She stops fighting me, and her body sags against me. Her hands are now hanging onto my arm like a lifeline.
Setting her on her feet by the couch, I step in front of her and cup her chin, my other hand down at my side, holding my gun. “Stay right here, I need to see if I can catch him.”
Fingernails dig into my skin when she clamps her hands around my arm while frantically shaking her head. “No! No, you can’t leave me.” In the dim light, her eyes dart around the room before coming back to me. “Please don’t leave me here alone.”
One of her hands fists the material of my t-shirt on my chest, and she’s pulling me closer to her to stop me from leaving. She’s strong for such a small thing.
Fuck!
“Okay, okay, okay.” I whisper and wrap my arm around her body to pull her into me. Her other hand claws my front until she pulls enough material into her fist and hangs on to me for dear life. “Shhh, I’m not going anywhere.”
Her breaths are coming hard and fast, and her forehead ispressed against my chest, her hands holding the fabric of my shirt like jail bars. The smell of jasmine floats all around me, and I tighten my grip on her body while setting my chin on her head. Tucking my gun into the back of my sweatpants, I wrap my other arm around her and hold her until her breathing calms.
“Baby, I have to check the outside of the house. I need to make sure it’s safe.” He’s long gone by now.
Her head shakes against my chest. “If you go out there, I’m going with you. I’m not letting you leave me here alone.”
Softly grasping her shoulders, I force her to move back and look up at me. “Is there a room without a window?”
Her eyebrows come down, and she looks at my chin as if she’s processing the question like a math equation. “Uhm, yeah, the closet.”
I squat in front of her to get eye level with her. “Grab your phone and lock yourself in the closet. Call Mason and tell him what I’m doing. Okay? Can you do that?”
“My phone’s in the bedroom. Will you come with me, please?” Her eyes are pleading, her hands still fisting my shirt.
“Yes, come on.” Letting go of her, I grab one of her hands and pull her behind me.
She has a death grip on my hand, and her other hand is wrapped around my bicep. Her body is pressed against my back, the warmth of her soaking into my shirt.
Flipping on her bedroom light, I look around the room; the air smells like her, but it’s empty. I point at a door. “Closet?”
Poking her head around my side, she nods as she looks around the room and, not letting go of my hand, she steps toward the bed, while watching the window the whole time, and grabs her phone before darting back behind me.
I push the window closed and lock it and then turn to open the closet door. Facing her, I ask, “What are you supposed to do?”
Her eyes are still darting around the room, going back to the window. “Uhm.” She looks at me, and my chest squeezes when I see the fear in her eyes in the bright light. “Lock the closet door and call Mason. Tell him what you’re doing.”
“Good girl.” I’m not sure where the urge comes from, it just happens without much thought, but I grab her around her nape and pull her close to kiss the top of her head before I urge her into the closet.
As I’m pushing the door closed, she turns and puts her hand on the door. “You won’t leave me, will you?”
I give her a reassuring smile and a wink. “Not a chance.”
CHAPTER NINE
KINLEY
“I FUCKINGtold you that you should stay at the house.” Mason bellows in my living room. Gray is next to him, looking like he’s about to wrestle a bull. Jax stayed at the house with Dad and all the kids.
Feeling silly and not appreciating the ridicule, I take a deep breath. “I just needed some space, Mason. It’s not like I came up here expecting someone to come through my damn window while I was sleeping!”
Fighting the tears pricking the backs of my eyes, I cross my arms and look away. Agent Abbot is standing in the kitchen, after not finding anyone outside, leaning against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest, watching the entire exchange. I won’t let him see me cry.
Mason folds, the anger draining from his face, and steps up to me. “I’m sorry.” Pulling me into him, he hugs me. Hard. “You scared me.”
At first, I’m petulant and won’t unfold my arms to hug him back, so he lets go with a smirk and unfolds my arms for me and holds them out to my sides. “Follow my lead. It’s easy, just bend your arms and hug me back.”
His sarcasm makes it impossible for me to stay upset, and I wrap my arms around his ribcage and hug him back. He sets his chin on my head and says, “See, easy peasy.”
