Ella: Ian! I told you to tell me if Maggie is okay. Text me back!
Tears spring to my eyes once again. The text serves as another reminder of how fortunate I am, despite everything. I might have lost my friends, my old life, and now my family because of Reese, but the life that I’m building now is one I’m finally grateful for. The only thing that would make it better would be my family. But at least Reese and his associates don’t seem to know where they are.
I hand Ian back his phone, unable to hide a sniffle. His head pops up from his task of making coffee to take in what I’m sure is a red, blotchy face.
“I added my order. Ella also texted you to check on me.”
“What’s wrong?” he demands in his deep, no-nonsense voice.
His overly serious concern makes me smile through my mixture of happy and sad tears.
“Nothing. It’s just nice to have friends who are worried about me. And I’m happy that I told you about the shitshow that is my life.”
Grabbing the back of my head gently, he tugs me to him. My hands go to his waist as he presses his lips to my forehead. “Go on into the living room. I’ll be right there.”
I steal one last kiss and then follow his directive, curling up on the couch and pulling a throw blanket over my lap. My body relaxes into the cushions, and I close my eyes as I come down from the adrenaline high that started with the phone call.
My eyes pop open, my anxiety rising when David’s words repeat in my mind. But before I can have another internal freakout, Ian rounds the counter and walks into the living room with a cup of coffee in one hand and a beer in the other.
“You didn’t want coffee?”
His face morphs into a mock scowl. “It’s eight p.m. Unlikesomepeople, if I drink coffee right now, I won’t sleep.”
I shrug and take a sip, letting the warmth soothe me from the inside out. Ian’s hand finds my knee under the blanket and squeezes gently.
“What happened today that made you so upset?”
I stare past him as I prepare myself. I worry about how he’ll react. “One of my ex’s friends called me. He wanted to caution me against testifying.”
The grip on his beer bottle has his knuckles turning white. Between gritted teeth, he grinds out, “How the fuck did that happen?”
I shake my head, understanding his disbelief. “I don’t know. I called the marshal assigned to me. He didn’t seem concerned, but he said he’d look into it.”
“Didn’t seem concerned!” Ian roars, and I fear the bottle will shatter under the pressure of his fist.
“He’s looking into it,” I explain, trying to calm him down, not because Jenson doesn’t deserve his ire, but because I don’t want Ian to be upset. “And they’re getting me a new number.”
“Let me talk to him,” Ian demands.
Panic has my stomach flipping. When I’d thought about wanting to tell Ian the truth about my past, I hadn’t considered Ian wanting to talk to Jenson. If Jenson doesn’t already know I’m back together with Ian, he certainly will if Ian confronts him.
I also need to consider Ian’s reaction. What if I tell him that my being with him could get me removed from the program? Will he leave me to keep me safer so that I can stay here under the marshal’s protection? I need to put him off just a little bit longer. Maybe I can figure something out.
“Ian, please. I’m handling it. If my agent doesn’t do anything, I’ll see if I can talk to someone else.”
He doesn’t look convinced, but eventually, he gives a curt nod and pulls me into him. My head goes to his shoulder, and his lips find the top of my head.
“I just need you to be safe now that I have you back. I’ll do anything to make that happen.”
My heart skips a beat.
There’s nothing I want more than that.
24
Ian
My hands run up and down Maggie’s back from where she’s half sprawled on top of me. Her slow, steady breathing has the rage making turbulent waves through my body starting to calm. After we ate dinner, I convinced her to put the coffee down and have a glass of wine to relax. Then I turned on a movie, and now I’m unsure if she’s even awake anymore.
