The Auction House Deal: Bought by A Billionaire

Chapter 176: Close Call II: Hannah

The bodyguards moved with us down the block.

My thoughts were just a blissful haze of thoughts and images about the dresses we picked out for the gala, and just how thoughtful Milan had been. It was all starting to take shape, and I was just so happy and relieved to know that I was doing the right thing.

Already, there were ripples of change around me. My only hope was to change the lives I wanted to help most, women in need.

Just then, there was a loud banging down the road.

I jumped and looked in its direction. My heart squeezed and fluttered, a hand flying to my chest to steady its beating.

My eyes panned to Lori, who looked startled as well, but not as worried.

"Must have been a fender bender," she suggested.

I nodded and took in a deep breath. It worried me it was in the direction of Roman"s company, but I tried not to think on it too much. We were heading that way, anyways, so we would be there soon and I would have peace of mind when my eyes landed on him and knew he was safe.

"Oh, hang on. Lauren is calling," Lori muttered, pulling out her phone.

They talked briefly about business and then looked over to me.

"Would you and Roman want to do dinner? Lauren is feeling Italian."

"Sure," I nodded.

They chatted for a couple minutes, but when sirens blared nearby, I blinked.

Cops and ambulances then shot by us.

I watched as they went, praying they would stop short or go further on than Roman’s business.

Time felt as though it slowed down as they passed each building, I was practically counting the moments as they drove.

They couldn’t stop at Roman’s. Why would they? Even if they did, it was surely just a fender bender, right?

My heart plummeted into my stomach as the ambulance and cops stopped on a dime, right in front of Roman’s building.

Lori and I looked at one another, and she promptly hung up on Lauren as we headed over to the company with the bodyguards.

We couldn’t move as fast as I wanted to, as the bodyguards insisted we get there safely. They still moved around us in a formation, and even waited for the crosswalk sign to change before crossing the road. I felt ready to snap and freak out on them, but I knew they were just doing their job.

Finally, once we crossed the road, we hurried down the sidewalk. A sizable crowd had formed around the crash. I pushed through people, needing to see who was involved.

Something in the pit of my being told me that it was Roman. That Roman had been hurt. My mind was going crazy.

Just as the last of the people parted, I saw him.

A loud gasp escaped me. Pushing past the onlookers, I hurried over to him.

"Are you okay?" I exclaimed as I approached.

My hands immediately cradled his face and my eyes darted all over the place, taking in the damage and trying to get a food read on the situation. He looked okay, and, if anything, a bit annoyed. There were little scratches all over his face, but that was the only damage I could see.

"I’m fine," he breathed, his tone reassuring.

It was then that my eyes finally took in the scene around us. There was a car that had clearly been hit from behind, but at a weird angle. There was glass and little shards of metal all over the place. I couldn’t make sense of what possibly could have happened there.

I looked up at him with a pleading look. "What happened?" I asked.

He took in a deep breath. He draped an arm around me and brought me close.

"Some car came out of nowhere, got up on the curb in what I’m guessing was an attempt to hit me. Then it hit this car while trying to hurry away.

They hurried off down the street before I could even question what was going on."

"Oh my god," I breathed.

I didn’t know what else to do. I just held onto him.

I couldn’t imagine what would have happened had he been hit. It sounded and looked as though he was lucky to just get away with some scratches.

"Are you sure you’re okay?" He nodded.

"Yeah. I was a little shaken up, but that’s about it."

A paramedic approached and took us over to one of the ambulances and sat him on the edge of the truck. They cleaned his little scratches and performed a couple of noninvasive exams to make sure he was really okay.

I was touching him, to a certain degree, the entire time. I didn’t want to let him go, not entirely. I needed that constant, physical reassurance that he was there with me.

Life was too fragile. Had he reacted even a fraction of a second slower, he could have been severely injured or even worse. And I would have just been down the street, standing about dumbly.

My brow furrowed then. "Did you not have a bodyguard with you?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No, I, uh, I left them all with you."

A little bit of frustration flared in me, but it was misplaced, and I knew it. Roman hadn’t meant anything but good by it. He was just wanting to make sure I was protected and safe after what happened. Still, we would have to talk about his decision making later. Right then, what was important was that he was okay.

If it had been any other situation, another question would have been imminent: who did this?

I didn’t have to guess, and I didn’t have to ask. It would have been no one other than a member of the Auction House. I wondered if it was the same person, or someone else. There was no way to know, I was sure.

We needed to talk to Marcus and Ed, but I also didn’t say that. I was sure that Roman had already drawn that conclusion. There was nothing I could really add to the situation but my comfort.

I stayed by him as the paramedic cleared him. All the paramedic suggested was to keep the cuts clean, and to rest. Hugging myself to his side, we headed back over to the sidewalk and found the group of bodyguards and Lori.

"I’m reassigning myself to you," Miguel muttered.

"Good idea," Roman nodded.

"Are you okay?" Lori asked with a frown.

Roman waved off her concern but gave her a polite expression. "Yeah, yeah.

I’ll be okay."

"Hannah and I had talked about dinner plans all together. You guys get home safely and we will catch up another day, okay? Please text me when you get there."

"I will," I nodded and hugged her briefly. I then looked up to Roman.

"You think two of them could take Lori home?"

"Probably a good idea," he nodded.

Two of them assisted Lori back to my town car to take her home. The rest followed Roman and me into the parking garage of the company once we were let go by the cops.

There was a weird sort of tension between Roman and the law enforcement. As soon as we were out of hearing range, I peered up to him.

"What was that about?" I asked.

"They are just jerks," he muttered. "I already mentioned Ed and Marcus and they immediately didn’t care anymore. Probably feel like their toes are being stepped on."

"Well that’s just rude," I frowned. "You would think they would just want to make sure you’re okay. And that things are appropriately handled."

He tossed an arm around my shoulders.

"Most cops don’t become cops to save the day. They become cops for a paycheck, like most things. But it’s alright. I’ll call Ed and Marcus in a little while and explain everything."

"I’m just so glad you got out of the way," I frowned.

"I don’t know what I would do without you."

"Takes more than some poor driving to get one over on me," he said with a weak, lopsided grin.

I stared at him with the same frown. I knew he was just trying to lighten the mood, but I wasn’t having it.

"We will take more precautions," he assured me when I didn’t back down.

The bodyguards checked out the entire car before they would even let us touch it.

We were back in a position that car bombs or tampering were a real threat.

My mind was already trying to shut down, to disconnect, to pretend it wasn’t happening. I held onto reality.

Roman needed me, even if he wouldn’t put it into words.

Whatever was going to happen, we had to get through it together. We just also happened to need a team of professionals to get us there.

Once they motioned us to the car, I realized that I was anxious. Were they sure they checked it thoroughly enough? What if someone had sabotaged it discreetly?

My legs were shaking, and I felt Roman’s arm tighten about me.