Alpha

Savannah glared at her sister. She had told Shea a million times she was fine and was going to go home, but Shea refused to let her go. "Stop being so hard headed, and just stay for one night," Shea argued. "Jesus, Van, you can stay for one freaking night!"

"I'm fine!" Savannah repeated again. She was beat up a little bit from the car accident, but overall she really was alright. She had thought she'd come out a lot more injured when the accident had happened. She got hit from the side and her car got pushed into the median with the driver's side getting all beat up. Somehow she was still walking. Sure, she was sore, but it could have been a lot worse.

There was a knock on the door, and Savannah looked over at Shea, wondering who it was. Alex had a photo shoot that night so it wasn't her, and Audrey was already there with them. Audrey stood up to go answer the door, and a moment later, Savannah heard Tyler's voice.

"Alright, where is the stubborn woman?"

Savannah stood up, her hands immediately on her hips. She didn't know whether to yell at Tyler or Shea. She chose to address her sister first. "You called him!?" she questioned loudly.

"No, I texted him," Shea corrected her. "You're bound and determined to go home so I asked if he wanted to accompany you."

"Me being the gentleman I am agreed," Tyler told her.

"I hate you both," Savannah crossed her arms over her chest like a frustrated child. "I. Am. Fine."

"Okay, you're fine. Then let's go back to your place," Tyler said. Savannah narrowed her eyes at him. "C'mon, hop to it!"

She turned to look at her sister. "I don't know which of you is worse."

Shea chuckled. "Well if you want to go home, that's fine, but someone is staying with you."
Savannah turned to face Tyler. "What about your dogs, thought you didn’t want to leave them alone anymore."

"Aww, are you inviting my dogs over?" he asked her.

"Just let him stay over," Shea sighed. "Or you stay at his place. I don't care. I just need to know you're not alone. Please just do it for me," she begged.

"Fine," Savannah relented. "But I get to drive your car home," she grinned at Tyler. He gave her a blank stare. "Hey, it's your choice. Either I drive or I stay here," she gave him the ultimatum.

Tyler looked over Savannah's head at Shea. "You've got a hardheaded sister," he muttered. Shea shrugged her shoulders while Audrey laughed, knowing he was right. He reluctantly handed her the key to his beloved truck. "I swear to God, if you crash my car, I will…" he trailed off.

Savannah looked up at him smugly, loving that she'd won the battle. "You'll what?" she inquired.

"Just go," he told her, pointing to the door. She laughed but did as asked, turning around to say goodbye to Shea and Audrey.

Tyler was a few steps behind her, and Shea put a hand on his shoulder to stop him momentarily. "Take care of her. I know she's stubborn, but just make sure she's okay," she said quietly, making sure Savannah couldn't hear her.

Tyler nodded his head. "I will," he promised her.

"Thank you," Shea said sincerely, as Tyler lightly jogged to catch up to Savannah, who was already almost outside.

"Can I have my keys now?" he requested.

Savannah shook her head. "Not a chance," she told him, continuing to walk towards his truck. He could have easily grabbed his key from her and driven himself, but he decided to let Savannah win this time. She'd been through enough that day for him to argue with her. He watched her get into the vehicle and could see she was in pain, though she was trying her hardest to hide it. He didn't mention anything, but got into the passenger's seat. "Let's go back to your place so you can keep an eye on the dogs," she told him. He eyed her, but didn't say anything. She laughed. "Unless you don't want me to go back to your place. I can go home."

"Do you know which way it is?" he asked her, not giving her an exact answer.

"I can just put it in my phone," she said.

"Turn right out of here," he said, deciding just to give her directions verbally, knowing they could take back roads to get there and avoid the highway, thus avoiding more people for
Savannah to get into accidents with.

They didn't say much on the way back to his place except for him giving the occasional direction. When she pulled in, she shut off his car and just sat there for a few moments not yet getting out of the car. "What are you thinking?" he broke the silence.

She leaned her head back against the headrest. "Nothing."

"Savannah?" Tyler asked, knowing it was something.

"I just…we should have caught them by now. And I shouldn't be getting driven off the road," she sighed.

"You'll catch them," Tyler said with such certainty that it even surprised himself. He truly did believe they'd catch them.

