Caught Off Guard

by C. M. Steele

  We were making our last stop because my new sis wanted to get something sweet for her hubby when up walked Samantha. I hated that stupid cunt. I was hoping I would get a chance to knock her out, but it was clear Mike was aware and stood between her and me. I could feel his strength as he put his hand on my arm and warned me off with a look.

  “Wow, it must be nice to be out spending his money, leaving him all alone just for me.” she sneered and mocked, as she addressed Elizabeth

  “Excuse me?!” It was clear Elizabeth was ready to smack this bitch. If not I was going to do it.

  “The sex with my Jax was amazing in his office this morning. He might have to change that blue suit he was wearing, he was in too much of a hurry to take it off. He was so happy with the services he received from me today that he couldn’t wait to get in me.” Elizabeth was trying not to let this bitch get to her. She trusted my brother that I was sure of. Plus, we could tell this bitch was lying by the look in her eyes.

  “Good then you dirty slut, now you know what my pussy tastes like.” Just then she launched at Elizabeth only to be stopped by Mike. As he pulled her away from Elizabeth, the crazy bitch’s father came and they hurried away.

  “Are you okay?” we asked Elizabeth simultaneously. She nodded, but it was still hard to hear that supposedly your new husband is fucking someone else.

  “You know that he wouldn’t do that to you, right?” I said.

  “I know that he wouldn’t to something like that to you. He loves you too much to ruin it for a woman he has patently avoided all these years.” My mother said, to her shaken daughter-in-law.

  “Yes I know. I cannot say the thought is pleasant to have in my mind, but I know Jackson. I just spoke to him several times today. So let us just go.” Everyone could tell she was upset. I whispered, “Should we call Jackson?”

  “No please don’t. I just want to go home, okay?” She pleaded.

  “Fine, but you need to tell him when we get home. He is going to want to know and is going to be pissed if you don’t tell him that bitch came at you with her claims.” I replied.

  My mom and Elizabeth jumped into the back seat of the truck leaving shotgun for me. I didn’t want to admit it, but I liked sitting this close to him. I was hoping that he would grab my hand as we drove. His touch earlier had set me a flame and I wanted just a simple touch. It was crazy, but I had enjoyed the day we spent together, even though we fought most of the time.

  We started to drive home when Elizabeth requested, “So tell me about young Jackson.”

  “Oh my, there are too many stories.” she laughed.

  “Oh come on please!” Elizabeth pleaded. “Fine okay. Well one time we were on our way to Florida for a little family vacation. He was six mind you. He decided that it was a good idea to cut his own hair, since William had just gotten home after getting his cut. It looked absolutely ridiculous, he had patches of hair missing, all over his head. We were already running late to the airport, so don’t judge us, but we had to put a hat on him until we arrived in Florida and then took him to the nearest barber. I think I still have a picture.”

  “You have a picture?” Elizabeth asked while trying not to laugh.

  “Yes, well we were going on vacation, so I had a camera ready.” she grinned.

  Everyone erupted in laughter, even Mike, when out of nowhere, we were hit by another car on my side of the truck. I could instantly feel the pain in my leg and head. After that all I remember hearing was Mike’s voice calling out, “Zoey!” Then everything went black.

  Chapter 6

  Mike

  I was taking the girls back to the house and hoping to escape for a while from Zoey. Touching her had been a big mistake it was like I couldn’t get enough. I let on what she did to me and I needed to reign it in, for now. Today had been too good of a day with her and just fucking her seemed to be out of the question. Milo was right. If I couldn’t stay away from her I was going to have to marry her, which all and all didn’t seem like a bad thing. I was coming to the realization that I didn’t just want sex. I wanted it all. I stared at her while she was putting on her seat belt thinking I was glad she was sitting up front with me.

