Beast’s hand tightened on the wheel. “It doesn’t matter if he does. My parents know what’s going on, and they agree that we’re not waiting to find out what he wants. We’re taking the fight to him.” He stole a quick glance at her, seeing the worry written across her face. “Which is why I’m not letting him anywhere near you.”
She nodded, shoulders rising and falling. “I just, I don’t want them to get caught up in this. God, they must hate me.”
Beast gritted his teeth. “They don’t hate you, sweetheart. I won’t let anything touch them either.”
The ride ended at Hurricane’s House—a small, neat little bar with enough security cameras to make an FBI agent blush. Hurricane himself walked out of the front door to meet them, looking slightly amused and slightly annoyed at having visitors show up unannounced. He was just as Savage described him to be.
“You must be Beast,” he said, holding the door for them. “Who’s this?”
“This is Belle,” Beast said simply, letting her step inside first. “We need to talk. Her ex followed us from Huntsville. Savage warned me he might be tailing us here.”
Hurricane’s expression darkened immediately. “Son of a—” He ran his hand over his beard and sighed. “What can I do to help?”
Beast nodded. “We need a few of your guys over at my parents’ house in case he shows up there. And we can’t let him touch Belle.”
Hurricane crossed his arms, pacing a little. “All right, we’ll set everything up. I can put guys around your parents’ house, a couple of us at a time, on patrol. Nobody gets past us.”
Belle shifted beside him, clearly nervous. Beast rested a hand lightly on her back, letting her lean into him for comfort. Hedidn’t say anything—he didn’t need to. She already knew she was safe with him, and that was enough for now.
“I’ll handle the house on the inside,” Beast said, thinking aloud. “If you can assign some of the club to guard my parents’ place while we’re here. I don’t want them getting involved in whatever Shane is planning. My sisters and their families will be showing up in just a few days. Will that be a problem?”
Hurricane shrugged. “Not as long as they don’t mind a few bikers hanging around, keeping them safe. If they have kids, they’ll need to lay low inside the house.”
Beast glanced at Belle again. She looked like she was holding her breath. “Hey,” he murmured, “we’ve got this.” From the look on her face, he wasn’t sure that she believed him. “My sisters and their families will follow the rules, Hurricane. I can promise you that.” Belle’s lips pressed into a small, grateful smile. That smile alone made his chest tighten. He hated how much he wanted to keep her close, wanted to shield her from every little thing in the world. He felt as though he was failing miserably.
“All right,” Hurricane said, breaking the moment between him and Belle. “I’ll make the calls. We’ll have coverage at your parents’ house ASAP. Shane won’t even know which way to look first if he finds their house.”
Beast let out a low, satisfied growl. “Good. Because if he comes after Belle—” He didn’t finish the thought. He didn’t need to, because from the look in Hurricane’s eyes, he understood.
He looked back at Belle. “How do you feel about this? About staying with my parents and me for now?”
She swallowed, nodding slowly. “Safe. With you—yeah, I feel safe.”
He grunted softly. “Good. That’s how it’s going to stay. No exceptions.”
They said goodbye, exchanging numbers with Hurricane, and got back on the road to his parents’ place. For the rest of theride back to Yonkers, Beast drove with one eye on the road and the other on her, every sense on full alert. He didn’t care what his parents thought about Belle living under their roof. They insisted that the two of them stay and not go to a safehouse, but his parents needed to realize that Belle came first—always. Shane was going to regret following them to New York.
BELLE
Belle didn’t remember much of the drive back to Beast’s parents’ house after they met with Hurricane. She concentrated on the thundering of her own pulse, the cold knot forming under her ribs, and Beast’s hand gripping hers like a lifeline. Shane had followed them all the way to New York, and just thinking about that had her stomach doing a flip-flop again.
Beast’s truck turned sharply off the main road and onto the narrow, tree-lined street that led back to his parents’ place. The houses were spaced far apart, shadows swallowing the yards. The only light came from a single porch bulb flickering on the front porch of their dark blue two-story house.
Belle’s stomach twisted tighter the closer they got to the house. The tires crunched over the gravel driveway, a sound too loud in the fragile quiet. Beast’s hand slipped from hers as he parked and killed the engine, and for a few seconds neither of them moved. They sat there so long, the windows fogged from their breath.
“I’ll talk to them first,” Beast said quietly, already reaching for the door handle. “No.” Her own voice came out too sharp, too fast. She swallowed, trying to talk to him again without yelling athim. “No, I need to be the one to talk to them. They deserve to hear it from me, and if they want me to leave, I will.”
His gaze flicked to her—he saw worry and something else behind her eyes—something gentler. “They won't blame you, sweetheart. And if you go, I go.”
She almost laughed. Almost. “You don’t know that, Beast. I’m turning their lives upside down and ruining their Christmas. I’m sure that they must hate me.”
The front door opened before he could say anything else. Beast’s mom stepped onto the porch, pulling her robe tighter around her slender body. The porch light painted her face in flickering gold as Beast’s dad appeared behind her, one hand braced on the doorframe.
“Thank God,” Mrs. Bennett breathed. She hurried down the steps just as Beast met her halfway. Belle climbed out of the truck, suddenly aware of the fact that she was going to have to relive her past with them to keep them safe. Mrs. Bennett wrapped Beast in her arms, then turned to Belle. For a moment, Belle couldn’t move. She expected accusation, maybe fear. Not the tight, trembling hug that came instead.
“I’m so glad you’re safe,” Mrs. Bennett whispered against her hair. Belle froze, then let herself lean into it. Her lungs stung like she’d been holding her breath since they’d left Hurricane’s House.
“I—I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” Belle started, words tumbling out before she could stop them. “If I’d known Shane would follow me here, I wouldn’t have come along with Beast.”
