Page 107 of Billionaire Lumberjack's Bride

“Actually, that probably makes it the safest place to hide something because Marty would never suspect it, right?”

“Shit.” I scrub my hands over my face and groan in frustration. “We should have thought of this potential and planned ahead better before Ronald left Millsburg.”

“I know.” Lyla tugs on my wrists until I pull my hands away to look at her again. “We have to go to the house. Try to think of any place to look where he might’ve left it for you. And then we do what Ronald couldn’t. We take him the fuck down and make sure he stays there.”

The absolute determination and confidence in her words and the passion vibrating through her almost make me believe it’s possible.

I take her face in my palms again, dragging her up until I can press my lips to hers. “I know you hate when I say this, but I don’t deserve you, woman, not even a little bit. Today fucking proved that.”

She rests her forehead against mine, crumpling against me. “You have to keep reminding yourself that that isn’t true. You’ve been good to me, Silas. You’ve protected me. You’ve made it possible for me to take care of my brother. You’ve taken care of me. Since my mom died, no one else has ever done that.” A little sigh slips from her lips. “I basically had to become a mom to Joey, and I never got the chance to do any of those things that nineteen-year-olds are supposed to. I was busy making him dinner and running him to school and Boy Scouts and soccer and all the things I thought he needed to try to have a normal life.”

“That explains why you’re such a fucking good cook.”

Her light laughter breaks some of the tension in the room. “That was from years of working at restaurants, being back in the kitchen, helping out when I needed to. My brother mostly lived on frozen chicken nuggets.”

I chuckle and press another kiss to her lips. “That sounds super healthy.”

She grins. “He’s in shockingly good shape, considering his diet as a child.”

Almost instantly, her smile falters, and the tears well in her eyes again.

“You’re worried about him…”

She nods, trying to fight back a sob. “He’s in jail. I haven’t talked to him in weeks since I came up the mountain. I don’t have any idea what they’re feeding him or if he’s okay in there with all those criminals. I’m confident he’s terrified, and he doesn’t belong there.”

I know absolutely nothing about the kid, but I know enough about Lyla to be confident that she would have raised him right. Every single word she told me about what happened is the truth. I didn’t have to be there and witness it with my own eyes to believe it. And I’m not going to let her brother suffer for doing the right thing when I didn’t do it at his age like I should have.

“We’ll get him out, Lyla, I promise. We’ll call the attorney tomorrow—”

“I spoke with him when we got here yesterday.” She sniffles and swipes at her eyes. “He said he thinks he might be able to file a motion, but we will likely need an expert, and—”

“And what?”

“Nothing.” She starts to pull away. “Nothing. Forget it.”

I tug her back against me, refusing to allow her to put any distance between us when I already did that today. “No, Lyla, no more secrets between us.”

Fear fills her gaze, but I hold her steady, not letting her look away.

“He said he might need an expert to testify at the hearing. I don’t even know what kind of motion it is yet because he didn’t get into specifics, but experts cost money I don’t have.”

Christ.

An hour ago, if I had heard her say she needed more money, I would have immediately leaped to the worst conclusion, but I easily brush aside that knee-jerk reaction this time.

Because I didn’t misjudge her.

I saw exactly who she was from the beginning.

It terrified me and still does.

But Isawher and her true nature that shines so brightly. Now, I don’t know how I could have ever doubted it.

“I’ll pay for whatever he needs.”

The tears stream down her face, and she closes her eyes and shakes her head. “No, Silas, I can’t take anything else from you, not now, not like this, not when—”

“Look at me, Lyla.” I wait until her eyes lock with mine. “You’re mywife. I don’t care how we ended up here or what your reasons were for coming up that damn mountain. I’ll take care of you. I’ll take care of your brother. You don’t even have to ask.”

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