"Let's go inside and see the damage," she said with a small laugh.

"I left them with food and water, they should be fine," he smiled at her. He got out of the vehicle first and walked around to the other side to meet Savannah. Her whole body had stiffened up and gotten more sore since she'd left the hospital, and it even hurt to walk. Tyler noticed her walking more gingerly, and he put his arm around her low back and guided her inside.

The three dogs immediately came running and jumping up on Savannah and Tyler excitedly.

"Down, boys," Tyler ordered.

Savannah laughed. "They're fine," she assured him. "So which guest room do I get?" she asked him half-jokingly. Tyler had more guest rooms than she could imagine, but she really didn't think he'd have her sleep in one of them.

"Main one down the hall on the right," he said, describing directions to his master bedroom.

Savannah looked over at him while one of the dogs continued to paw at her, wanting attention. She reached down, petting him. "Seguin, are you offering me your bed? You're sleeping in the guest?"

Tyler grinned at her sarcasm. "I'm offering you my bed. With me in it. No way I'm sleeping in the guest bedroom," he scoffed.

"Can I shower first?" she asked. She had wanted to at Shea's but she took a nap instead, and then afterwards wanted to go back home but Shea had refused to let her go, causing an argument to ensue.

"Can I join you?" he asked with a wink.

"Not a chance, hot shot," she told him.

"Towels are in the closet next to the bathroom. I'm gonna take these guys out, but I'll be back soon," he told her, as Cash was running around his feet.

"Thanks," she said as she walked towards the bathroom. She grabbed a towel and went to get in the shower when she heard the front door close with Tyler taking the three dogs out.
The water stung as it went over a couple of cuts on her body. Her legs had taken the brunt from the collision, but she had a few bumps and bruises on her arms as well. Dominic and Liam had both stopped by the hospital as well. Dominic had told her to take tomorrow off, but she wasn't sure if she'd actually do that. She needed to get back to work and catch Bartholomew and Junior.

She stayed in the shower a little longer before finally getting out and wrapping the towel around her waist. She didn't have any other clothes so she put the ones she had been wearing back on before going to Tyler's room to find him already there. "Dogs good?"

"Yep, hopefully they go to sleep soon," Tyler told her. He got out of bed, and Savannah watched him curiously. Suddenly, he was handing her an old t-shirt of his. "Here, this is going to be more comfortable," he told her.

She didn't argue and simply changed in front of him, figuring he had already seen her naked so it wasn't a big deal. She saw Tyler's eyes on her, and she started to say something until she noticed he was looking at her thigh. She glanced down to see a large bruise on the outside. Tyler was all of a sudden at her side, his hand gently going over it. "Damn, does it hurt?" he asked.

Savannah shrugged. "A little when I walk," she downplayed it. "But I'm fine," she insisted.
"Get in bed," he told her, and she did as told. She instinctively put her head on his chest, neither of them saying anything for a while.

Tyler had thought she had fallen asleep, and he was surprised when she spoke. "Thank you," she said softly.

Tyler moved his head so he could look down at her. "For what?"

"Letting me stay here."

Tyler knew that had to be hard for her. She wanted to be independent and she hated relying on others. So the fact that she was thanking him for staying with her was big. "Thank you," he replied.

Now it was her turn to take her head off his chest to look up at him. "For what?" she asked, confused.

"For not getting yourself killed today." He meant it to sound joking, but he was serious, and it showed in his voice.

Savannah gave him a smile before kissing his chest lightly and laying her head back down. "No guarantees in the future, but I'll try to stay alive," she told him. They both laid there quietly, while Savannah listened to his heartbeat, and Tyler softly ran his thumb along her shoulder with his arm that was wrapped around her.

It wasn't long before Savannah fell asleep. Tyler, though, stayed awake, thinking about her words. Her job was dangerous, he knew that. But that didn't mean he found it any easier to be okay with her possibly being killed any day. He'd fallen for this woman so fast, and he wasn't exactly used to being worried about a woman. His dogs and family, sure, but a woman he'd gone only on one official date with? Not so much. He inhaled deeply, trying to let that thought pass, as he simply listened to her breathe, finding peace in that moment.

Notes