Savage eventually stepped out to gather the others, leaving Beast and Belle alone in the dim office, and making the promise that she wasn’t in this alone was an easy decision to make. There was no way that he’d walk away from her while she was in danger. It didn’t matter if his tires got fixed or not—he wasn’t leaving town until he knew that she was safe.
Belle rubbed her hands down her jeans like she couldn’t get warm. Beast watched her for a long moment, his jaw tight,before he finally asked the question gnawing at him. “Belle.” His voice came out low. “Does he know where you live?”
She froze for just a single heartbeat, but it was enough to give him his answer. Then she nodded, and he let out the breath he didn’t know he had been holding. Beast swore under his breath, running a hand through his hair. “And you’ve been going home every night, knowing he’s been watching you?”
“I didn’t know what else to do,” she whispered. “I didn’t want to drag anyone into it, and I thought if I ignored him long enough, he’d get bored and move on. But yeah, he’s been sitting outside of my house most nights.”
Beast shook his head, stepping closer. “Men like that don’t get bored. They escalate until something unspeakable happens.”
Belle swallowed and looked away, guilt flickering across her face. “I didn’t want to make things worse. Shane kept to himself for the most part, as long as I ignored him. But what if ignoring him has made this whole thing worse?”
“You didn’t make anything worse,” Beast said, firmer than he intended. “He did. Don’t take on his mess, not even for a second. He’s the problem here, Belle, not you.”
Belle’s eyes lifted to his, soft and vulnerable, and it was getting harder to tamp down the anger that he was feeling. He wanted just five minutes alone with Shane, but he had a feeling that Belle’s ex was a slippery asshole who wouldn’t give any of them the chance to get to him.
“Listen to me,” Beast said, voice dropping into a tone he rarely used. “You’re not going back to that house tonight.”
Belle’s brows pulled together. “Beast, I’ll be fine.”
“No.” He stepped even closer, towering over her in a way he didn’t mean to but didn’t back down from. “He knows where you sleep. That’s a line that doesn’t get ignored.” Her throat bobbed, and Beast could practically see the wheels turning in her mind. Itall flashed across her features—fear, pride, stubbornness, all of it.
“You can stay here,” he continued. “At the bar. Savage won’t mind. Or—” He hesitated. Just for a second know that he was probably crossing a line if he said what he was about to. But with Belle, there didn’t seem to be any lines. “I’ll stay with you.” Belle blinked up at him, seeming stunned.
Beast went on before she could overthink it. “Either I stay at your place, or you stay at the bar with me. It’s your choice. But you’re not sleeping alone tonight. Not while that asshole’s lurking around.”
She wrapped her arms around herself like she was holding in both fear and relief. “You don’t have to be so nice to me, Beast. You barely know me. You shouldn’t get involved with my mess. You’ll be leaving town in a day or so, and I need to learn how to handle this problem on my own.”
Beast’s jaw clenched. “That’s bullshit, Belle. I’m not leaving town until I know that you’re safe. It doesn’t matter if my tires get fixed; I’m staying until Shane isn’t a problem anymore. You’re in trouble, and I want to help.”
“But why?” she whispered. “Why help me like this?”
Beast stared at her, and the way her eyes shimmered with vulnerability. She clearly hated letting anyone see that side of her. He wasn’t a man who got tangled up with strangers. He wasn’t a man who usually gave a damn about someone he just met. But there was something about Belle, and here he was, getting involved in her life more than he probably should have. Because something about Belle made him want to plant his feet for the first time in years.
“Because you deserve to feel safe,” Beast said simply. “And because I’m not leaving you to handle a stalker ex alone.”
Belle’s breath hitched. “Okay,” she said softly. “Would you mind staying at my house? I’d have to go home to grab somestuff to stay at the bar, so it would just be easier if you came to my place.” Beast nodded as relief surged through him—unexpected and fierce.
“Sounds good.” His voice rumbled. “Then I’ll grab my things, and we can head out when you’re ready.”
Belle’s lips parted. “Beast?—”
He cut her a look, firm but gentle. “I’m not letting you out of my sight until Savage figures out what the hell we’re dealing with.”
Belle exhaled, some of the tension finally leaving her shoulders. “Thank you.” He watched her for another heartbeat, making sure that she was good. Then Beast stepped back, but only a little. Because staying by her side felt like the first right decision he’d made in a long damn time, right behind the decision to keep her safe from her ex.
Beast didn’t let himself breathe until they stepped out of Savage’s office, and even then, the air was tight in his chest—coiled, heavy, and protective. Belle walked beside him, her shoulders drawn in, her braid brushing lightly over the back of her jacket. She looked calm enough on the outside, but Beast had learned how to read people from a thousand miles of asphalt and more truck stops than he cared to count. Belle wasn’t calm—he could feel it in his bones. And she wouldn’t be until this Shane shit was handled.
Savage passed them in the hallway, his phone already out, speaking in clipped tones to Bolt about rerouting a couple of brothers to keep watch outside the bar. “You two go,” Savage said, eyes hard. “Grab what you need from Belle’s house. Don’t take long. I’ll have eyes on you the whole way.”
“Actually, Belle thinks that it would be easier for us both to stay at her house,” Beast said. Belle nodded, though Beast could tell she didn’t like relying on anyone—not even the club she’d worked for, laughed with, and cared about for years. Pride was a hell of a thing in people who’d had to survive on their own. Beast understood that better than she knew.
“You good with staying with her?” Savage asked Beast. He didn’t want to have to explain the need he felt to take care of Belle. Other guys might not understand or think that he was only after one thing with the pretty bartender—sex. But he wasn’t after her for that. Well, not only that. He wanted to protect her, and for some reason, he wanted to be with her, in her space.
“I’m good with it,” Beast said.
“Great, then I’ll have the guys move over to your house to keep an eye on things. If Shane shows up at your place, the Royal Bastards will take care of him. You stay in the house and stay safe,” Savage ordered.
“I’ll sit on her if I have to,” Beast said. “But her asshole ex will get nowhere near her.”
