Neither did she. But then did anyone ever like being broken into?
“I’ll be fine. Why would they come back?”
“To get whatever it is they were looking for,” Derrick said grimly.
“I don’t understand what they could have been searching for,” she told him. “There was nothing here to take. It was probably just teenagers looking for some cash, nothing serious.”
Derrick didn’t look convinced. His phone buzzed and he looked at the screen, cursing softly. “I have to go, love. But I’m going to send Robert up. He’ll help you clean up then take you to your friend’s place.”
“That’s really not nece—”
She shut up as Derrick sent her a look. She’d seen that look on Alex’s face before. It meant trouble for her unless she gave in real quick. Sometimes dealing with Doms was a real pain in the ass.
She snorted. Literally.
“That wasn’t up for argument, understood?” Derrick said quietly.
“Yes, Sir.” She could wish that he’d keep his nose out of her business, but she had to admit she was really glad he was here.
“Thank you for coming.” She rapidly blinked, trying to keep the tears from spilling down her eyes.
Derrick shook his head then strode over to her, pulling her roughly into his arms. “I don’t like leaving you here like this. You get Robert to help you with whatever you need. He’ll take you to your friend’s place. You’d damn well better call me if you need anything.” He pulled back, staring down at her sternly. “You hear me, Tara? I know you’re not very good at asking for help, but you need to learn to reach out to those who care about you. We won’t be happy if something happens to you.”
He turned away and she stared after him in surprise.
“The guest house is always available,” he added, turning toward the door as a dark-haired, slim-built man appeared. “Robert,” he said to his driver. “Help Tara with whatever she needs and then take her to her friend’s house. Make sure she gets there safely.”
“Certainly,” Robert said. “Your taxi is waiting outside.”
Tara felt guilty that Derrick had to take a taxi while she had his car and driver, but she knew it was senseless to protest. There was no way she could win.
Stubborn Dom.
“Call me if you need me,” Derrick told her, leaving.
“Right,” Robert said once Derrick had left. “Where shall we start?”
It took a few hours to put the apartment back in some kind of order. Most of her stuff was ruined and headed for the garbage. She sighed as she looked at her clothes. They’d all been pulled from their hangars and trampled on. Everything would need to be washed. She grabbed some plastic trash bags and started shoving the clothing inside. She’d deal with them at Alex’s.
“Anything else you want done?” Robert asked.
Tara glanced around. “No, I think—” A noise outside the door had her spinning. She pulled the door open to find Ted standing there. There was a piece of paper pinned to the door.
“What are you doing?” she asked. She grabbed the piece of paper. “An eviction notice, are you kidding me?”
“You have three days to get out,” he told her.
“You can’t do this,” she protested, following him down the hall. “There has to be just cause.”
He turned and grinned at her, showing off his missing teeth. “You’re late in your rent and it’s not the first time. That’s reason enough for me.”
***
Tara was in a state of disbelief. She couldn’t believe that bastard had actually evicted her!
Asshole. Bastard. Shithead.
Unfortunately she could call him all the names under the sun and it wouldn’t change the fact that she had nowhere to live.