  We hadn’t gotten five minutes away from the mall when we were struck on the passenger side by an old school Chevy Impala. I pulled over to make sure the girls were okay then I was going to check on the passengers in the other car. I unbuckled my seat belt and turned to the girls when the other car started shooting at our vehicle. In a split second everything had changed, what I thought was a simple car accident was an all-out ambush. I pulled my side arm out of my suit. With blood trickling down my eyes, I got to business of returning the gunfire. I sped off and the fuck followed, so I unloaded the rest of the magazine. I could tell I hit the gunman when he flinched in pain and gave up the chase.

  All I could think was I needed to get the women to safety, especially my Zoey. My adrenaline was pumping hard, I hadn’t even noticed the pain I was in. I looked over at Zoey and she was slumped over unconscious.

  “Zoey!” I shouted as I reached for her. All I got out of her was a whimpered, “Mike…”

  “Mike we need to get to the hospital fast. Elizabeth’s been shot, too.” Mrs. Blake said in full panic. I raced to the hospital by the time we got there both Zoey and Elizabeth lost consciousness. My heart had been jumping out of my chest. I unbuckled them as I called for assistance. I felt for a pulse on my Zoey and it was there, thank god. There was so much blood that I couldn’t tell if her injuries were from the accident or the shooting.

  Mrs. Blake called her husband, and he called Jackson. She and I had been the ones who seemed to not have any real injuries or so I thought. In a matter of moments I was approached by a team that had taken me into the OR. Apparently, I had been shot too.

  As I laid in the recovery room after they removed the bullet from my side all I could think about was that I needed to know about Zoey’s condition. We laughed at Jackson’s expense when he fell hard for Elizabeth. Now that it was happening to me, I knew why he didn’t care what we thought. I tried to keep my eyes open to ask, but I passed out again.

  It was a while before I woke up with Milo sitting by my bedside. “Hey there, it is good to see you wake up. How you doing bro?” I could see the apprehension in his eyes.

  I tried to get up, but Milo pushed me back down on the bed. “Where is she!? Tell me she is okay! Damn it, how is my Zoey!?”

  “Calm down, she just got out of surgery too. She is going to be fine. A couple of cuts on her head that required a few stitches and a broken ankle. She is resting, like you should be doing.” Milo pressed the button to alert the nurses that I had woken up. They walked in with the doctor.

  “Mr. Mancini, it is good to see you are awake. How are you feeling? Is there any pain?” the doctor asked kindly.

  “What happened?” I was confused. How damaged was I?

  “You had a concussion and several lacerations that needed stitches from the broken glass and a fractured rib from where the bullet lodged. We were able to remove it without further damage to the area. You were a very lucky man an inch lower and it would have it your organs. The police believe the bullet hit your chair first, which slowed it down.”

  “How is Mrs. Blake?” I asked. I remembered she had been shot, too.

  “She is recovering. She has been sedated and is with her husband.” the doctor said, as he checked my vitals.

  Feeling defeated and guilty, I said to myself, “Damn, I failed to keep them safe.”

  “Sir, it was not your fault. You should be proud. They would have not made it without your quick actions. With injuries of your own, you still managed to get them to safety.” the nurse said with admiration.

  “I want to go see Zoey.” I snarled, as I tried to get out of the bed again. Milo still had a hold on me, knowing that I would not try to fight him.

  “I’m sorry sir, but that is going to have to wait until the morning. It’s late and she needs her rest. Please know she
will be just fine. Now get some rest.” They had injected some medicine into my IV. It wasn’t long before I gave up the urge to get up and fell asleep.

  Zoey

  I’d woken up in the middle of the night completely covered in tears. I had the worst nightmare ever. When I opened my eyes completely I realized it wasn’t just a nightmare, it was real. My leg was throbbing towards my calf, and my body ached. My parents were lying on pull out sofas, asleep. Confused, I called out to them in a cracking voice, “Mom, dad.” It took a few tries, but on the last one they heard me.

  They jumped up instantly, surprised and happy. They were up and at my bed in seconds.

  “Oh my god! Zoey I’m so glad you are going to be okay.” my mother cried, as she pulled me close.

  “Mom, where is Mike?” My tears could be heard in my words. I felt like my heart was breaking.

