She nods slowly. “Zoey told him to drop the charges, or she was going to the police to file an assault charge against him.”
“Fuck,” I groan, hating that she faced that piece of shit. “You two should’ve let me handle him.”
“We did that once,” she says, as if somehow their stupid idea was the best solution. “And Mark listened. You’re not in trouble anymore.”
“There’s always a price, Lulu. You think Mark’s just going to forget about everything?”
She wraps her arms around my middle, placing her head on my chest. “You’re mad, aren’t you?”
“Mad? No,” I tell her, placing my arms around her shoulders, holding on to her tightly as I bury my face in her hair. “I’m fucking terrified.”
“Don’t be. It’s all good.”
“It’s not that simple for guys like him. I can’t believe you went there. You could’ve been hurt.”
“I had protection.”
“Please tell me you didn’t bring your gun.”
“No. Of course not. I brought pepper spray.”
I groan.
“We were safe. It’s hard to hurt someone when you can’t breathe or see.”
“It’s hard to run when you can’t either. Pepper spray in a small space affects more than just the target.”
“Oh,” she whispers like she hadn’t thought about that fact before now. “Then it’s a good thing I didn’t have to use it.”
“Look at me.”
She doesn’t move.
“Lulu, look at me,” I plead with her.
She releases her hold on me just enough to stare up at me. “Yeah?”
“Promise me you’ll never do anything like that again.”
“Well…”
“Promise.”
“I promise,” she says with absolutely no conviction to her voice.
“I mean it.”
“Me too,” she says.
I study her gaze, hoping she isn’t lying. “Iwould’ve burned the world down if something had happened to either of you.”
“We’re okay.”
“Don’t you ever put yourself in harm’s way for me. Do you understand?”
She narrows her eyes as she stares up at me. “But it’s okay if you do?”
I lift my hand, palming her cheek. “I will always protect you.”
