Page 23 of Beautiful Sight
“Would you please tell Jefferson I’ll be back as soon as I deal with this?”
“I can do that,” Marla said just before the sound of a tapping keyboard began.
Knowing she had been dismissed, Tessa turned and walked away. As she made her way down the hall to Jefferson’s personal elevator, she made a conscious effort to use the cane Devon had given her the day before, as well as counting her steps.
As expected, the elevator doors opened immediately when she pushed the call button. She was finding out that being the alpha’s mate did come with some perks, like having an elevator available whenever she needed.
Stepping inside, she said, “I want to go to the lobby.”
Turning, she stepped to the side and took hold of the railing around the elevator with her free hand to help ground herself.
“Lobby,” the electronic voice announced before Tessa was ready to arrive. She took a deep breath and stepped out into the lobby anyway.
Turning to the left, she counted the paces and jumped when her cane hit the building’s reception desk.
“Ms. Dubois, can I help you?” The voice on the other side of the desk was deep and slightly accented. She was sure she had met the man before, but could not put a name on him.
“I was told there was someone here asking for me?”
“That would be me,” Theo said as the strong scent of his unwashed and sweaty body wrapped around her. Before she could react, he wrapped a hand around her arm and squeezed tight enough that she knew there would be bruises later. “Let’s go over here and talk, Mother.”
“Ms. Dubois?”
Tessa winced when Theo’s hold on her arm tightened painfully. “Please let Mr. Carstairs know I’m visiting with my son in the lobby.” Tessa hoped the guard got the subtle message her words conveyed.
Before the guard could agree, Theo began to pull her away from the reception desk. She only hoped he had called Jefferson directly and not left a message with Marla. Several people bumped into her and when she stumbled, he squeezed tighter and jerked on her arm.
“Ow, Theo, stop hurting me!” she cried out.
“Shut up. What are you doing here anyway? I couldn’t believe it when I saw you walking into the building a little while ago. You’re supposed to be in Bolivia or somewhere by now,” Theo said when he finally stopped and turned to face her. “Is this why Sonny is demanding I get you back for him?”
“Why are you doing this?” Tessa asked, trying to pull her arm free from his painfully tight hold.
Theo ignored her question. “I couldn’t believe it when I saw you walk past and then come into this building. Maybe now Sonny will cancel my entire debt. What are you doing here anyway? The guard said something about you being a guest of Jefferson Carstairs.”
Tessa wasn’t sure what was going on but knew she needed to stall in order to give Jefferson time to come and hopefully rescue her. Or would the guard call Marla instead, which would leave her on her own?
“Yes, I’m living here. Why would I willingly go back to Sonny? He was going to sell me in a slave auction. I’m not going to become a slave to pay your debts. Now, let me go!” Tessa raised her voice so that by the end she was screaming.
Theo ignored her and began to drag her behind him. “Come on. Sonny should be waiting outside by now.”
She didn’t know why no one was stepping in. It might be that there was no one in the lobby, but more likely it was that they didn’t realize who she was.
Taking a breath, she decided it was time to become the tigress Jefferson called her. Judging the distance, she lifted her leg and instead of taking a step, she swung her leg up and around, shocked when her boot actually connected with Theo’s leg.
He cried out and began to drop so she jerked her arm free, surprised when he actually released her arm. Taking another step, she kicked again and caught him in what she hoped was his side. He cried out again but did not come after her when she turned and began to run.
She only took three steps before she ran into someone large and hard. “Please help me,” she cried, “he’s trying to kidnap me.”
“I know,” Jefferson said. His arms encircled her and held her securely as she felt several people rush by.
“Theo wanted to take me back to Sonny,” she said before burying her face into his shirt and bursting into tears. “I was afraid the guard would call Marla and she wouldn’t give you the message and I’d end up in Bolivia or somewhere.”
“Shhhh, tigress. It’s all right. Everything will be all right,” Jefferson assured her. He hugged her tight and his cheek rested on top of her head, making her feel like she was fully surrounded by her mate.
Though she knew it was crazy of her, she sobbed, “Don’t let them hurt him.”
“Don’t worry, mate. No one is going to hurt him … much,” Jefferson said, his voice low and fierce. “We need to question him about Sonny and his trafficking ring. Then, if he’s lucky, we’ll hand him over to the bland police and let them dispense justice.”