I glance up, blinking, as he stares down at me. “Thank you. That means a lot.”
“You’re safe here,” Brody explains, still close to me, as is Corey, and then Jakob steps in too. They’re all so tall compared to me, so overwhelming and magnetic that some reckless part of me wants to be trapped between them until there’s no world left beyond heat and muscle and the brutal promise of protection. “You know that, right?”
I nod as my throat tightens.
Corey drops onto the arm of the couch, one foot bouncing against the floor. “So. Louis broke into your place, and now he’s loose.” He’s shaking his head.
“He’s a fucking asshole,” Brody pipes in.
“That’s the summary, yeah,” Jakob says, leaning against the wall.
“Brilliant. Love that for us.” Corey’s voice is dry, but his eyes are lethal. “What are we doing about it?”
“We report him,” Brody says. “Breaking and entering. He had a weapon.”
“And he files assault charges against Jakob for the broken face and the tree situation. Which, by the way, nice work. Very artistic.”
Jakob is grinning, and I smile, thankful for his help but still shaking in my shoes from the whole ordeal.
They’re talking across me. Around me. The way men do when they’re solving a problem, except this time I don’t feel like the problem.
Brody keeps glancing at me between sentences, his gaze traveling from my face to my hands to the tremble I can’t hide.
Corey is doing it too, in his way. Quick side-glances. His foot bouncing faster whenever my breathing catches. And Jakobhasn’t stopped watching me since we left my place. They’re not going to let me out of their sights, and I welcome it. Louis fucking terrified me tonight… What the fuck is his problem?
“What about security?” I ask, because I need to say something or I’ll dissolve. “I think I may need to turn my place into Fort Knox.”
“Already ahead of you.” Corey straightens. “Cameras on every entry point. Motion sensors along the perimeter. Alerts that go straight to our phones if anyone gets within ten feet of your doors or windows.”
“We’ve dealt with this before,” Brody adds. “Fans who took the obsession too far. We know how to lock a property down.”
“Shit, that’s scary,” I admit. “I’ve got enough savings to do the whole thing.”
“You’re not paying,” Jakob adds.
“But—”
“You’re one of us, and that’s not up for debate. We protect what’s ours.”
I can’t miss the possessive edge in his voice, and my stomach flips because I’ve never had anyone look out for me this way. Despite the fear, Louis, and the fact that I’m trembling and exhausted and still processing the reality that my ex-fiancé came to my house at two a.m. with rope and a knife.
“He’s right,” Brody adds, his hand finding my face, fingers pushing hair behind my ear, his touch gentle enough to close my throat. “This isn’t a favor. It’s how it is now. We need you safe, and that’s the priority.”
Damien stretches along the end table beside me, then headbutts my arm as if he’s confirming what Brody just said. The small brush of fur makes me glance over, but my attention snags on Jakob instead. On the way his smirk softens for half a second when Damien blinks those golden eyes up at him, then yawns, showing every one of his tiny perfect teeth.
Something about seeing all that hard Alpha intensity melt for a cat has me grinning.
“He agrees,” Jakob says. “So it’s four against one.”
Brody’s mouth curves beside me. “Smart cat.”
“Bossy cat,” Corey mutters.
Damien headbutts me again.
“Hey, I get it. I’m outnumbered,” I tease.
“Okay, then,” Corey says, standing, cracking his knuckles. “Tomorrow, Brody and Jakob handle the security install. And, Claire, I’m taking you out. Somewhere far from all of this. Just a change of scenery, and no pressure. But it will be an overnight thing, so pack extremely light, and something comfortable, as there might be some hiking involved.”
