His Every Desire

The weapon’s cold metal grazed her thigh for a moment and everything slowed down to a crawl. Her vision snapped back on in time for her to look down and see the blood-red handle waiting to greet her. It was so much like her dreams that she nearly fainted.

Tracy looked back up to find the man scrambling to his feet. He already had his finger curled around the trigger. By the time that she opened her mouth to scream, he was raising the gun to meet her horrified stare.

Behind him, Paul Hayes appeared, grabbing the shoulder of the man’s leather jacket with both hands and yanking him backward.

BANG!

The gun went off. Tracy saw the brief flash at the end of the muzzle, and the bullet rocketed through the edge of her upper arm. She immediately cried out and fell to the ground, her blood spattering onto the gravel below. Red pain flowed down her arm.

Mr. Hayes, whether through his prowess or pure luck, wrestled the man to the ground and climbed on top of him. By the time Tracy was able to clamp a hand onto her wound and stand up onto her shaking legs, Mr. Hayes had beaten the assassin into unconsciousness and was still going.

"Mr. Hayes," she screamed. He kept hitting the man, pummeling him into a red pulp. He was going to kill him if he didn't stop.

He didn’t answer, but she still wasn’t close enough to reach him.

"Paul!" she cried out, desperate to keep him from making a mistake he would never forgive himself for.

Hearing her call him that name made him snap out of his blood-hungry trance. He grabbed the gun from where it had fallen and climbed off of the man, never once taking his eyes off him.

"Tracy,” he whispered as she hurried over to him. He kept the gun pointed at the man, but his eyes went to her. "Please tell me you’re okay."

She looked down at the man as a steady pattering of her blood dripped onto his jacket. Mr. Hayes had done a number on his face, but there was no doubting who it was. It was the man from her dream.

“I'll survive,” she replied, putting her hand on the wound and applying pressure. It hurt like hell, which she supposed was a good thing. If it didn't hurt she'd be far more worried. “You saved me.”

“I heard you scream,” Mr. Hayes said quietly, returning his gaze to their attacker. “You shouldn't have come, Tracy. He could have killed you.”

“He was coming for you,” Tracy replied defensively. “I just distracted him.”

Mr. Hayes glanced in her direction, his face going pale. “That explains some things.”

Tracy snapped her head up at the sound of a car peeling out and scatting little rocks everywhere. “No!” she whispered, taking a step away. It was John Tice and he was well on his way to being long gone.

"What is it?" Mr. Hayes asked, keeping his eyes and the gun on the would-be-assassin.

"It’s John. He’s getting away,” Tracy replied, frustration making her words sharp. “He's not even going to try and help this guy.”

It came as no surprise to either of them. John Tice was the type of guy who got away with things because of his position, even if that meant throwing his hired help under the bus. It was nothing new, but it made Tracy wonder if maybe they had scared him enough to lay low. Maybe her restaurant wouldn’t be worth it to him anymore and they could go back to their lives.

“Get my phone,” Mr. Hayes commanded. “Left back pocket. Just hit the six and hold.”

Tracy did exactly as he said. Within seconds of being pushed, a voice came through. “Hayes Security. Mr. Hayes, how may I help you?”

“I need a full detail at my current location. Level five,” Mr. Hayes barked. “And tracking on John Tice.”

“Of course sir,” the voice replied. “The estimated time of arrival will be six minutes.”

Tracy stared at the phone. It was a ten minute drive just to the highway.

“I also need a doctor,” Mr. Hayes added, his voice softening slightly.

“One of the security detail is a fully trained medic, sir. Will that suffice or would you prefer a medical doctor?” the voice asked. “ETA for a MD is thirty minutes.”

“The medic will suffice until the doctor gets here,” Mr. Hayes replied. “But I want the doctor.”

“Of course, sir. The team will be there shortly. Would you like me to stay on the line until they arrive?”

“That's not necessary,” Mr. Hayes informed the voice.