Sapphire

Chapter 44

His lips were on her neck. Terror squeezed at her heart as soon as those three words left his mouth, but she had orders not to resist. She wouldn't be strong enough to defend herself on her own; she was supposed to wait for help.

It wasn't until she felt his teeth graze against her delicate skin that she finally heard someone at the entrance of the alleyway.

"FBI, get off of her." It was Noah that yelled the words, she recognized the sound of it immediately. The man reacted to the threat by pulling out a knife and pressing the tip of it into her side after spinning her around. Back pressed against his front, his arm around her neck to secure her, and a blade digging into her flesh. She tried not to scream.

"Ah. You found me." The man growled. Was that pride in his voice?

"Let. Her. Go." Noah repeated. Shay looked at him with pleading eyes as he pointed a gun in their direction, confused that Summer and Jon were nowhere to be found. The knife pressed deeper into her skin and she winced as the warm blood trickled into her dress.

"I'm disappointed there's only one of you, though. How do you expect this to end?" The killer questioned.

"With you behind bars." None of them heard Summer approaching from behind, not until she spoke. Before anyone could react, she yanked his arm back and disarmed him while Jon assisted by clocking him in the face. Within a minute, the man was on the ground with his wrists in shackles while his weapon was out of reach next to him. Turns out, it was a wooden stake instead of a knife, which only increased the nausea building in Shay's stomach.

"Are you okay?" Noah demanded when he standing in front of her, his eyes wide with concern. He glanced down at her midsection and a look of horror crossed his features. "Shit, I'm so sorry."

"It's fine, really." Shay assured him. When the shock wore off, she was left with a minor sense of calm at the knowledge that this man couldn't hurt anybody else.

"We gotta get you back so I can take a look at it." Noah persisted.

"You guys go and we'll take care of the body." Summer offered.

Body? He was still alive. Before Shay could ask what exactly she meant by that, Noah was pulling her back to the street.

"I knew this was a bad idea. I can't believe I let you do this." Noah grumbled. His hand was wrapped tightly around her bicep and his eyes were glaring forward, the anger radiating off of his body in a terrifying way.

"I'm ok, Noah. Really." Shay placated. "It was my choice and it worked."

Suddenly, he let go of her and spun around, stopping her in her tracks. "What if I got there too late? What if he killed you?" He was glaring at her now and buried underneath the rage, she saw the raw fear. She smiled reassuringly at him when she realized he was just worried about her safety.

"Noah, I'm okay. Really."

His fists were clenched at his sides and he took another deep breath before spinning around and continuing on his way. Shay walked behind him and brainstormed ways to calm him down.

When they got to the apartment, Noah led her to the bathroom and stood with his arms crossed by the double sink. "Take off your dress. I need to see it."

Shay looked at him timidly as she turned around, pulling her hair to the front so he could undo the zipper. Unlike the other times he'd assisted her, he moved so fast that it was on the floor before she could say a word.

Then she turned around, wearing nothing but her underwear. Noah didn't seem to notice and instead focused on the wound marring her waist. It wasn't deep, she knew that. Still, it was best to wash it and bandage it so it didn't get infected.