Page 50 of Doctor Bossy

“Okay, that’s good. Don’t go out until the police get there, understood?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good girl. I’m on my way.”

I was already in motion, hanging up my lab coat and grabbing my jacket on the way out. I told Willa to postpone all my meetings for the day, but to be honest, I barely had the forethought to do that before I left. All my thoughts were occupied with getting to Becca as fast as possible.

When I got to her home, the cop cars were already outside. I saw Becca standing at her front door with a policeman. She had her hands wrapped around her middle as she spoke—as if to hold herself together. She looked so vulnerable and small like that that it made something in my chest hurt.

The minute I pulled up, I saw her gaze switching over to me. As if she had been waiting for this moment—and the sight of me released the emotions she held inside—her face immediately crumpled up. I was barely out of the car before she jumped into my open arms, wrapping her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck.

“Shhh.” I could feel her tears on my neck as she cried, and my heart ached with her. It was like a kind of twisting in my chest that I couldn’t stand, demanding I put everything right so she could be my happy ball of sunshine again. I rested my hand against the back of her head, caressing it. “It’s okay, precious. Everything is going to be fine.”

“They broke everything I have,” she mumbled through the tears. “My plates, my TV, and even my desktop. Everything is gone. I backed up my work, though, so….”

“Shhh, don’t worry about that right now.” I couldn’t care less if she lost months of work. “All that matters is that you’re okay.”

She nodded into my neck but clung to me. Over her back, I saw the officer looking at me in curiosity. I nodded my head in greeting.

“Officer,” I said. “What’s going on?”

He walked toward us with his notepad. “There seems to have been a break-in. Nothing important was stolen, but a lot of damage was done. It looked personal.”

I frowned down at Becca. Personal? Who on earth had she pissed off this much that they’d want to destroy her stuff?

My mind immediately went to James, but I rejected the thought as soon as it came up. My son may be a lot of things, but he wasn’t capable of something like this, not destruction to this level. It would be too much effort for him, and if he was caught, he ran the risk of ruining his reputation.

And above all, James valued his reputation.

“Becca,” I said gently, pulling her face up to mine. She looked at me with teary eyes that made my heart ache. I didn’t want to ask, but I had to anyway. “Do you know anyone or have any enemies who might have done this?”

She thought about it for a quick second, then shook her head. “No. I don’t know anyone capable of this. I barely have any friends, and I don’t think I’ve pissed anyone off lately.” Her face crumpled up again. “But oh, Griffin, what if they come back? I don’t know if they’ll come back. I mean, if they want to hurt me, they might, right? And what happens if I’m at home next time….”

“You won’t be,” I assured her, determination in my chest. “You won’t come back here again. From now on, you’re staying with me.”

Her eyes widened as she looked at me. She seemed like she wanted to protest but stopped herself. Then, she simply nodded.

After the officer was done taking her statement, I helped Becca pack up whatever she could salvage and get it into the car. We only took the things she needed, leaving the rest of the boxes for a moving crew to collect later. Then, I drove her to the manor, got her settled, and instructed Arnold to call a moving crew to help her pick up the remainder of her things as soon as possible.

I went to the kitchen to make her some chamomile tea and a sandwich because I doubted she had eaten much during this whole ordeal.

After making sure everything was done, I finally headed upstairs to find her lying in my bed, eyes wide open and staring at the ceiling.

“I thought you would be asleep by now,” I remarked, placing the tray down. “You’re supposed to be resting.”

She glanced at me and then, without a word, held both arms open toward me. I didn’t even think twice as I walked toward her and let her arms pull me into bed with her. She seemed to want me to lie on her body, but I caught myself on my hands, fearful of crushing her with my large frame. Instead, I lay to the side as she brought herself up and cuddled against me, resting her head against my shoulder.

The citrus scent of her shampoo drifted into my nostrils. Combined with the feel of her in my arms, I was rock hard within seconds.

“This is nice,” she said with a contented sigh.

“Uh-huh,” I responded, cursing at myself for being in this state when she had just gone through something traumatizing. Becca must have noticed something in my voice because she glanced up at me.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

“Yup,” I replied. “I should be asking you that question.”

She sighed. “Everything I had was in that house. I don’t have much in my bank account, only a few thousand dollars, but I invested it into the property. I planned on buying it and getting a mortgage. Even talked to the landlord about it. Now I don’t know if I can even go back there.”

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