Page 60 of June 7

She'd thrown every barrier she'd built through the years in front of her to keep him away. Staring back at him, she held steady, never wavering. If he hadn't known her, he would've guessed she'd emotionally distanced herself from the crime. But he knew her better.

She was scared.

People, adults, had shown her nothing but ignorance and coldness since she was left without a family. She surrounded herself with children because they were more accepting.

And once again, someone is trying to ruin her life.

He wasn't going to let that happen.

"Have people stalked you before?" he asked.

"No one has come to the duplex, but they treated my parents' house like a landmark. Tourists would drive by to see where the man who murdered his wife and killed himself had lived." Her lips thinned. "It was hard to sell the property because of the attention. That's why, when it sold, I used the money to buy the duplex. At eighteen years old, eight miles seemed like a long way from home. There's nothing special about this place. But you've seen and heard how people act if they recognize me in town or at your shop. They act like I can't hear and see them. Like I have no feelings."

Daisy turned away from him. He watched her straight spine. She'd gone through enough.

"I'll stay at the duplex with you, and I'll have a couple of Havlin members stay on my side of the duplex," he said.

She turned around. He held up his hand before she could speak. He wasn't finished.

"If you thought I was overprotective before. You haven't seen anything yet." He let that sink in. "You're going nowhere alone. I'll take you to work and bring you back. There will be more members around you at the duplex. I'm not arguing with you about that. No one tells me what I can and can't do. If the guy thinks he can threaten you and make Havlin leave, I'll put the whole fucking club around you and see what the fuck he wants to do then."

"The man who called the shop said more bikers would get hurt if I don't make you all go away," she said.

"I don't give a fuck what he thinks he can do." He approached Daisy and held her face between his hands. "I'll catch the asshole and put a bullet in his head."

"Bane—"

"I'm not letting anything happen to you." He circled his arms around her and held her tight. "It'll be over soon."

"If anything happens to you—"

"I can take care of myself. It's you who needs protected." He looked over her head out the crack in the curtains.

The ocean rolled onto the shore, destroying anything in its path as the tide came in. He wanted to know who was after Daisy, and he wanted that threat gone.

Chapter Twenty Three

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