“He won’t.”
She bites her lip and fidgets with the hem of her shirt. Sucking in a deep breath through my nose and pushing it out through my mouth, I stiffly walk back to her. She’s still against the table, and I crowd her. I force her face back up.
“He won’t get to him. I won’t let him.”
Her chin quivers when she whispers. “When they were taking him away after he was convicted, he told me he would come for him. The look in his eyes.” She shudders. “I’m scared, Trouble.”
I pull her trembling body against me, no longer able to take the frightened tone of her voice. She buries her face against my chest and latches her fingers in my t-shirt. “What am I going to do?” she cries into my shirt.
I count to ten in my head and clear my thoughts. It’s hard to do when images keep flashing in my head of countless ways I’ll slaughter Phillip.
“How did he get out?” I push the words past my teeth.
“L-Lynn said he e-escaped. I don’t know the d-details, but something about when they were t-transporting him to the prison.”
I bite my tongue to keep from snarling.
“When?”
She burrows her face farther into my chest. Her voice is a cracked mumble.
“A week ago.”
“Motherfucker!” I growl. She tries to pull away, but I hold her tight to me. “Are you sure he knows Elijah is his?”
She nods and sniffs. “Yes. His lawyer found out and it came out during court.”
Son-of-a-bitch! I fucking hate lawyers.
She pulls her head away and this time I let her. Her pleading eyes stare up at me. “Don’t you see? I’ve got to get out of here and to my brother’s house. He lives on base. Phillip won’t be able to get to us there.”
There’s no fucking way I’m letting her leave. Not a chance in hell.
Stepping back, I sit down and pull her onto my lap so she’s straddling me. Using one hand, I grip the back of her neck, fisting my hands into her hair and forcing her face close to mine. She watches me warily, but places her hands at my sides.
“Listen to me, Remi,” I state, my voice a deep growl. “He won’t come near you. The safest place for you is right here. My brothers and I will protect you both. If he steps a foot in Malus, one of us will know.”
If that happens, it’ll be the last mistake he ever makes. I hope like fuck he comes here, because that means I’ll get to kill him myself, instead of having someone on the inside do it. Even if he doesn’t come here, I’ll hunt the bastard down.
Remi’s red-rimmed eyes flit back and forth between mine, a look of indecision written on her face. What she doesn’t know is I’m not giving her a choice. If I have to hold her here against her will, that’s what I’ll do. Anything to keep her and Elijah safe.
“How did you know about Phillip?” she asks instead of agreeing to stay in Malus.
“I had JW look into you.” Her brows slash down into a deep v, and I tighten my hand against her waist. “I’ve told you before, we don’t like newcomers. Anyone who steps foot in this town, we have checked out.”
“Why don’t you like people coming here?”
My fingers flex against her waist. “Because we do things differently.”
Her brows bunch so much that her eyes squint.
“What do you mean?”
I wish like hell I could tell her, but there’s no way to know what her reaction would be. How can I expect her to be okay with how we handle things in Malus? I can’t take the chance that she’ll go apeshit and expose us.
“We’ll talk about it later,” I say vaguely. “I want you and Elijah to stay here.”
“What?” Her mouth drops open after she sputters the word out.