Chapter 9: A Clear Message
1893 Words
The next evening, Alex sat at the far end of the hotel bar with a glass of whiskey he had barely touched.
The day had run long. Meetings had taken up most of the afternoon, while Claire had spent the rest of it going through notes and fixing the schedule for the following day.
After dinner, she had gone upstairs to change.
Alex told her he would wait for her at the bar.
The place was quieter tonight. Music played beneath the low murmur of a few tables, and Alex sat with his back to the wall, letting his eyes move around the room every so often out of habit.
He had barely touched his whiskey when three men from the Blades walked in.
He knew them immediately.
Marcus was at the front, broad through the shoulders, with a scar running down one side of his face. Alex had seen his name in the files of people watching Claire, and he already didn’t like him.
After what had happened in the hallway the night before, seeing him walk into the bar was enough to put Alex on edge.
Marcus noticed him almost immediately.
He said something to the two men behind him, and they laughed as the three of them approached.
Alex didn’t get up.
Marcus leaned against the bar beside him.
“Look who it is. The bodyguard.”
Alex kept his eyes on his glass.
“Or should I call you the boyfriend now?”
Alex slowly looked up.
Whatever Marcus saw in his expression made his shoulders straighten slightly.
“I heard the pretty little thing’s staying here,” Marcus continued. “Claire, right?”
Alex’s jaw tightened.
Marcus noticed but didn’t seem to care.
“She’s attractive. I get why you’re so protective.”
“Watch what you say.”
Alex placed his glass on the bar.
Marcus laughed.
“What? You get mad every time someone brings her up?”
He leaned closer.
“Girls like her aren’t hard to get once they’re alone.”
Alex was on his feet before he even thought about it.
The atmosphere around them changed immediately.
Marcus’s two friends stepped forward, but stopped when Alex looked at them.
“Say that again.”
Marcus’s smile remained, but it wasn’t as confident anymore.
“You heard me.”
Alex grabbed a fistful of Marcus’s shirt and pulled him away from the bar.
Marcus stumbled, caught off guard by the sudden movement. He quickly swung at Alex, but Alex stepped aside and the punch missed.
Before Marcus could regain his balance, Alex drove his fist into his face.
The impact echoed through the quiet bar.
Marcus staggered backward, one hand flying to his nose as blood appeared between his fingers.
Alex didn’t stop.
He drove another punch into Marcus’s stomach.
Marcus folded with a gasp.
Alex caught him by the collar before he could hit the floor.
“Listen.”
His voice dropped low.
“This is the last time I’m telling you. Stay away from Claire.”
Marcus nodded quickly, still struggling to breathe.
Alex leaned closer.
“Next time, I won’t be this patient.”
He held Marcus for another second.
“If I hear one more word from you or anyone you work with, this gets a lot worse. You understand me?”
Marcus nodded again.
Alex released him.
Marcus slid against the wall, one hand still pressed against his bleeding nose.
“This was your warning.”
Alex walked back to his stool without looking behind him.
Nobody said anything.
His hand was steady when he picked up his glass again.
A few minutes later, Claire came downstairs wearing a dark dress, her hair loose around her shoulders.
She looked around the room and immediately spotted Marcus.
Blood stained the front of his shirt while a hotel employee stood nearby, clearly unsure what to do with him.
Claire stopped.
Her eyes moved from Marcus to Alex before she crossed the room and sat beside him.
“What happened?”
“He said something he shouldn’t have.”
She glanced toward the hallway, where Marcus’s friends were helping him toward the door.
He looked back once.
The moment his eyes met Alex’s, he quickly looked away.
“Did you do that?”
“Yeah.”
Claire was quiet for a second.
“About me?”
He nodded.
Her eyes dropped to his hand.
His knuckles were split and red.
She reached for them carefully.
“Does it hurt?”
“No.”
“You didn’t have to.”
“I did.”
He held her gaze.
“Nobody talks about you like that.”
She looked down at his hands for a moment.
“I don’t want you getting in trouble over this.”
Alex turned his hand over and held hers properly.
“This isn’t about you. It’s about them.”
“The Blades aren’t going to let this go.”
“I know.”
“So why push it?”
He leaned back.
“Because they needed to hear it clearly.”
“And now what?”
“I’ll take care of it.”
“Alex.”
He looked at her.
“You don’t have to handle everything alone.”
“I know that.”
His thumb moved slowly over her knuckles without him seeming to notice.
“But I’m not going to sit there while someone talks about hurting you.”
Claire didn’t answer immediately.
Her mind went back to the hallway the night before.
