Page 79 of Claiming Becca

I extend my hand to him. He looks from it to me, then grasps it shaking it. “You’re one of us now, Vic,” I tell him.

He raises an eyebrow at me. “Glad to see I’m finally being accepted.” He begins to walk away, but turns before he gets in his car. “By the way, don’t call me Vic,” he deadpans as he climbs in his car. I chuckle and jog around to the driver’s side door.

“Is she going to be alright?” Bailey asks, standing on her tiptoes to see into my truck.

“She will be. She’s pretty shaken up, but I think she’ll be fine when we get home,” I tell her. She takes a deep breath and nods once. “Her keys are still in the car,” I say before climbing into my truck and driving home.

I glance over at Becca to determine if she’s upset because she thinks she hurt me or what happened with Donovan. I grab her hand, and she finally looks at me. I kiss her hand and return my eyes to the road.

“You know it’s okay that you tried to overcome your fear,” I tell her.

She sighs and shakes her head a little. “I feel like I lied to you.” She glances out the window. “I should have told you earlier today what I planned on doing. I wanted to do it on my own. You always rescue me. This time, I wanted to do this alone.” I pull off the road and into a random parking lot.

She turns to look at me with a question in her eyes, but I don’t say anything as I put the truck in park. Unbuckling my seat belt, I lean over and unbuckle hers, then pull her into my lap.

“What are you doing?” she asks. She leans back against my door as I wrap my arm around her waist and cup her jaw.

“It may look like I rescued you, but we have always been there for each other. Always. You don’t have to face things on your own. You could have overcome your fear alone, and I would have been happy to tag along and cheer you on.” I kiss her gently. “You’re my person, Shortcake. I will always follow you. No matter what.” I run my fingers through her hair, and she relaxes in my arms.

“You’re my person too, Big Man. I don’t think I could do life without you.” Her hand comes up and wraps around my neck.

“You could, but you don’t have to.” I lean in and kiss her one more time.

“I guess we need to get to your house. Everyone will be waiting for us,” she says as she leans her head on my shoulder. I hold her close for a few more minutes.

“Yeah. We have to figure out what to do about Donovan. He’s not going to stop.” I run my hand up and down her arm.

“No. No, he’s not,” she agrees. What the hell did he say to her?

CHAPTER FORTY

BECCA

EVERYONE ISgathered around the living room; even Bass and Caroline came. I love how we all come together as a unit and are there for each other, but I don’t know if I’m prepared to tell them the message Donovan told me to deliver. How will Liv react? How will Victor react? Connor walks over to his chair, pulling me along with him. I sit on his lap as everyone gets comfortable. Eyes turn our way, and I sink into Connor more.

“Where’s Mia?” I ask Caroline.

“She’s at home with my mom. She was visiting and said she’d stay so we could come to check on you.” She has a sympathetic look on her face. I hope she knows how much I love her.

Connor kisses my forehead and holds me tight. “Becca had a run-in with Donovan,” he starts. There are various reactions. Liv’s face stays passive, which makes me believe Victor has already talked to her. Ansley and Caroline gasp, Lincoln stays calm, and Bass leans forward, studying me.

“Are you okay?” he asks.

“Yes. Oddly enough. He didn’t try to hurt me, although he did threaten me.” A shiver runs down my spine, remembering him running his finger down my cheek. Everyone keeps their eyes focused on me except Victor. Victor is watching Liv.

“What did he say?” Liv asks. Eyes swivel from her to me.

“How do you know he said something?” I whisper. Liv huffs and looks down at her hands. She’s picking at her nails. Victor lays his hand on top of hers, giving her comfort.

“I know my stepfather,” she finally says. “He had some kind of message for me.” It’s a statement. I look from her to Connor. He rubs his hand up and down my back. I don’t want to tell her. I glance at Victor.

“Whatever he said, we’ll handle it together,” se states. I’m unsure if he’s directing that at the group or if he’s talking about him and Liv.

Taking a deep breath, I prepare myself. “He knew that I was friends with you.” Connor stiffens under me, but I ignore everyone and focus only on Liv. She swallows, but keeps her eyes trained on me.

“He said you can’t hide from him. That you thought you’d been hidden all these years, but he’s always known where you’ve been. He’s been watching you.” I suck in a breath when tears fall down Liv’s cheeks. Dread fills me. I don’t want to continue, but we need to be prepared.

“He said he’s allowed you your freedom, but it’s ended. He’s coming for you and no one,” I say before I look at Victor. “Not even his ex-best friend can keep him from you.” I sag against Connor, and he hugs me close.

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