Page 40 of No Going Back

“And we’ll keep doing that. I don’t think there’s any danger to anyone tonight or even tomorrow. Even if he knows where we are, he’ll need to come up with a plan before he gets here. I think he’s used to intimidation and reputation being his weapons. He won’t have those here.”

“He could still do the intimidation. What if he catches someone and tries to torture the information out of them?”

“That’s not going to happen, Branna.”

“You can’t guarantee that. No one can.”

He pulled her in for a long hug. “How about we leave off deciding until the morning? We can sleep on it and think about the options. Then we’ll talk to the others and find out what the FBI and the police know. Then we’ll make some plans.”

She sighed, but her arms wrapped around him. “You don’t have to stick with me, you know.”

Oh, hell no. he leaned back and squatted until they were eye to eye. “You’re stuck with me. And it’s not out of a sense of duty. I’m not interested in being anywhere other than where you are. If you decide to leave, we’ll go together.”

“But—”

He cut her off. “No. No buts. Promise me you won’t take off on me. Promise me I don’t have to panic every time you leave a room. Please. Promise me, Branna.”

He wanted to ask her for even more promises, but for now, he’d stick with these.

She studied his face for a long moment. His Branna was a stickler for promises, and she didn’t make them lightly. Her word mattered to her.

Finally, she nodded, but she didn’t smile. “Fine. I promise. But you have to promise me the same. No taking off to put yourself in danger because of me.”

“It’s not me he’s after, honey.”

“If he knows I’m in Vermont, he probably had access to a police file. Your name could be in there, too.”

He shrugged. “Maybe. But reports tend to focus more on the criminals than civilians.”

“Not the point, Sean. Promise me I’m not going to lose you as well.”

Little did she know he would promise her absolutely anything. “I promise, Branna. We’re going to deal with this asshole together. He’s going down.”

And he would do everything in his power to ensure that was exactly what happened.

* * *

Branna didn’t think she’d be able to handle it if she lost Sean. She’d already lost so much. Despite her heartbreak, she’d fallen in love. And now, he could be in danger because of her.

She’d never been a violent person, but right now, she wanted to see Prince Hawley suffer before they threw him in jail forever.

Sean’s body softened at her words, and he enveloped her with his strength. “You’re not losing me, Branna. And I’m not losing you. We’re just starting our journey together, and there’s no way we’re going to let that jackass screw it up.”

She squeezed him. “Okay.”

When they hadn’t moved a few minutes later, Jabba barked, making her smile. This dog didn’t let you feel sorry for yourself for too long.

They took Jabba out the back door and let him play in the moonlight. The sun set early in the winter, but the snow stopped it from being dark. The mostly open fields surrounding them made it easy to see Jabba loping through the snow.

It would also make them easy targets. “Do you think we can find out if Prince has a long gun like a rifle?”

Sean nodded. “Probably. If he got it legally, anyway. But I assume someone like him would have revolvers or pistols. What are you thinking?”

She gestured around. “That we’re pretty easy targets out here.”

“If he knew where to look, yes. While he might show up in town looking for us, he has no idea how small towns work.”

That made her choke out a laugh. “Me neither. I’ve never lived anywhere but in the pub. This is the longest I’ve been away from it my whole life.”

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