"For what? You saved my life. Again."
"I shouldn't have let it get that far. I stepped away for five minutes, and they almost got you." The guilt was like acid in my stomach. "If I'd been paying attention, if I'd kept my eyes on you..."
"Hudson, stop." She pulled back to look at me, her eyes fierce despite the fear still lingering in them. "You can't be everywhere at once. You can't protect me from every possible threat. The fact that you were there, that you stopped them... that's what matters."
"It's not enough."
"It is." She put her hand on my cheek, forcing me to meet her eyes. "You are enough. You've always been enough. I just needed you to show up, and you did. You came back for me. That's more than anyone else has ever done."
I turned my head, pressing a kiss to her palm.
"I'm never leaving you again," I said quietly. "After this is over, after you testify, I'm staying. For good. If you'll have me."
"I'll have you." She smiled, small but real. "But first, you have to get me through the next three days."
"Done." I kissed her softly. "Three days, and then we start our life together. For real this time."
The first night at the safe house, neither of us slept much.
Betty dozed off and on, jerking awake at every sound, reaching for me in the darkness like she needed to make sure I was still there. I held her through the nightmares, whispered reassurances when she cried out, and spent the hours between checking the security feeds and planning our next moves.
Agent Torres called around midnight with an update. The two men from the bar had been identified as low-level muscle with ties to Lang and Briggs. They were talking, eager to cut deals, and their testimony was going to add to the mountain of evidence against the dirty cops.
"Lang knows he's going down," Torres said. "We've got warrants out for both of them. It's only a matter of time before we pick them up."
"And until then?"
"Until then, you keep her safe. We'll have a security detail ready to escort you to the courthouse on trial day."
I didn't trust anyone but my own team, but I kept that to myself. Let the FBI think they were running the show. I'd make sure Betty got to that courthouse, one way or another.
The second day was quieter. Betty was calmer, though I could still see the fear lurking behind her eyes. We spent the morning going over her testimony, making sure she was ready for whatever the defense might throw at her.
In the afternoon, we just talked. About the future. About what came after.
"I want to expand the bar," she said, curled up against me on the small couch. "Buy the building next door, knock out a wall, add some more tables. Maybe do live music on the weekends."
"Sounds like a solid plan."
"It's something Dad and I used to talk about." Her voice softened. "He always said the building next door was wasted potential. Had this whole vision for what it could be."
"Then we'll do it." I pressed a kiss to her temple. "When this is over, we'll make his vision a reality."
"We?"
"If you want a partner. Someone to help with the business side, the security, whatever you need."
She turned to look at me, a slow smile spreading across her face. "Are you offering to be my business partner, Hudson Cole?"
"I'm offering to be whatever you need me to be. Partner. Investor. Bouncer." I grinned. "Arm candy."
She laughed, and the sound of it warmed something deep in my chest.
"Arm candy. I like that." She kissed me softly. "We're going to have a good life, aren't we?"
"The best." I pulled her closer, breathing in her scent. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life making sure of it."
The night before the trial, I barely slept.
