Protect Me Not ((Un)Professionally Yours 2)

But that wasn’t the issue. No, the real problem was that Ty was usually clinical, efficient, and unemotional about his job. An incident like that didn’t usually incite such an overwhelming surge of possessive protectiveness in him. It certainly wasn’t normal for him to want to keep his charge wrapped up in his arms and hold them until their trembling subsided. But he had found it near impossible to step away from her after the immediate threat had passed.

And that was…concerning. And fucking confusing.

Cassie’s voice grew loud and shrill, and Ty’s head snapped up. He could hear Vicki speaking, her voice only slightly higher than usual, her tone calm and placating. Ty pushed to his feet, his shit-to-fan radar instantly on alert. He dropped the newspaper on the chair behind him and took a step toward the back office.

There was an alarmed scream—Vicki’s voice—followed by a crash, and the sound of breaking glass.

Chapter Five

Ty growled, adrenaline pumping as he surged to the office, aware of Linda following closely.

“Stay here.” He tossed the command over his shoulder, his entire focus on getting to that office, where Cassie’s shrill voice was spewing ugly invective. Vicki was silent and that sent Ty’s threat assessment levels off the scale. Why wasn’t she speaking? Had she been injured.

Fuck.

It took him thirty seconds to get to her office, but it felt like thirty years.

He shoved the door open violently, sending it swinging back and crashing into the wall.

His eyes evaluated the scene in seconds: Vicki crouched behind her office chair—eyes wide with shock. The coffee-stained wall behind her the desk. The shards of glass on the floor. Cassie standing with her hands planted on the desk, leaning forward, mouth open, and eyes crazed. Ty had slammed into the office while she was in mid-tirade and the words ugly cunt lingered pungently in the air.

“Fetch your crap and get out,” Ty ground out from between clenched teeth. Adrenaline was fizzing through his veins and his temper was spiking off the charts. Yet he managed to keep his voice low and controlled.

All the wind gone from her sails, Cassie shot him a wary look and—appearing to belatedly comprehend how far over the line she had stepped— carefully lifted her hands from the desk.

“Look, I just—”

“No. You do not get to speak. Just fuck off, before I call the cops and have you charged with assault,” Ty said, his voice still lethally quiet. “And don’t you dare set foot in here again.”

Cassie raised her chin belligerently and glared at Vicki. “She owes me money.”

But Ty was rapidly losing his patience with her and jabbed a finger toward the door. “Go!”

She flinched at the injection of menace into his voice and nodded.

“I-I’ll have your final paycheck transferred into your bank account by the end of day,” Vicki’s shaky voice promised,. Ty who—beyond that first cursory assessment to ensure her well-being—hadn’t looked at her since entering her office, dared to slant her a quick side glance. He was concerned that if she still looked terrified, he was going to lose his shit and physically toss Cassie out on her ass. But beyond appearing shocked, she had straightened, and was already getting some color back in her cheeks.

Cassie scowled at her malevolently, and Ty placed his bulk in front of the woman so that Vicki was no longer in her line of sight. Cassie shot him a surly look before turning to pick up her bulky bag.

“I didn’t like this shit job anyway.” She slung her bag over her shoulder, and turned around with an arrogant head toss. She sauntered out of the office, breezing past a wide-eyed Linda, who had ignored his dictate that she stay put.

He gave Linda a pointed look, wanting her to keep an eye on Cassie to make sure she didn’t suddenly develop sticky fingers on her way out of the store. Understanding his unspoken command, Linda nodded. She turned to follow Cassie, closing the door behind her.

Ty shut his eyes for a second, allowing himself a moment to regulate his breathing and heartbeat, and…okay, yes, his temper, before turning to face Vicki again.

Vicki was still standing behind her chair, looking visibly shaken, but less shocked than before.

“I’m sorry,” Ty said. He kept his voice low and gentle, hoping to alleviate even more of her shock. “I should have anticipated that the situation could go south, and should never have allowed you in here alone with her.”

He was concerned about how complacent he’d become in this assignment. A year ago, this wouldn’t have happened. The notion of leaving her alone with an employee she was about to fire would have been unthinkable. He would have contemplated all the variables and would for damned sure immediately have considered the possibility that a disgruntled employee—especially one with Cassie’s history of lies and manipulation—had the potential to react aggressively. And he would have insisted on being in the fucking room with her.