time I try to ask you if anything is wrong, you just smile over the situation."
Sapphire stepped back. His words felt like bullets to the chest. He was right. They both were. Every part of her wanted to turn to Vic for help, but just knowing how much she desperately wanted to, made her head hurt worse. He was the cause of all this! There was nothing he could do to help now.
"I..." With her eyes darting from Joel's worried expression to Hayden's waiting one, she took another step back as her words faded from her lips. The pressure was building too high. She could see the doubt behind Hayden's eyes and could only imagine what he would look like if the secret swelling inside of her burst out. Wincing in pain, she shifted unsteadily on her feet.
"Okay," Vic said, stepping forward and holding out a hand to Hayden. "This is getting a little intense for a blown out tire, maybe we should..."
Hayden slapped away Vic's hand and crowded him close, their chests nearly touching. "Shut the hell up, Vic. This is between her and us." Hayden motioned between Joel and himself. "This has nothing to do with you."
