(18+) RED (Complete)

Ch. 77: Safety

"Hold it right there!" Bill shouted, and caught a confused Mr. Maxwell's attention. Two guns were pointed at him, but he kept aiming his own at Mia. She was starting to wake up and moaned silently, and I prayed to God that she didn't move and got shot because of that.

"Stop, or I'll shoot!" he yelled at my bodyguards, who slowly lowered their guns. I caught Bill's gaze and hoped he understood my plea to distract the crazy man. Luckily, he did.

Silently, I grabbed a large glass bowl and sneaked my way around the kitchen counter, but Mr. Maxwell turned toward me too soon for me to get anywhere. He barked a threat and automatically aimed the gun at me, which was a big mistake for him. And the second he noticed, it was too late. Two gunshots were fired at once, and Mr. Maxwell sank down on his knees with a groan. Seconds after his gun went off too, barely missing JB, who came barging to my assistance. And from then on, everything went fast.

Bill ran over to Mr. Maxwell and held him down. And out of nowhere, the house got crowded with policemen. It was a complete chaos. And in the middle of it all was Mia, slowly sitting up while she rubbed her head.

"Mia! Babe!" I called out, but there were too many people shouting. So, naturally, I elbowed my way to her. Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough. By the time I got to where she'd been lying, she'd jolted up and ran out, past the police officers and two paramedics, and in the direction of the pool.

"Oh, no you don't," I said to myself, but couldn't help but to smile. I was starting to learn how her mind worked by now, and I knew her first reaction to any potential danger was to flee. Only, she couldn't flee when she had a gun pointing to her head. So I guessed this was some sort of delayed reaction to everything, and that I needed to catch her as soon as possible.

So I ran after her. Of course I did. As expected, she didn't stop even though I called her name repeatedly. Her brain probably didn't even register it. That's why I tackled her to the ground the second I was close enough, and pinned her down.

"Leave me alone!" she cried, and my heart broke a little when I saw the tears that rolled down her cheeks and mixed with the dried blood on the side of her face. But instead of saying anything, I kissed her. Then I smiled when I got the reaction I hoped for.

Beautiful brown eyes blinked up at me, and she seemed to slowly come back to reality.

"It's too much," she sniffled. "I can't think."

I kissed her again and adjusted myself so I wasn't leaning my full weight on her anymore.

"You don't have to. Everything is fine now. You're safe. We are safe."

"But..."

"You're not running away, babe, because I'm not letting you go this time."

She sniffled again and choked a sob, but didn't say anything.

"You don't believe her, do you?" I asked, thinking about the things Veronica said, and she immediately shook her head. And finally, I could spot a tiny smile.

"Good. You shouldn't, because nothing of that was true. I don't even know how she came up with that. And that ring?"

I chuckled. I might as well just tell her, because she was too much of a good girl to take my bait anyway.

"It was meant to be yours, Mia. I was just waiting for you to get curious enough to look into my nightstand."

"Your nightstand?"

I could tell she tried to puzzle it together.

"Yes. Remember the second time you were here? I walked into the bathroom and told you not to peek? But I wanted you to peek, and I hoped you would find the ring together with the letter I wrote. I even had a rose ready so I could give you after you'd read it. A red, long stemmed one, just the way you like."

I could drown in her eyes right now. The way they sparkled through her tears, and her mesmerizing smile hit me deep down in my soul.

"Really?" she asked shyly, and I nodded.

"Really."

I kissed her again, soft and promising, and I suddenly wished we were someplace else. Just the two of us. Instead I framed her face with my hands and gave her one last peck on the lips. Her wound was still bleeding a bit so I got blood on my fingers, but she was beautiful nonetheless.

"I love you," I smiled, and loved it when she smiled so hard that she had to bite her lip.

"I love you too."

She let me help her up, and we brushed off our clothes before we headed back to the house.

"I didn't mean to run away," she apologized.

"I know," I answered and chuckled to myself. Then I squeezed her hand.

"It was my anxiety. I just get so overwhelmed."

"I know."

"And your nightstand... You told me not to look."

"I know that too. You're too precious. That's why I'm trying to teach you to be a little naughty once in a while."

I smirked mischievously and let go of her hand so I could spank her.

"Michael!" she exclaimed when my hand made a sharp contact with her asscheek. Mmm. It was so full and round. Then I cursed at myself for wanting to do it again. That, and lots of other things too. But now was not the time. Now it was time to talk to the police. So that's what we did.

It turned out that Mr. Maxwell somehow had managed to drug the coffee, so all of my three security guards had fallen asleep. Pretty ironic. He did exactly what his son did when he drugged all those girls. And if it wasn't for Bill trying to call his colleagues on duty, it would probably not have been noticed until tomorrow, unless either Mia or I managed to call 911. Or Veronica. Where was she anyway? They'd searched all the facilities on my ranch, but nobody could find her. And they'd have to wait until the morning to search outside. Safe to say; we took our precautions and left. Hayvenhurst was a lot safer for us. And exhausted and comforted by each other, we fell asleep in each other's arms.