Page 60 of Breaking the Rules of Love

Logan and I look at each other. “Boss, is he–?”

“Drunk.” I nod, trying not to laugh. I look over to Paul and try to convey a sense of safety with my expression. “Just a crazed drunk, buddy. Just needs to sleep it off in a cell.”

Paul visibly relaxes and stops playing human barrier between him and his wife, turning and taking her into his arms.

“Fucking hands off…me…” the drunk man mutters.

“Call the cops,” I tell Ryan. Ryan nods and pulls out his phone. I turn to Logan. “You got him?”

“Yeah,” Logan replies, taking full control of the man’s wrists and keeping him pinned with a knee to the back. I stand and look over at Paul and Rachel, who still look a bit shaken up but are recovering. They’re whispering something to one another.

“I’m going to get them out of here,” I tell the boys. “You two make sure the cops take care of this guy and get the full story.”

“You got it, boss,” Ryan replies. Logan nods.

I leave the drunk attacker with my guys and go over to the Thortons. Rachel still looks shaken up but seems to be recovering quite quickly with the help of her husband.

“All right, let’s get out of here,” I tell them both, motioning to the car.

“We don’t need to stay?” Paul asks. “Give our statements to the police?”

“No.” I shake my head. “My men will take care of that. What we should do right now is get you two home. He appears to be alone. Just some random drunk. But just to be sure.”

Paul nods, still glancing back and forth to the man. “Right. Okay, let’s get out of here.”

42

Jake

The vibeon the drive back to the Thortons’ home from the museum is quite different than the vibe on the drivefromthe Thortons’ home to the museum. We have a limo with a driver I know taking us back so they can relax, but I’m still alert.

At first, things are a bit tense from both Paul and Rachel, but as we start to get out of the city and back into Connecticut, they both seem to loosen up a bit. In fact, Rachel seems almost excited by what happened.

I’m sitting next to her, and I could swear I feel her shooting glances over at me every now and then. But I remain as professional as I can and keep my eyes forward or out the window. I don’t want her husband to think I’m getting any ideas about his wife.

But then, out of the blue, Paul looks over at me and says, “She’s impressed.”

“What’s that?” I ask, not sure if I heard him right.

He nods over to Rachel, who I notice is looking at me with something like a smile on her lips. Her eyes could be said to be sparkling as well.

“She’s impressed,” he repeats. “By what you did back there.”

“Oh,” I reply, somewhat uncomfortably. “Well, thanks. But it was nothing really. Just a drunk idiot.”

“I don’t know about that!” Rachel cuts in. “Many men would have lost their composure. But the way you handled it was very professional. You kept your coolandtook charge of your team. I see why your company has the reputation it does.”

“Well, thank you, Mrs. Thorton.” I nod. “But like I said–”

“I’ve told you. Call me Rachel!” she says, leaning in and patting me on the thigh.

Okay, this is getting strange. This woman is being overly friendly with me—some might even say flirtatious. And her husband, who is sitting directly across from me, isn’t saying anything about it.

“All right,Rachel,” I reply, forcing a smile as I glance over at Paul. He’s still just sitting there acting like everything is cool. “Well, I appreciate your high praise, but like I said, it was nothing.”

“So humble,” Rachel scoffs, shaking her head. “Can you believe him, Paul? He’s so humble, isn’t he?”

Paul nods, chuckling. “This guy served in the military, Rachel. He’s not going to be shook up by a drunk outside a museum.”

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