Marcus’s hand closing around her wrist.
The fear that had taken over when he cornered her.
Then Alex appearing through the door with a look on his face she had never seen before.
She looked down at her wrist.
“I keep thinking about last night.”
“Your wrist still bothering you?”
“It’s fine. The mark’s basically gone.”
She held it up.
Alex checked it anyway.
“You’d tell me if it wasn’t.”
“It’s fine, Alex.”
He let it go.
The bartender walked over and asked if everything was okay.
Alex told him it was.
The man’s eyes moved to Alex’s knuckles, then toward the hallway, but he didn’t ask any more questions. He simply left another drink on the bar and moved on.
Claire was still holding Alex’s hand.
“I saw the blood on him.”
“Yeah.”
“You broke his nose.”
“Probably.”
She breathed out slowly.
“Part of me is glad you did it. Part of me is just worried.”
“About what?”
“What happens next. Guys like this hold grudges.”
“I’ll handle whatever comes.”
“You always say that.”
“Because it’s true.”
She almost smiled.
“You looked so calm walking back over.”
“I was calm.”
“After that?”
He took a drink.
“Yeah.”
Claire shook her head slightly.
“I don’t get you sometimes.”
“You don’t need to.”
She studied him for another moment.
“I trust you, though.”
Something in his expression eased.
“Good.”
“But I don’t want you turning into someone who thinks violence solves everything.”
He was quiet for a moment.
Then he nodded.
“I hear you.”
He looked down at his hand.
“That was a warning tonight. Nothing else.”
Claire didn’t say anything for a moment before taking his hand again.
“Just be careful. Promise me.”
“I will.”
They stayed there for a while as the bar slowly emptied around them, the music still playing quietly in the background.
When Alex finally stood, Claire stood with him.
Neither of them spoke on the way to the elevator.
Once the doors closed, Claire leaned lightly against his arm.
“You good?” he asked.
“Yeah. Just tired.”
He placed a hand at the small of her back.
The doors opened on their floor, and they walked toward the suite side by side.
A few steps from the door, Claire stopped.
Alex turned.
“What?”
“I know why you did it tonight. I know you’ll probably do it again if someone comes after me.”
He didn’t argue.
“I just don’t want your first answer to always be violence.”
“I’ll try not to make it my first answer.”
“Try?”
A small, crooked smile crossed his face.
“Can’t promise I’ll stay calm every time.”
“That’s the problem, Alex.”
He looked at her for a moment.
“I’ll watch myself more.”
That seemed to be enough.
Claire unlocked the door.
The room felt different from the night before. Less tense, though neither of them had forgotten what had happened.
Claire switched on the lamp and turned back to him.
Her eyes dropped to his hand.
“Your knuckles.”
“They’re fine.”
“They’re red and swollen.”
“I’ve had worse.”
“That’s not the point.”
She went to the small fridge and pulled out a cold pack.
“Sit down.”
Alex raised an eyebrow.
“Giving orders now?”
“Yes.”
He sat on the edge of the couch.
Claire wrapped the cold pack in a hand towel and pressed it gently against his knuckles.
He watched her without saying much.
She was more careful with him than he had expected.
After a while, she sat beside him.
“I can’t stop thinking about it.”
“Marcus?”
She nodded.
“Something tells me this isn’t finished.”
His expression turned serious.
“It probably isn’t.”
“That’s not comforting.”
“I’m not going to lie to you about it.”
Claire leaned her head against his shoulder.
Neither of them spoke for a while.
Then she said quietly, “Thank you.”
“For?”
“Being there.”
Alex put an arm around her.
“You don’t need to thank me for that.”
“I trust you,” she said again, almost to herself.
He looked down at her.
Then he kissed the top of her head.
Claire went still for a second, surprised by the gesture.
“Good.”
His voice had softened.
“I’m not going anywhere.”
She closed her eyes.
Rain had started tapping against the windows, soft at first, while the city lights blurred through the glass.
The room settled into a quiet neither of them seemed ready to break.
Eventually, they got ready for bed.
Claire went into her room, her hand resting over her heart as she thought about the kiss on the top of her head.
Alex stayed awake longer than she did.
He kept replaying Marcus’s words and the hallway from the night before, but more than anything, his thoughts kept returning to Claire.
Things with the Blades were becoming more complicated than he had planned.
There would be a cost for what happened tonight.
He knew that much.
He also knew he would throw the same punch again if it came to it.
Claire was safe tonight.
For now, that was enough.
Whatever the Blades decided to do next, they knew exactly where he stood.
And if they came for him again, he would be ready.
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