I highly doubt we have anything, but I begin searching. As I’m opening and shutting cupboards and drawers, Byron lets out some muffled sounds, and I move quicker. “I’m not finding anything.”
“Wait,” Cherry says, holding up a finger. “The guard outside. He has to have something. A gun at the very least.”
“Yes!” I cross the room to the open door. I look out and see the guard lying there, dead. Cherry’s standing behind me and I’m thinking she’ll have to take on this task.
“What are you waiting for?” she asks. “Search him.”
I’m looking at a guy with a bullet in his head. “I…I don’t think I can do it.”
She huffs, brushing past me. “Move. I’ll look.”
I step aside and watch as she digs into his many pockets and retrieves a gun, a baton, some pepper spray, and a ball of twine.
“That should work, right?”
“It’ll keep him restrained temporarily, but we need backup to hurry their ass up, because it won’t hold him long.”
Cherry carries everything she took from the guy back in the suite and drops them on the counter, except the twine, which she begins unraveling. “All right, let’s get to work. Grab his hands.”
I’m reaching down, ready to grab Byron by the wrist, when his head begins moving around. I look at Cherry who waves her hand, rushing me along with the twine spread in her hands.
I take one wrist, then the other, and just as I’m bringing them together on his chest, Byron’s eyes shoot open and he grabs my arm. “Ahhh,” I scream, trying to pull away, but he overpowers me.
Out of nowhere, Cherry kicks him square in the temple, knocking him out again. I look up at her, stunned. “Damn, girl.”
Her shoulders shrug. “What can I say, I’ve had to fight off my fair share of men.”
With both hands together on his chest, Cherry wraps the twine around them so tightly that it digs into his skin.
Once we’re sure it’s secure, we move to his ankles. “Ya know,” Cherry begins, “we could just wrap this around his throat and end him now.” There’s a glint of humor in her eyes, and I can’t tell if she’s serious, or joking.
“I think Cal will appreciate us leaving him alive, so he can get the answers he needs.”
“You really like that guy? Mr. Ellis?” She seems surprised, as if he’s unlikable. I suppose to many people, he is.
“Yeah. Yeah, I like him a lot. The Mr. Ellis you all see isn’t the one I get. He’s had a rough life, but he’s a good man.”
“If you say so.” Cherry ties off the twine on Byron’s ankles, then drops her butt to the floor.
I know that most people won’t understand my relationship with Cal—my family included—but that’s the beauty of it being our relationship, it doesn’t matter what they think. It’s ours and ours alone.
“What now?” Cherry asks, getting to her feet. “Should we call someone?”
“Oh shit!” I get up quickly and hurry into the bedroom to find my phone. Cal is probably a mess with worry right now.
I find it lying on the floor, screen shattered, as suspected. Fortunately, it seems to still work. I tap the button on the side to open the home screen then hit the phone icon. A piece of glass sticks into my finger, and I shriek, pulling the glass out then sucking my finger into my mouth.
There are like fifty missed calls and messages from Cal, and when I go to call him again, it rings before I have a chance.
“Cal,” I say into the speaker.
“Thank God, Bella. I’ve been worried sick. Listen, I’m here. I’ll be in the room in a minute. Are you okay? I swear if that son of a—”
“Babe, I’m fine. He didn’t hurt me.”
Cal breathes out an audible sigh of relief. “All right. I’m coming down the hall.”
I run out of the bedroom, stopping in front of where Byron lies on the floor. Cherry gives me a weird look, and I return the gesture when I see that she’s eating a handful of pretzels while standing over a passed-out body. Girl’s got a strong stomach, I’ll give her that.
“Help is here,” I tell her, before stepping over Byron and going out the open door.
Cal’s walking steadfast down the hall with his phone still pressed to his ear. A smile draws on my face and I toss my phone onto the floor as I run to him. Tears of happiness stream down my cheeks. I wasn’t sure I’d ever see him again, but here he is.
I throw myself into his arms, jumping up and wrapping my legs around his waist. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“You have no idea how fucking worried I was, baby. I had men on their way, but they were delayed, and I thought for sure…it doesn’t matter. I’m here. Fuck! The thought of him touching you, hurting you.” His head shakes, eyes closing momentarily. “I can’t even comprehend what I’d do if I lost you.”
“I’m here. I’m okay.” I kiss his lips over and over again as he carries me into the suite.
As we approach the room, I figure I should probably give him a warning about what he’s walking in on. “I had help,” I tell him. “It’s the girl I was telling you about. She saved my life, Cal.”
Cal sets me down on my feet. “The waitress from The Grotto?”
I nod, my words scratching at my throat. “Byron was planning to rape me and she came just in time and knocked him out.” Cal pushes past me to go into the suite as I keep talking. “So, we tied him up.” I wave my hands over Byron, who is now wide-eyed and alert.
Cherry points at Byron with a pretzel rod in her hand, then takes a bite. “Shithead woke up.”
I can’t help but laugh at this very non-humorous situation.
“Well,” Cherry continues, “I’m gonna let you two deal with that, so I can get back to work.” She brushes off her hands and swallows down the last bite. “It’s Gentlemen’s Night tonight, and I’ve got some waiting for me.” She goes to leave the room, but I stop her.
“Thank you, Cherry. You saved me, and I’m forever in your debt.”
Cherry looks from me to Cal. “Giving me a new boss is a good start. Mr. Davis was a fucking prick.”
Cal extends his hand to Cherry, and she looks down at it like it’s tainted. “Callum Ellis. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Cherry. You’ll be compensated fully for your help tonight. And I can promise, you’ll never see this son of a bitch again.”
She nods, half-smiling, and shakes his hand. “You’ve got a tough girl, here. Don’t fuck it up.”
Cal looks into my eyes. “Wouldn't dream of it.”
Once Cherry’s gone, Cal practically begs me to wait in the bedroom. Says I don’t wanna see or hear what’s about to go down. There are a dozen men outside our room, Byron’s tied up, Cal’s here—I’m safe now. So I do as he asked.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Pacing up and down where Byron lies on the floor, speechless and staring back at me, I grind my molars and restrain from stomping his face in. My fists clench so tightly, I can feel the blood draining from my hands.