“They won’t.”
Her head snaps to me. “What do you mean?”
“I know the chief. He’s good friends with Uncle Ed. I called him before you came out. It wasn’t official, so it’s not going on your record. He said he wasn’t going to hold you.”
Relief melts her features as she falls back against the leather seat. “Thank god.”
Now that I have her with me, safe in the car, the wave of protectiveness surges. I allow a few minutes to pass before I can’t hold it in any longer. “Why’d you do it?”
Blair fiddles with her bitten nails. “Get arrested?”
“Come on, Blair. Don’t play with me. What you did was dangerous.”
She scoffs. “Walking on the street at night? Every woman lives that reality.”
I grip the wheel tighter. “Yes, but you went out looking for trouble by walking down Red Hill Road. You’re lucky it was Chief Landry and not some sick fuck who kidnaps hookers—”
“Sex workers,” Blair interrupts to correct.
God, I’ve missed her fight. “Fine. My point stands.”
“Fine.” Blair sighs. “I don’t want to fight about it.”
“I don’t want to either.” Keeping my hands to myself is a challenge when all I want to do is put my hand on her thigh, to touch her and feel that she’s okay. “Sorry. Just…tell me why you did it?”
“I had to.” She shifts in her seat to peer at my profile while I drive. “My mom’s health isn’t great. It’s worse than when I moved in with you.”
“I thought she was discharged?”
“She was, but the medications they prescribed are hard to afford without insurance.” Blair tucks her hair behind an ear. “I took what I had saved and took her to this clinic I’ve been talking to. She’s there now, but the money you gave me isn’t enough. The clinic is…expensive.”
A band locks around my chest. “Clinic? New Horizons?”
“Yeah, that’s the one.”
Well, shit. Blair took Macy to the best medical clinic in the country—the one my parents are famous for starting.
“Don’t worry. About any of it, okay?”
“Devlin, I can’t. We still have the debt from my dad, and insurance companies won’t accept my mom’s condition as insurable.”
“That clinic is my parents’. I’ll take care of it. Please, let me help.”
A shaky breath hisses through her teeth. “But…I don’t want to be a charity case.”
“Please, Blair.” This is the right thing to do. “Look, you can pay me back. How’s that? Deal?”
She appears pr
epared to keep protesting like the stubborn little spitfire I love.
“I just want to take care of you.”
“Okay,” Blair murmurs. “Thank you. For coming to get me, and for your help.”
Licking my lips, I admit one of the things I need to tell her. “I’d chase you anywhere, Blair. I don’t exist without you.”
Her breath hitches and her eyes widen. There’s something different shining in them. “Devlin…”