  “He is resting in his bed down the hall.” Relief flooded me.

  “He’s alive!” I was still crying. In my nightmare he had been shot and died. My body was racked with sobs and mom wrapped her arms around me without touching my injuries. While my father left the room to get the nurse.

  “It’s okay, sweetheart. He is going to be back to normal soon and then you can fight with him some more or play kissy face, whatever.” she said nonchalantly.

  “I don’t want to fight with him, but he just hates me for some reason. He spent the day flirting with me and I wanted to buy it, but he has been an ass all the other times.”

  “He doesn’t hate you. He wants to be with you. They act like that sometimes when they want something they think they can’t have.” my mom said calmly.

  “How do you know a man wants you for you?” I said groggily.

  “You are special, how could a man not want you for you?” She rubbed the side of my face that wasn’t bruised.

  “I think I’m in love with him.” I said, in a drowsy whisper as I closed my eyes.

  “I know sweetie.” I heard her say as she gave me a kiss on the cheek.

  In the morning I was still in a lot of pain, so my mom called in the nurse. She brought me breakfast and some medicine for the pain. After eating Jackson stopped by to see me, but I was fast asleep. I only woke briefly when he gave me a peck on my cheek.

  “Jackson…” I murmured.

  “Sleep sis, you need your rest. I’m sorry sweetie. I didn’t mean to wake you. I’ll check on you later.” he said, softly.

  I fell right back asleep for about half an hour before the nurse came to check on me. My mom had left me some magazines to read, knowing that I would be bored. Mike had knocked on my door and came in without waiting for a response and catching me off guard. After hiding the magazine I smiled brightly at my hero and he gave me the sweetest smile. I was in love with him, and I wasn’t sure if I could hide it, but I was going to try.

  Chapter 7

  Mike

  The next morning I woke up feeling drained and hungry, but my thoughts were still on Zoey. My brother had left for the night, and I had a feeling he was out looking for the shooter. I buzzed for the nurse, and she came into the room in seconds.

  “Good Mr. Mancini, how are you feeling this morning?” the sweet old nurse asked, as she started taking my vitals. I don’t know why they wanted to let this one look after me knowing I’m antsy to escape and see Zoey.

  “I’m anxious to go see Miss Blake.” I answered.

  “Yes I was told. However I need to know that you are well enough to do so. So how are you feeling?”

  “I’m hungry and a little weak.” I answered honestly.

  “Good, I’ll get you some breakfast. After you eat, we can see if you feel well enough to visit her. Don’t try any funny business, or you will be sedated again. And the next time it won’t be in your IV, but in that sweet bottom of yours. Understood Mr. Mancini?” Damn the nice old lady turned into a drill sergeant; now I knew why she was my nurse and not the young nurse they had in here yesterday.

  I just got a clean bill of health to go see Zoey when my brother walked in the room.

  “Hey Mike what are you doing trying to get up?” Milo

  “I’m on my way to go see Zoey.”

  “Damn bro, I hope Jackson doesn’t know you got it bad for his spoiled sister, or you will be down the hall in the morgue.”

  “I just want to check on her. I failed them and it was my job to look out for them.”

  “Quit the bullshit. You’re going to see her because since we got here you have been acting a fool like Jackson, except instead of giving into it you are fighting it.”

  “I’m not in love with her if that is what you think. I’m just worried about her safety and her… Well fuck it I admit it, I think I’m falling for her.”

  “Falling? Mike you already fell and plastered your face to the cement.” He laughed at my predicament.

  “Yeah which means I should probably just walk away from her. I missed all the signs that something wasn’t right when we got hit. It could have cost all of our lives.”

  “Now you are talking dumb. Didn’t they already tell you that you were a hero? Not many even with your years of experience in the marines could have done what you did. Remember the girls wanted to go alone, but we weren’t having any of that. If we had let them we’d be planning three funerals. You did good bro, really good.” My big brother smiled with pride at me.

  “Are you telling me to go for her now?” He had been against it from the start.

