She visibly sags. I don’t know if she suddenly trusts me or thinks I’m the lesser evil, but she’s coming willingly. Relief is written all over her pretty face.
I raise my hand slowly, giving her ample time to rear back. She doesn’t, but those big brown eyes stare at me like she’s trying to read my intentions.
My knuckles brush her injured cheek, the warmth of her skin seeping into me. Barbed wire cinches my stomach so hard it’ll take days to unwind.
She exhales, leaning a fraction closer. Not much, but enough to fucking wreck me.
“He’ll pay for this,” I say quietly. “That’s a promise.”
She softens under my touch and for one blissful moment the world tilts on its axis.
“My bag’s packed. I never unpacked it.”
“Good. Let’s go before Jax wakes up.”
Another nod as she peels herself from the wall... and something in my chest finally settles.
5
Koby
Leilani trembles in the passenger seat, hands twisting in her lap, lips pressed tight like she’s holding everything in. She stares ahead, unblinking, but her breathing is hastened and shallow.
She looks like she’s fighting back tears.
I don’t think feeling like I took a bullet dead center in the sternum is a normal reaction, but that’s what’s happening.
“We’re not far now,” I say, hoping my words will breathe some lightness into her. “He’s not taking you back.”
She brushes her long brown hair behind her ears before turning my way. The ghastly bruise marring her cheek adds about nine hundred and fifty-three points to how fragile she looks.
“Why are you helping me?” She meets my gaze, fire dancing in her eyes.
It goes out quickly, so fast I’m not sure it was really there. It’s not the first time I noticed it. And not the first time I doubted its reality.
I stare at her far longer than safe while navigating the Columbus morning rush hour. I forget the road, forget the cars piling up in front of us. All I see are the silver flecks in her left iris, like glass shards catching the light.
I want to keep staring, keep memorizing every detail, but I force my attention back on the road before I get us killed.
It’s a stellar choice, considering we’re speeding straight into standstill traffic.
I slam the brake pedal. My arm shoots out before I even register what I’m doing, bracing across Leilani’s chest, pinning her against the seat as the car jerks.
Tires squeal, my pulse soars, and time slows until we stop, inches from the pickup’s bumper instead of halfway down its bed.
“Sorry,” I mutter, dragging my hand back and checking her over. “You good?”
“Nothing happened.” She tugs at her seat belt, lips twitching into the faintest smile. “This would’ve done the job.”
Yes, it would, but my reaction was involuntary.
I’ve seen Carter do that with Hailey a million times, but I never did it myself. Now, my hand shot out before my brain could issue the order. Instinct took over, and protecting the girl beside me was my entire focus.
“You asked why I’m helping you.” I scratch the back of my neck, then squeeze hard, easing the prickling sensation.
She nods, twisting the hem of her blouse between her fingers. “Did Carter tell you to come get me?”
I guess I understand why that’d be her first thought. She knows Carter. Even if she hadn’t seen him in years, she was his sister’s bestie.
