Alphas on Top(99)

“Hey, Dad. Gotta problem. I'm at Big Mike’s house with his daughter, November. Her apartment was broken into. Yeah, Mike’s daughter. We’re not gonna talk about that shit right now. Yeah, see ya.” Closing the phone, he tosses it behind me on the driver’s seat. I'm looking down at my hands. They’re covered in red gunk and so are my jeans. All I can wonder is who would do this and why.

“Look at me, baby.” I lift my eyes to his and they are warm and concerned. “I will make sure you’re safe. I promise.”

Looking into his eyes with the jeep’s interior light reflecting off them, I can see he’s worried. Instinctively I begin to tell him about New York and being attacked before I left. He listens the whole time. His eyes turn darker and his jaw is getting tighter with every word. He shakes his head when I finish, pulling me in for a hug that I think is more for him than for me.

“Thank you for helping me,” I say.

“You,” he says, kissing my head, “never have to thank me for doing something I want to do.”

“Well, I'm glad you were here.” And that’s not a lie. I can’t imagine what would have happened if I had come home by myself.

“Fuck, baby, me too,” he says, letting out a long breath.

I look down at Beast, who is sitting at our feet, looking up at us and waiting to see if we’re still going for a walk or if I might have a treat. His head tilts when I start talking to him. “Looks like you’re gonna get a bath, boy.” He tilts his head in the other direction. “And when you’re done, I need take one too,” I say then realize that I am, once again, talking to my dog. I look up at Asher and he’s smiling. I say the first thing that pops into my head.

“Do I look like Carrie?”

He bursts out laughing then kisses my forehead. “Yeah, you’re covered from having that damn dog sit on you while you hugged him. When my dad gets here and checks everything out, you can shower.”

“Oh my God,” I whisper, horrified when I remember that his dad is the sheriff. “Your dad’s coming?”

“Yeah, baby. He's the sheriff.”

“Oh my God, your dad’s coming,” I repeat. Without thinking, I stick my hands up the front of his shirt and use it to wipe my face. “Is that better?” I ask.

“I can't believe you just did that,” he says, sounding completely shocked.

“Oh, God. Your dad’s going to meet me looking like Carrie,” I cry out. I still have my hands up his shirt so I repeat the process of wiping my face. Then I use the inside to wipe my hands. I look up because he's not saying anything.

“I can't believe you just did that.”

“Okay! So, is most of the red off my face?” I ask.

“You owe me a new shirt,” he tells me.

“Fine, whatever. But is the red gone?”

“Yeah, baby. The red is mostly gone but now I don't know if I should kiss you or spank you for that shit.”

“Whatever,” I whisper and press my forehead against his chest to hide my huge smile. My belly is doing acrobatics at the thought of him kissing me. Two minutes later, red and blue lights flash up the driveway and two police cars pull in next to Asher’s jeep. Looking around Asher's big body, I see a very tall man with grey hair mixed with dirty blond walking towards us. This must be his dad.

“Dad, this is November,” Asher says, taking a step back. Then, he pulls me from the seat. When my feet hit the ground, he puts his arm around me, dragging me into his body. His dad is smiling when he walks towards us.

“Hi, November. I’ve heard a lot about you visiting my mama with that dog of yours. She’s been bragging about you for a few weeks now. But I didn’t know you were Big Mike’s daughter. I don’t think anyone even knew he had a daughter,” he says with a kind smile on his face.

“Your mom is a very nice lady, Mr. Mayson. And, not a lot of people know about me,” I tell him as if he doesn’t already know it.

“Please call me James. Mr. Mayson makes me feel old.”

“Okay,” I say laughing.

“So what happened tonight? You said someone broke in?”

Asher tells his dad about the red writing in my living room and Beast being covered in the same liquid that was used on the walls. And how all the lights were off in the house when we got here.

“Okay, darlin’, do you know of anyone who would want to hurt you?” he asks, looking at me.

“No, but the reason I moved here is because I was attacked in New York. Then, on the way here, I pulled into a rest stop to let Beast out and a car with New York plates pulled up a couple minutes later. The strange thing was that I was parked in the area for dogs and they never got out with a dog. I got spooked and ran back to my car but didn’t see them again. So I don’t know if it was just my imagination or if I was really in danger.”