  “Not really. I don’t know if it is a good idea yet. You are both broken right now. I haven’t been really paying attention to the two of you. I have been doing like you told me and observing the new security woman.” I could tell his interest in Miss Monroe was more that business. I wanted more details.

  “How is that going?”

  “Well I spoke with her the day of the party and that was it. Then this shit happened.” This fuck was lying to me. Did he think I was dumb or some shit? Now wasn’t the time to get into it I needed to go see Zoey.

  We were just getting me ready to get out of bed when there was a knock at the door. It was the cops ready to take a statement from me. Fuck I couldn’t catch a break.

  I gave them all I had, filling them in on the make of the car, and all I could remember about the incident. They questioned if I was holding back because I was planning on looking in on the case, but I told this punk ass cop that I hadn’t thought about it yet and I gave them all I had.

  When I finally got them out of my room Milo and a young nurse helped me over to Zoey’s room down the hall. When I walked in there, I made Milo and the nurse beat it; I wanted to be alone with her. She was all alone sitting on the bed reading. I looked down and seen that she was reading a teenage magazine with heartthrobs on the cover. Yep I needed to walk away, but I needed to know that she was okay before I did.

  “Hello Zoey.” She looked up shocked and gave me a vague smile before hiding her magazine.

  “Hello Mike.” she said, with a blush and a smile after being caught reading that junk.

  “I came in here to see how you were doing. How bad are your injuries?” I tried to seem unaffected, but I sure as hell wanted to find the shooter and put a bullet in his head for this. I walked over gingerly and sat on the edge of the chair next her bed.

  “I’m going to be fine. My injuries, although dangerous, aren’t as bad as your injuries or Elizabeth’s.” she replied.

  “I’m glad. I have been worried about you. About all of you. I’m sorry that I failed to protect you.” I ran my hands through my hair in frustration. I was in love with her and I knew it for certain. When I walked into the room I felt like I had ran right into love. My heart was aching as I saw her injuries. I had the Jackson virus, and it was incurable.

  “It isn’t your fault that some whack job pulled this stunt. I just hope they are caught before they try again.” she said earnestly. She paused lost in thought then added, “Listen Mike, I’m sorry for the bitch I’ve been to you. I owe you my life. I shouldn’t have
been rude to you for looking out for me.”

  “Now you listen, Zoey. I want you to know that I’d move heaven and earth to protect you. I don’t mean because your brother is paying my firm or anything like that. It’s because I haven’t stop thinking about you since we met, two and half days ago. You are fucking beautiful, snotty, funny and brilliant. I want us to be together. I know you need some time, but I’m ready. I’ll give you until you are at least on your feet to make the decision of whether or not you want to be with me, but I’m not going to stop from trying to convince you.” I winked at her and she blushed like a bright red rose.

  “Are you serious? Or are you playing with me?” She didn’t believe I wanted her. I’ll just have to show her. I stood up and reached over her bed. I bent down and tasted her lips for the first time. Our kiss was brief, but explosive. I didn’t move into it further because my ribs were fucking killing me.

  “Does that show you that I’m serious? I would do more, but I’m fucking aching right now.” I grimaced, as I sat back down in my chair.

  “Oh my! You should be back in bed resting, you big dummy!” she cried out, completely upset with worry.

  “I will if you tell me, are you willing to let me win you?”

  “Yes, I am willing,” she whispered, shyly. That damn shyness was going to get her fucked faster than I have planned. I needed to get back to my room. I was fucking tired, and I didn’t want her to worry.

  “Good baby, that’s really good.” I walked out of her room looking forward to tomorrow.

  Zoey

  I missed him the moment he walked out the door. What the hell? How was I supposed to cope with this? The things that crazy gorilla man made me feel had my heart racing. Yet I wasn’t being faithful to the man I had been kissing for the last two weeks.

  My mom came back to see me and we had a talk about Mike and Rick.

  “Sweetie, you have to do what is right for you, whether it’s Rick or Mike or even neither of them. Do you remember telling me that you love Mike?”