Page 9 of Saved By Two

Noah reaches for me before I fall onto my arse and pulls me into his chest. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you, fuck.”

He brings a hand to the back of my head and holds me there. “I never want to hear you say it was your fault. You got that?”

I can hear the back-seated anger in his voice, but I realise it’s not directed at me, and I relax a fraction.

“The only one to blame is him. I can guarantee you he will not be getting away with what he’s done.”

My body tenses. “You don’t understand. I can’t go to the police.”

Panic grips me again, fear holding me prisoner.

“Shhh, I’ve got you. You’re safe here.”

I inhale a slow, deep breath. Fucking hell, it hurts. I try to concentrate on anything else. Like how Noah smells like floral leather, both sophisticated and elegant. Intense, robust, and powerful.

Noah walks me over to the bed and urges me to sit, fluffing the pillow against the headboard.

Caleb clears his throat as he enters the room. He’s wearing a plain black T-shirt and a pair of grey jogging bottoms. Ones that I would probably pay more attention to in any other state, but all I want to do is curl up in a ball and sleep for a month, pretending like today didn’t happen.

He places my bag at the end of the bed.

And I know I need to plan what my next steps are.

ChapterFive

NOAH

The room is thick with tension with the shock of Jessica turning up on our doorstep, but at the same time, I’m glad she did. The thought of her out there alone, running scared, has my entire being alight with anger.

“I’m sorry to put you both out like this,” Jessica says, her head dipped low. “I’ll be out of here tomorrow.”

I glance at Caleb, who raises a brow, and I speak up before he does.

“Yeah, no, you won’t. You’ll stay here until you’re well enough to make your next move. And just so you know, you’re not putting us out.”

She visibly swallows, raising her head, and I notice, not for the first time, the bruising on her throat. I clench my fists. I’m usually the voice of reason, but I’m struggling to keep a harness on my own emotions. I’ve seen first-hand what can come from domestic abuse. The controlling incidents, coercive, threatening, and violent behaviour, the list goes on and on and on. I should know, I had front-row seats for years growing up.

Talk about a mind fuck.

Caleb walks over, his presence intimidating if you don’t know him. Hell, even if you do know him. It’s different for me; I know him intimately, and he still has the power to take my breath away.

We’d only met Jessica once when we had a get-together here for Mason. But she left a lasting impression in her wake.

“Why didn’t you come to us sooner?” Caleb questions. I see the tensing of his jaw, the clenching of his fists, and the pulsing of his heartbeat in his throat.

I widen my eyes at him when he shifts his focus entirely on Jessica, his nostrils flaring.

“Because I hardly know you,” she admits, her voice low and as defeated as her posture.

Caleb shakes his head and grips the bridge of his nose. I stand in front of him and cup his shoulder, his gaze moving to my face once again.

I nod in the direction of the door before moving past him. He sighs, his heavy footsteps following close behind me.

When we’re in the hallway, I pull him out of earshot.

“You need to calm down and stop giving the poor girl the fifth degree.”

His eyes turn to slits, and it’s taking everything in him to rein in his anger, not with Jessica, but with the situation. I can understand why his instinct is to protect, and I know he feels helpless. His go-to is to react, but since the target of that anger isn’t present, he’s transferring.

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