Salvation (The Protectors 2)

I followed Seth off the elevator but nearly slammed into him when he stopped suddenly in front of me. I immediately looked around to see what had frozen him in place, at the same time that I stepped around him to shield him. My gun was drawn by the time I searched out what he’d been looking at. Seth’s car sat exactly where we’d left it, but all four tires were flat and even from where we stood, I could clearly make out the words spray painted in red along the side of the car.

Cocksucker.

I searched the rest of the garage for any signs of life but there was no one. I knew whoever had vandalized the car couldn’t have done it long ago or someone would have reported it by now. I took Seth’s hand in mine as I approached the car and tested the paint. Sure enough, it was still wet.

I heard a muffled wheeze behind me and saw that Seth was struggling to draw in air. I knew he was hyperventilating because his whole body was shaking and he was shockingly pale. “Baby, look at me,” I said as I tucked my gun in my waistband and put my hands on his face. “Hold your breath, okay?”

Seth shook his head violently.

“I know it’s scary but I need you to do it.”

After a few more unsuccessful attempts to draw in air, Seth did as I said and held his breath. I counted slowly and methodically before I told him to release it. I promptly repeated the process and continued to do it until I saw the color start to return to Seth’s face.

“Better?” I asked.

Seth managed a nod but he was still shaking as his eyes skirted back to his car. “Hold on to me,” I said as I took his hand in mine while I reached for my phone with the other one. I led Seth back to the elevator as I waited for the police to pick up. Unlike our elevator ride down to the garage, Seth refused to leave my side and he was gripping my hand with both of his. Once I had given the police the building address, I hung up the phone and turned to Seth and pulled him into my arms. He went willingly and I didn’t feel my own body relax until he finally wrapped his arms around me.

* * *

It took several hours to talk to the police and arrange to have Seth’s car towed to a mechanic after the police finished dusting it for prints. The officer had questioned us in the garage near the car which had made Seth edgy again, but I’d managed to keep him settled by holding on to his hand. When the officer had asked what we wanted done with the car, Seth had been adamant about not wanting to ever see it again. It was a clear indication that though he was holding it together, he was struggling to do so.

I’d called Hawke to tell him what had happened because I wanted him to be on alert in case whoever had vandalized the car decided to go after Seth at his house. The officer had been certain it was just kids messing around and I hadn’t bothered to correct him. The vandalism wouldn’t be much more than a blip on the cop’s radar…to me it was yet another warning that Seth was being targeted.

It wasn’t quite dark by the time we arrived back at Seth’s house. Seth hadn’t said a thing once we left the city and he’d folded in on himself once he’d collapsed in the passenger seat of the rental car that I’d had brought to his office. Several people had seen the commotion in the garage as they were leaving work for the day and many of them had been Seth’s employees. The cops hadn’t bothered to cover up the vile word scrawled on the car so there was no way for Seth to escape the humiliation of it all. Even Stan had come down to investigate and console Seth. And then he’d announced to everyone within hearing range that he was expediting the process of having a security firm come in and monitor things.

I wanted to punch the fucker in the throat.

Since I’d forgotten to grab the opener for the gate from Seth’s car before leaving, I had to enter the code into the keypad. The gate opened and I drove through but I waited until I was sure it had closed behind us before driving up to the house. I knew the security for Seth’s house would be next on my list. As big as the property was, there were just too many points of entry for someone to access the grounds. Putting a fence around it was the first line of defense, but he’d need some other security measures as well. If I had my way, he’d hire himself a couple of full time guards to monitor the property.