ChapterTen
Samuel
“Get your fucking hands off her!” I shout as I rush over to the wreckage and straight for the driver.
“Wait, wait, wait.” He holds his hand up, but I don’t stop as my fist collides with his face. One hit and he crumples to the ground, but I don’t look back at him as I shove his body out of the way and move in front of Parker.
“I’m here, babe. I’m right here, help is on the way.”
“Samuel?” There’s a cut at her temple, and it’s small, but it’s bleeding like crazy. “Where did you come from?” She reaches for me, and as much as I hate it, I have to hold her still.
“Stay right there, Parker. Don’t move.” I glance over my shoulder and see the ambulance pulling up behind the car and the paramedics jumping out. “I’m not going anywhere, okay? I’m staying with you.”
“Okay.” Her voice breaks when she answers, and I see tears begin to fall from her eyes.
Fuck, I want to pull the guy off the ground and beat him all over again. One of the paramedics goes straight to Parker while the other examines the jock on the ground. He’s moaning, so I guess he’s still alive. Too bad.
As soon as Parker left with her father, I couldn’t stand it and went after her. When I saw they were going to his house for dinner, I thought I’d wait outside and take her home. I didn’t have her number so I couldn’t call her, but I knew I had to talk to her. There was no way I could just let her leave without telling her how I feel. And there’s not a chance in hell I’d let her marry someone else. Not when she’s meant to be mine.
I waited for so long, but finally the gates opened, and she came out. But to my surprise, she was in the passenger seat of that douchebag from her school, and I knew with every bone in my body that she didn’t want to be in that car with him. She couldn’t stand being within two feet of him when I first met her, so being confined to a car with him would be agony.
I had to save her and make sure that guy knew to keep his fucking hands to himself. When I saw him swerve, I think my heart stopped, but when he overcorrected and hit the concrete wall, I felt like I died in that split second.
Before I’d put my car in park all the way, I was out of my vehicle and running toward her. All I could think about was that I’d finally found the love of my life, and she was being taken from me. Thank god she’s still alive and breathing, because if something happens to her, they better dig two graves.
“Is she okay?” I ask as I look over the paramedic’s shoulder and keep my eyes on Parker.
“So far it’s just a bad cut. We should be able to treat it at the emergency room.”
“Do I have to go?” I hear her ask.
“Yes,” the paramedic and I answer at the same time.
A second ambulance shows up, and the other team brings a stretcher for the guy, but I have no sympathy for him. He could have killed Parker, so whatever injuries I didn’t cause, he deserves. Well, and the ones I caused too.
“Can he come with me?” she asks when they help her out of the car and place her on a stretcher for safety.
“Is he family?” the paramedic asks.
“He’s my—”
“Fiancé,” I answer, cutting her off. I’m not sure what she was going to say, but now is not the time to worry about titles. Hell, I’ll call her my wife if it gets me in that ambulance with her. She’s going to be before too long, so we might as well skip the semantics.
“Fiancé,” she agrees, and part of my anxiety fades when she smiles at me.
They wheel her in the back of the ambulance, and I climb in beside her and hold her hand. The injury at her temple has stopped bleeding, and they’ve assured me this is just a precaution. They continue to monitor Parker the whole way to the hospital, but I don’t pay attention to what they’re doing. All I can think about is making sure she’s safe and then taking her home with me. Fuck her family and that asshole she was with.
“I’m the one taking care of you now, do you understand me, Parker? You're my responsibility, and I take that seriously. You are my number one priority from here on out. And you don’t answer to anyone. Not even me. Understood?”
She reaches up and touches my cheek, and I feel some of the fear lift off my shoulders. “I understand, Samuel.”
“Good. After this, you’re coming home.”
“But what about school? Lexi?” Her brows furrow as she looks up at me. “My parents probably won’t pay for me to keep going if I don’t do what they say. My father works for you. Gosh, this is all a mess.”
“Don’t think about that.” I lean forward and brush my lips against hers. “The only thing you need to worry about right now is healing. We’ll figure out the rest of it later. Tonight, let me take care of you.”
“I think I can do that,” she says, and then the ambulance comes to a stop.
It’s hours later by the time we leave the hospital, even with me making calls to expedite all of it. We’re released after they determine there aren’t any broken bones or internal injuries, and the only thing we need to keep an eye on is the scratch on her head. Her driving partner is being held overnight for a severe concussion, and I’m not sure if it was because of the accident or because I took him to the ground. Honestly, I don’t give a shit.
It’s nearly dawn when I carry Parker’s sleeping body into my home and upstairs to the master bedroom. She’s fast asleep and hardly stirs as I place her on the bed and then remove her shoes. There’s a long moment when I just look at her safe in my bed and in our home. This is where she’s supposed to be. Forever.