Mine To Protect
Chapter 77
Phillip’s POV
I don’t think I have ever driven as fast as I did today. I wouldn’t leave her ever again. She will
stay with me from now on, and if that means we need to ride back home with Colton, we will.
Addison was shaking in my arms as I held her. I have never seen her so scared. I want to beat
the hell out of whoever did this to her. Colton had told me a little of what happened, but I was
so upset by what he said that I stopped listening. Frightened about what happened to
Addison. I would never forgive myself if something happened to her. My heart was racing all
the way here. I was worried about Addison.
“Addi, baby, what happened?” I asked. Seeing her in this state is killing me.
“A guy at the restaurant was waiting outside for me. He grabbed me and asked me to leave
with him. He wanted to sleep with me,” Addison managed to get out before burrowing deeper
into my arms.
“He threatened her, Phillip. I know you weren’t listening to me, but he said that he would be
seeing her again and that she wouldn’t have a choice about sleeping with him the next time.
He meant it, Phillip. He wasn’t aware I was behind him, and he was serious. He is planning on
taking her, and I think he is one of the men working with Tammy,” Colton told me.
“What? He threatened her?” I heard a voice behind me, and I turned my head to see Garrett
standing there. When did he get here? He had better be glad that Addison is holding onto me
like a koala bear, or I would be happy to deal with him. I didn’t care if we were in a police
station or not. He took her out but didn’t take care of her. She ended up almost getting taken. I
knew I couldn’t trust him from the moment I saw him.
“Where were you, Garrett? You were supposed to be with her. How did Addison almost get
abducted if you were with her?” I snapped out.
“Sir, please calm down. This isn’t helping Ms. Vilario. She said she wasn’t hurt but may still be
in shock. Focus on her, as she will need to be taken care of. She had a pretty bad scare,” the
officer told me.
I knew he didn’t want a fight breaking out in here, but it wouldn’t be a fight. It would just be me kicking Garrett’s ass. I forced myself to calm down. He is right. I can’t afford to spend the night in jail. I need to be there for Addison. I will help her through this. Tammy and the men working with her crossed the line. They better hope the police get to her and her goons before
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I do.
I kissed Addison’s head, trying to comfort her as my mind raced. Colton doesn’t make wild accusations. If he said he felt like the guy was with Tammy, he was. Holding her in my arms, knowing that she was scared but unharmed, helped me to be able to calm down.
“We need proof that this guy was one of the men we’re looking for. Did you happen to get his tag, Colton?” I asked.
“I noticed he left the restaurant about five minutes before Addison did. I was there to watch
Addison, so I didn’t pay him much attention. He was trying to cover his tracks. He put a baseball cap on and took the plates off the SUV. He was pretty slick about it. I have to say that
he was very prepared. I believe the same substance found in Summer’s system will end up
being what is in the syringe I found outside the restaurant,” Colton replied. I turned towards the officer with questions all over my face.
“What syringe? What happened in the parking lot?” I heard Garrett ask in a panic. I am sure he
was asking Colton, but he left her alone in the parking lot to get attacked. He doesn’t deserve
to know.
“We have already sent it off to the lab in Dallas to be tested. It depends on how backed up
they are, how long it will take to find out,” the officer told me.
I looked back at Colton and said, “Will it have his fingerprints on it?” I asked. Praying that it
would be one more piece of evidence against that jerk for touching Addison.
“It will have his prints, Phillip. He wasn’t wearing gloves. I think he expected her to be
overpowered, and go with him willingly, like Summer did. Addison walked into my view quickly,
but I had been watching for her once she left the table. She was trying to get away from him
when he blocked her. I didn’t shut the door to my truck as I didn’t want to warn him that
anyone was there. I was able to record some of their conversation. He did threaten her, and I
have that on video. I did get some of his face when she pulled away from him and ran towards
- me. But he lowered his face quickly after he saw me filming him. I gave everything I had to the
officer. I will also send a copy to her family’s attorney. I think it is odd that he was here, in
Frisco. We need to tug that line to see if anyone here recognizes him,” Colton replied.
