Page 42 of Teaching His Babygirl

“Did you catch him?” I ask through a shuddering breath.

He shakes his head. “The fucker got away,” he growls lowly, sounding more menacing than even the most feral of animals.

Panic floods my system. If he got away, Colt can’t be here. He’s in danger. “You have to leave.”

Hurt and confusion show on his face but are gone just as soon as they came making me wonder if I imagined it. “I can’t do that, babygirl. I can’t leave you tonight.”

I shake my head, ready to argue, but I don’t get the chance. “No matter if we aren’t together, I can’t stand being away. Levi got too close today. I won’t leave you alone and vulnerable.”

“But isn’t that the point?”

“I don’t fucking care what the point is. If you don’t let me stay, I’ll sit outside your door all night. I won’t be able to rest if I don’t know you’re safe,” he says in his stern daddy voice.

The voice that makes me melt inside. My heart pitter-patters in my chest knowing he still cares so much that he’d be willing to stay outside my door just to keep me safe. “You can stay, but it doesn’t change anything.”

“I know,” he growls. “I’ll stay on the couch. I just have to know you’re safe.”

I leave him with a blanket and pillow and head to bed myself. I can’t sleep no matter how much I try. My mind won’t stop focusing on what could possibly happen if Levi finds out that Colt is here. What if he makes good on his threats and hurts him?

The stress from the day bubbles up and out my eyes in the form of giant wracking sobs and ugly tears. Colt must hear me because the next thing I know, he’s crawling into bed behind me and pulling me into his arms. My heart instantly feels lighter at being reunited. I let myself enjoy this stolen moment. I’m already taking a huge risk by letting Colt stay. I might as well go all in.

Thankfully I finally fall into a peaceful sleep. I sleep better than I have since this whole thing started knowing that I’m safe in the arms of the man I love. I can’t help but worry about what happens next. How will I ever be strong enough to keep Colt at arm’s length now?

Chapter Twenty

Colt

Even with Darlenesafe in my arms, I can’t seem to relax. All I can see is the look of panic on her face whenever I told her I was staying and that Levi wasn’t caught. Why would she panic at knowing I’m here? Or was it just panic because Levi hasn’t been caught yet, and it’s not over? I can’t shake the feeling that she’s hiding something.

Could there be a different reason she doesn’t want me around other than the one she gave me when she broke up with me? I’m not sure what’s going on, but I will get to the bottom of it. I refuse to roll over and give up on Darlene. Once all of this is over, I’m going to do everything in my power to show her how much I love her.

It takes a long time for me to fall asleep. My sleep is plagued by nightmares of a broken and bloody Darlene. When morning comes, I feel like warmed-over garbage and am even more concerned about what Levi’s end game is for Darlene.

I leave shortly after Darlene wakes up. She still has dark circles under her eyes even though her sleep was restful. She looks like she’s got the weight of the world on her shoulders… maybe she does. I can’t imagine how helpless she feels right now. Her life isn’t her own anymore. She moves to a new city for a fresh start and a new job only to be stalked by a psycho and made to live in fear.

I walk across the street to where I know Ransom is watching Darlene’s apartment building. I climb into his car and he hands me a coffee. “Did you get it out of your system?” he growls.

“Never. She’ll never be out of my system. Knowing she’s not safe will never sit well with me. I want to be by her side always.”

“It’s for the best, though. You know that,” he says, arguing his point. “She’s perfectly safe with me and the others watching over her. Not to mention your obsessed ass. From the outside looking in, you’re more of a stalker than Levi at this point.”

“Fuck off. Do we know where Levi ran off to?” I ask, unable to hide my anger and frustration at the fact that he eluded us last night.

Ransom shakes his head. “Not a clue. He ducked between two buildings, and it was like he just melted into the shadows.”

“How did he just fucking disappear like that? He’s way more of a problem than we originally thought.”

Ransom lets out a low growl. “Darlene isn’t his first victim.” He pulls out a folder and hands it to me. “I did some more digging last night and found out that Levi Troy didn’t exist until five years ago.”

“That’s just before he started working at Thurston Academy.”

He nods. “Yep. It seems that Mr. Levi Troy used to be one Leonard Trey. Leonard has multiple restraining orders filed against him, not to mention that he’s currently wanted for assault. It seems that he attacked his last victim—nearly killed her.”

Rage bubbles up inside my core; right alongside that is fear. Fear for the woman I love. Now we know exactly what Levi—Leonard—is capable of, and I don’t like it one little bit. I feel the need to rush back to Darlene’s side and never leave. Ransom has a point about leaving her seemingly alone, though. Someone like Levi isn’t likely to attack when there’s another man around.

“Keep close to her. I don’t want that fucker laying on finger on her.”

Ransom snorts. “You know I’m a professional, right?”

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