Page 51 of The Eraser

"Mal," I whisper. "What's going on?"

She blinks furiously, trying to stop the tears from falling. "It's fine. You're getting married today. That's a joyous occasion."

"No," I say, holding her hands. "Mallory, what's going on? Talk to me, please."

She grips my hand like it's her lifeline. "I'm in trouble," she whispers. "God, Jess, I'm so scared."

"What's happened?" I ask, guilt hitting me like a tonne of bricks. Mallory has been by my side throughout everything, and now she's in trouble and I've no idea what's going on. I've been so wrapped up in my own life. I'm a terrible friend.

"The night that we went out before Shay was born," she says low. "Remember what happened?"

I nod tightly. That's not a night I'll ever be able to forget. I watched as Stephen beat a man to death.

"The O'Learys aren't happy, Jess," she confesses. "Micah O'Leary has been trailing me."

I blink. "What?" I hiss harshly. "Mallory, why did you never tell me?"

"You've been going through so much, I couldn't tell you. I didn't want you to live in fear either."

I shake my head. "God, Mallory, you should have told me. I would have helped you. What's he done?" I ask, knowing that she's keeping a lot more from me. "Tell me, please. What's he done to you?"

She glances away once more. "Please," she whispers. "This is your wedding day, Jess. Please just leave it be."

"Tell me," I urge. "Please."

"He threatened to kill us, Jess, threatened Shay and me. He broke into our home and held a knife to my throat while Shay laid in his crib beside me. I was so scared," she cries. "Ma woke up and he ran away. Since then, we've been in hiding. I hate that I'm so scared. I'm afraid that he'll find me."

My heart breaks for her. God, why is that monster doing this to her? It wasn't her who killed Jarlath. It was Stephen. Why would he do this to her?

"I'm so sorry," I whisper. It's my fault. Had I not been mad at Stephen, we probably wouldn't have wanted to walk home that night and this wouldn't have happened.

"It's not your fault, Jess," she says, swiping away at her tears. "This isn't on you. This is on them. They're doing this, not you. We'll be fine."

"I'll talk with Uncle Jer, Maverick, and Stephen. We'll make sure this stops. God, Mal, I'm so very sorry. I should have known something was wrong. I'm so sorry."

She wraps me in a hug. "Don't apologize. I haven't told anyone. I'm so scared, Jess, so damn scared. What if he gets to Shay?"

My lips tremble as we embrace each other. I hate that she's frightened, that she's dealing with a monster threatening not only her but her little boy too. "We'll make you safe," I promise her.

"I know," she says softly. "Ma's been a Godsend, Jess. She's finally present and here. She dotes on Shay and she's finally showing me that she cares."

My heart soars. Mallory's mam, Jayne, has worked her ass off to provide for Mallory and give her a good life, but somewhere along the way she forgot that she had a child who needed her love and support. Mallory felt alone and withdrew from Jayne. I guess when times get hard it's those who are there for you that mean the most. "I'm glad she's around more and that she's present, watching Shay grow up. Nothing will happen to any of you. I'll talk to Maverick and Jer today," I promise her. "They'll help."

She gives me a bright grin. "I know. I love you."

I close my eyes, loving that she's here. I'm selfish, I know. She should be with Shay and her mam. But she's here, and I love her so much for that. "With my entire heart," I tell her.

She wipes away her tears and stands up tall. "Let's get you married," she says with a wide smile.

I nod, my nerves once again hitting me hard. I never thought I'd get married. It wasn't something I had ever thought possible, not with everything that was going on with Dad. I hadn't let my mind wander that far into the future. I had never dreamed of what could be. Yet here I am, about to get married to a man I'm falling so very hard for.

Maybe it's stupid, maybe not. But the way Stephen makes me feel is unlike anything I've ever felt before. I've never felt as safe as when I'm with him, despite him being a cold-blooded killer.

"Ready?" Mallory asks a few minutes later as she hands me a small white bouquet of flowers that have pale blue flowers sprinkled throughout. They're gorgeous, and I know that even with everything Mallory's going through, when Jer called her she didn't hesitate to organize everything with him. There's no one who knows me as much as she does.

I know that when Chloe finds out what’s happened she’s going to be angry, something that I get, something I know Mallory gets too as she hasn’t told her about Shay at all. But we’re protecting Chloe, she’s still reeling from what happened to her when she was kidnapped and neither me nor Mallory would want to send her spiralling. I just hope that she’ll forgive us.

I turn to face her, a bright smile on my face, and nod. My hands are shaking and the somersaults are back in my stomach, but I'm ready. I nod, unable to speak as excitement and nervousness hit me hard.

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