“What happened in the parking lot?” Garrett tried to interject again. He put his good hand out
towards Colton to get his attention. He was getting frustrated, and I know he felt guilty. It was
written all over his face. This happened on his watch. He had better be glad the officers here
would stop me if I decided to deck him. I knew I needed to be there for Addison. That is
honestly the only thing saving him right now.
Addison shuddered against me, and I could feel her tears soaking through my shirt. I needed
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to get her home. “Colton, I will stay with Addison tonight. I can’t leave her alone. She is going to need me tonight. I will bring her back home with me. You can follow up with the officer so he is up to speed on all parts of this investigation,” I told him.
“Stop ignoring me, Phillip. I want to know what happened at the restaurant. You and your guy here keep ignoring me. Is Addison alright?” Garrett’s voice rose in frustration.
“No, she’s not. What do you even care, Garrett? Why weren’t you with her when this happened? This might have been prevented if you had stayed with her. This was an attempted a*******n, and it didn’t happen in an instant. So where the hell were you?” my voice rose as I yelled back at him. I stopped speaking and used my hands to cover Addison’s ears for the next part.
“If I hadn’t sent Colton to look after her, God only knows what might have happened to her. I was wrong to support her coming back here. She didn’t have all the information she needed to make an informed decision. Tammy is much more dangerous than any of us knew. I wanted to lure them out, to send them all to prison. I never wanted to allow them to lay one finger on Addison. They’ve gone too far now. I will get my investigator on this now instead of leaving it to the police. This has been going on for too long and needs to end. I won’t allow Addison to get hurt again. I’m taking her back home to Dallas tomorrow,” I told Garrett.
I saw the shock cross his face before the anger took over. He still hoped he could take her away from me. Addison had been in danger, and God only knew what he had been doing, letting her walk off by herself. I made a mental note to tell Paul to disregard the investigation I gave him today. It wasn’t necessary anymore. I would get him to find Tammy and the men working with her. Addison was still shaking in my arms and wouldn’t let me go. She was terrified. I almost wanted to thank him, too. He probably killed any lingering affection she
might have had for him tonight.
“Colton, can you tell him the full story after we leave? I don’t want Addison to be more upset than she already is. Garrett, I want to remind you that you are still banned from her property. I would suggest you leave her alone tonight. You’ve done enough. Have you taken her statement, officer? Can she leave?” I asked the officer.
“I already have her statement. I need her phone number to finish the report off,” the officer
replied.
“Colton can give that to you. He will also give you my information, as well. She isn’t safe here, and I refuse to let anything else happen to her. But if needed, we can come back,” I told the officer and nodded at Colton. Colton will take care of everything. I knew I could trust him.
That guy ran off with his tail between his legs and is probably long gone. I have security in place at her house. I will have her packed up tonight and ready to return home in the morning.
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I will have my lead take over the rest of the renovation. Everything has been chosen and
selected. He only needed to oversee the rest of the project. I won’t punish Addison by making her stay here. I already knew if Colton told me what was said was terrible, it was.
“I’m taking you home, baby,” I told her gently as I bent to pick her up. She lay her head against
my shoulder. I was petty enough to turn her away from Garrett so he couldn’t see her face
again. He didn’t deserve to get to see her. Garrett stepped towards Addison, but Holden held
his arm out and stopped him from getting to her. Holden then hurried over to hold the door
open for me. I thanked him as I walked out with Addison in my arms. I only put her down to let her get in my SUV.
She held my hand the whole way home. She was still visibly upset, and I could understand why. She had been relatively sheltered her entire life. Her mother kept her almost hidden away, except for going to school. She had been given a series of hard knocks, but my Addi was strong. She would be OK, but for the next few days, I would be there for her every step of the way. I was going to make sure that she was safe from now on. What the hell had Garrett been thinking? I was already making mental notes on what I needed to do.
I would run her a nice bath, grab her nightclothes, and get her in the tub to relax. I was going to grab my shower while she was in the tub. I couldn’t risk her needing me and not being there for her. I knew she would have nightmares, and I was planning on being with her the whole night. I would get her something to eat, as Colton had been texting me throughout their little ‘date‘. I knew she hadn’t eaten. I would order out, and have Dale grab it when it arrived. Security has already been increased. I’m going to sleep with Addison, not to have s*x, but to comfort her throughout the night.
