On the run

Twenty Six

The bed dipped in behind me, Alex wrapping his arm over me as he laid back down behind me. This man was from another planet. He'd carried me out of that house and didn't let me go until we were in this hotel room and the bedroom door was locked. He stripped me off, turned on the shower and washed everything off me. The sweat and the sprinkling of blood I'd spotted during the journey, the matted hair. Everything. He'd washed my hair, keeping me as close as he possibly could as he massaged me scalp, the 2 of us sat on the floor when my legs couldn't handle it anymore. Once he was happy that I was clean and nothing remained on me, he dried me off, pulled one of his hoodies over me and tucked me into bed.

I don't even know what time it was, barely knew what had even happened. It was all a complete blur. The entire 24 hours was just a wreck in my head. I must have been laid here for an hour trying to work it out. I'd been laid staying at the closed curtain when a very quiet knock pulled Alex from behind me where he'd been laid, carefully trying to get me to sleep. It was no use. Until I could place everything, I don't think I would sleep again.

He answered the door, stepping out into the hallway where I heard Harry whispering quietly. Then Cam and then Dean. I couldn't make it out but I knew their voices too well. What I didn't understand is how the 4 of them had gotten together. I'm guessing Cam met Alex if he got there the night I was taken. But how Harry and Dean got dragged into this, was beyond me. I still don't understand how Alex wasn't hurt. I watched the trigger be pulled at him. I heard him scream. That blood curdling scream that even thinking about it was making me cry again. I'd heard men scream like that before, worse than that. But knowing it was Alex's was making it hit me a whole lot harder and I couldn't get it to stop.

What I don't understand is how he was shot, but I hadn't seen a single speckle of blood on him. Or how he managed to get so many people there. I was running over the gun shots I'd heard around the house. Trying to place them in my head and work out how many people he had. I knew Harry and Dean and Cam, but from my judgement, there was between 2 and 5 other people there. And they knew their way around the house. 3 days. They'd done this in 3 days. I couldn't understand how he'd managed to pull off a full-scale home invasion on one of the biggest mafia families in the country that quickly. I knew for a fact, this house had at least 35 men in that night. I know for a fact Jaxson had been working that night so everyone was there. Every one of his men were there. All night. It wasn't adding up.

Alex kissed my cheek gently and I blinked, still staring at the same spot in front of me.

"Pops?" He sighed. "Baby, you need to sleep. It's been a rough day." I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut to his scream again. Breathing through it. All I could do was breathe through it. "What's going through your mind Pops? Talk to me if you don't want to sleep." He pulled on my shoulder, spinning me over until I was facing his shirtless body. "He's gone Pops. You don't need to worry about him anymore." Alex tucked my damp hair behind my ear, running his fingers down my face. "I told you that you're safe with me Pops. That I wouldn't let them hurt you. I know they got to you before I did. I know he hurt you before I could get in there but if I came in any sooner he'd had hurt you worse. But I sorted it baby. I'm not letting you out of my sight again. Do you believe that your safe with me Pops?" I nodded and Alex gave me a small smile, kissing my forehead gently. I was safe with him. I knew I was; I'd felt it over and over again with him. Time and time again, Alex had told me I was safe with him. Promised me. And as of yet, he hadn't broken that promise.

My problem with Jaxson, was that he wouldn't have worked this quickly to find me. It took him 4 years to find me and I was 2 hours away. I didn't even change my first name and I took my mother's maiden name. If he'd looked properly like I knew he was capable of when it came to looking for his enemies, I'd have been back here just weeks after leaving. He didn't. But Alex did. In 3 days. And he had so much less riding on it. He had a 3-month relationship. Jaxson had 2 years and a fiancée. Alex could have walked away. He could have wiped his hands with me, said it was out of his control, that he couldn't help me.

"I can see you overthinking Pops." I brought his eyes back into focus, blurry through the tears I was creating as I thought about what else could have happened if he didn't follow through on his promise.

"I watched them pull the trigger." I whimpered. "You screamed. I can hear you screaming." He shuffled, sitting up and pulled me up beside him.

"Look Poppy." He turned around, taking my hand and running it over the angry looking bruise he had in the centre of his back. "I had a vest on under my hoodie. I was never going to get hurt. I'm okay. He didn't even crack the skin." Alex turned to me and my heart rate settled a little. "Got a few nasty bruises Pops. Broken nose, but nothing serious. I'm perfectly fine." He did what he did best when I was like this, pulled me into his lap and cradled me, hands running over my bare skin gently. "I'm okay Poppy. I promise you darling. I needed you to believe it so he'd let you come to me. Once you were with me, I could keep you away from everything else that was going to happen."

"You had a plan?"

"A super in depth one." He nodded, kissing my head. "Right down to me peeing before I let them catch me and bring me down there." I looked up at him. "Cam helped. I didn't know you had a little brother."

"You don't know a lot about me."

"I know I love your hair like this." He smiled. "And I know you're safe. And I know I love you and I know I've been slacking on how spoiled you were here so I'm stepping that up." I chuckled to him. "And I know you've got friends here, Cam said they want to see you but that can wait and I know-"

"Alex."

"Yes angel."

"Thank you." I leaned up and kissed his cheek. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me."