Chapter 34 – Nightmares

William

I was standing in the garden from the Pearson when my thoughts went back to what had happened tonight at the party.

It was now one in the morning, we had gotten back around half past midnight after Harmoni gave a statement to the police officer that came to the scene.

I knew I wouldn’t be catching any sleep any time soon, so I decided to stay and join her security detail for the night in case the ones we didn't catch decided they wanted to finish the job.

Harmoni was shaken up, she had barely avoided being kidnapped. In her statement, she mentioned that she had taken a wrong turn when leaving the bathroom and that this was how she met her kidnappers. I couldn’t even begin to understand how terrifying this entire experience was for her. All I could do at this point was be there for her.

What I had trouble wrapping my head around was that the only door which wasn't guarded by one of the bodyguards was a door that only opened from the inside. Meaning that there was no possibility of anyone coming in unless someone from the inside opened the door for them. Did we have a traitor in our midst?

That's when it clicked. They had someone inside helping them, they must have. Now the one million dollar question was: who?

Each staff member of the club as well as the bodyguards had been screened and vetted by multiple people. This only left one other option, the students.

Yet, all of these kids were rich papa’s kids, I couldn't picture any of them being dumb enough to associate with gang members. It didn't make any sense, all of the kids here were from wealthy families, they had probably never seen a gang member before the day of the shooting.

My thoughts were cut off by a loud scream. A scream I recognized all too well.

Harmoni.

My throat tightened as dread flowed through my veins. I rushed inside while Benjamin secured the exits. Had I been distracted enough to let someone slip through?

I rushed up taking on two stares at the time. My heart was beating erratically in my chest. Did I fail her again? I had been doing plenty of that lately hadn’t I?

I abruptly opened her door ready to take on anything that would come my way. If you dared to harm Harmoni, I would make sure you suffer, that was a promise I had made to myself a long time ago.

However, there were no attackers in the room, no physical threat, just a sight that tore my heart.

“False alarm,” I reassured the team, who were all on full alert.

Harmoni was battling with her sheets, screaming and tossing while a thin layer of sweat covered her forehead and drenched her clothes.

Wanting to put her out of her misery, I sat down on the bed and shook her slightly while calling her name. She fought against me, probably thinking I was part of the nightmare she was having.

“No. You can’t,” she said in her scream as she tried to push me off. “William!” she yelled next. She was still too far gone to realize I was sitting beside her.

I shook her slightly harder. “Wake up Har, wake up,” I called, not wanting to see her in this condition any longer.

Her eyes flew open. Her chest heaving heavily. When her eyes landed on me another scream left her mouth.

“It’s me, Princess, it’s William,” I quickly realised her, trying to calm her down. She seemed the recognize me. Her eyes darted around the room, finally realizing she was sitting on her bed in her bedroom. Thank god.

“What are you doing here Will?” she asked, her voice rough due to her previous shouting.

“You were screaming in your nightmare. I thought you were being attacked,” I admitted.

“Oh” was all she said, looking embarrassed. She shut her eyes tightly, as she ran her hand through her messy hair. Once her breathing had returned to normal I asked.

"What were you dreaming about?" I asked cautiously. Some people didn't like sharing their fears, yet I hoped I had grown close enough to her for her to allow me to help her.

A minute of silence passed. I guess she wasn’t up for it.

"It's like I was right back there," she started, disturbing the silence that had settled. "Except that they knocked me out and you didn't get to me on time," she trails off, standing up from her sitting position. She walked to her walk-in closet.

Grabbing another pair of pajamas, she went to change in the bathroom before coming back to sit beside me.

I slowly reach out for her, careful not to scare her, but before my hand touched her skin, she leaned forward. I wrap my arms around her small body.

How can I protect her from herself? I wondered, wanting to release her from the pain and terror she was going through.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to find you, Princess. I wish I had gone with you to the bathroom and stayed there until you got out. There's a lot of things I wish I had done differently tonight, but we can't dwell on the past too much or it will ruin our present.

I know I haven't always been able to be there to protect you, but I promise to keep trying my best to earn your trust back and keep you safe," I vowed to her.

"I never stopped trusting you, Will," she murmured honestly. My heart swelled from her admission. Her unwavering trust amazed me to no end. I was truly blessed to have her by my side. I hadn’t realized just how much I craved to hear those words until they left her mouth. With everything that had happened between us, I couldn't help but wonder if her trust extended to her heart.

"Then trust me when I say that I won't let that or anything else happen to you again, not without the fight of a lifetime," I whispered in her ear. Seeing her this way tore at my heart, shifting beside her, I reached above her shoulder to pull her closer to me and embrace her sideways.

"Go back to sleep. I'll stay here until you fall asleep," I told her.

"Sleep here tonight," she offered. I debated it in my head, but it was futile. I wanted to be here to support her emotionally. Plus, I could also protect her from here. I nodded and got comfortable in her bed. She snuggled into my side, resting her head on my chest before closing her eyes. It only took a few minutes before her breathing evened out. She must have been exhausted.

A strand of hair fell down over Harmoni's face. I reached out, pulling it back behind her ear. I was one lucky guy.

From the tattoos on the man we had arrested, I knew he was a member of the Diamond Crew. It's like each day, they gave me another reason to despise their crew. Did this mean they were escalating? They had never tried to grab a girl before. Why had their MO suddenly changed? Could it have something to do with the message they had received from their partner in crime resting in jail?

What I found most frustrating was that although we had a few solid theories linking the Diamond crew to the shootings and the kidnappings, we didn't have enough proof to actually arrest them. If we went at them now, who knows what they would do.

They could go into hiding while continuing their search for the kid, but that would make catching them much harder than it already was.

When we went at them, we needed to have an ironclad case, not just circumstantial evidence which would be tossed out by their lawyer in a matter of seconds.

Placing my phone back onto the nightstand, I decided to stop thinking about it for tonight. I looked at the mesmerizing girl sleeping soundly against me. She was all that mattered tonight. She was my weakness, my soft spot. She was my most precious gem.

With one last kiss on her forehead, I allowed sleep to take over. Tomorrow I would be breaking the son of a bitch that tried to take her away from me.