SEAL Protected by Rosa Foxxe Page B

head slowly, but that made the world spin even faster. “Taryn, help me.” Together, my friends pulled me to my feet. My other heel had come off. I stood barefoot in the alley, shivering. My coat had fallen. Taryn picked it up. Cindy brushed at wetness on my cheeks and I was suddenly aware I was crying.
     
    “Michelle, honey, talk to us,” said Taryn. I swallowed hard, tasting bile, and nodded to them.
     
    “I’ll be okay.”
     
    “We should call someone to pick you up,” said Taryn. I cringed, knowing what my father would say - that it was my fault; that I’d brought it on myself. I wanted to puke. Of course, he wouldn’t think of the disgusting excuse for a human being that man had to be. It was obviously my fault alone. I spat hard at the ground. The fear was gone from my body and I only felt a hot anger bubbling in my stomach. It churned the contents of my stomach, leaving me nauseated and disoriented. Tears blurred my vision again and Taryn rubbed my shoulders. Should I have been more upset about being attacked? Probably. I would be later, I knew. But for now, I was distracted.
     
    Cindy dug into my purse and pulled out my phone. She walked down the alley as she dialed. Her voice carried down the alleyway, but it was broken up. I heard her ask for a car, say something about a club and a drunk, but nothing else filtered through the haze that had fallen over me. Then she hung up and walked back to us, nodding.
     
    “The car will be here in a few minutes.” She eyed me again. “Are you sure you’re all right?” she asked.
     
    I sighed and took a second to think about it. I was bruised, soaked, and bleeding. My face probably looked terrible, my dress was ruined, and the pain on my neck told me I had the worst kind of hickey. I was still crying, but the tears were starting to stop, and it took me a moment of thinking to realize I was shaking. I sighed, but it came out as more of a shuddering exhale. “I don’t know,” I finally said. “I honestly do not know.”
     
    Cindy and Taryn tried asking me a few more questions, but I shrugged off everything and started to pace a small patch of the alley. What would I said to my father? What would I do next? I scrubbed my hands over my face. I was a grown woman – by all rights I shouldn’t have to deal with my father like this anymore. I wasn’t a child to punish; I was a woman to debate with. I almost snorted. Of course, he never saw it that way.
     
    The car pulled up and I nodded to Cindy and Taryn as the driver got out. “Will you two be okay?”
     
    “Yeah,” said Taryn. “We’ll call a cab and head back to my place, no worries.” Taryn frowned at me, her eyes shadowed by worry. “Stay safe.”
     
    I swallowed around the lump in my throat and nodded. “You too,” I said. The driver gave a slight nod to me as I climbed into the car.
     
    “Your father wishes to speak with you,” he said in a detached voice. I sighed and leaned by head against the window of the car, closing my eyes.
     
    “I figured,” I muttered. “But first – cheeseburger.”
     
    “Are you sure, madam?” he asked.
     
    I said, “Yes. After all that, I want a damn cheeseburger. My father can wait.”
     
    “As you wish, madam.” I swore I could hear him smiling. The car started up and drove down the street. The light of the moon touched my eyelids as we drove. I opened up my eyes and watched it pass us by. Despite my dread, I felt momentarily comforted with the thought that there was something watching over me – hopefully it would be as effective as my friends had been.

Chapter 2
    While the driver had said my father wanted to see me immediately, by the time I got home his adviser had talked him down and I was told to sleep in my old room. I wanted to go home, but by then it was after two in the morning and sleep was more important than the place I slept.
     
    I slept fitfully and when morning came I showered and scrubbed every speck of blood and grim off my