She presses her eyes closed as her fingers clench the seat beneath her.
I fucking hate that she’s afraid, fucking hate that I can feel every ounce of anxiety running through her body, but there’s nothing I can do about it right now.
Right now, I need to get us to safety, and then I’m going to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.
I will not have my woman in danger, and I certainly won’t be responsible for her fear.
We’re barely through the gate when it starts to close, the wrought iron seeming to move slower than it ever has before.
But it doesn’t matter.
The van slows to a stop on the other side of the gate as we approach the house, and it’s not until we pull into the garage that my body relaxes.
That was close.
Too fucking close.
The door closes, leaving us in complete darkness aside from the glow of the dash, but it’s enough for me to see Hannah’s eyes pinched shut, her chest rising and falling a little too fast.
“Hannah?” I say softly as I reach for her.
She flinches when I brush my fingers along her bare arm, making me feel like an even bigger asshole than I already did.
I’ll never be worthy of Hannah. That’s a fact I accepted when I first realized I would never be able to let her go and that I would stop at nothing to make her mine. But right now, I don’t even deserve to look at her.
“We’re safe now. I won’t let anyone hurt you. I promise.” I keep my voice gentle, my words quiet and even, and despite how badly I long to pull her into my arms, I keep my hands to myself.
Asher will be home soon. He’ll be able to comfort her.
I press my eyes closed and force a steadying breath into my lungs.
We need to get inside.
The van may have stopped at the gate, but that doesn’t mean whoever is inside isn’t planning on scoping out the property. I need to get Hannah closer to the panic room, just in case.
I push my own fear and anger to the back of my mind before I shove the door open and round the car.
Opening Hannah’s door as carefully as I can manage, I lean over her and unclip her seat belt. I gather her into my arms, and I barely get a chance to straighten before she curls into me.
“I’ve got you, baby,” I murmur against her temple as I stride into the house.
The security system will alert me if anyone gets onto the property, meaning I can focus on taking care of my girl until Asher gets back.
It’s not until I get her into her bedroom that I’m able to loosen my grip on her. The panic room is in the closet, not that we’ve had a chance to go over how to operate it yet—an oversight I’ll be rectifying as soon as she stops trembling.
I reach the bed and move to place her down, but I can’t do it.
Partly because my body won’t allow me to, and partly because hers won’t either.
Hannah clings to me like I’m the only thing holding her together, which doesn’t make any sense because this is all my fault.
She was in danger because of me.
She was scared because of me.
She should be running in the opposite direction, not holding on for dear life.
“Asher will be home soon,” I murmur.
