Page 63 of Protector

I jump at Brooks’s words, then turn over to face him. I slip my arms under his and pull myself flush against his body.

“It’s okay. I’m here,” he whispers.

“I had a dream…” I say into his chest as he rubs my back, and I instantly feel calmer. If only every fear, every stress, every bit of pain I feel in life could be washed away by Brooks’s capable hands. Why can’t he see how much I need him? How incredible we could be together. I know this is his job, but the way he holds me doesn’t lie. His eyes can’t lie. In his heart he wants to be with me, and somehow, I’ll have to convince him that all the things making him hesitate, causing him to hold back, is not stronger than we are.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I pull back, my eyes adjusting to the dark, allowing his face to come into view. This could be our way out of this. And then we can finally be together for real. “I have to.”

“What do you mean?”

“I dreamt of that night…what Brendan did to me.”

His index finger brushes hair away from my eyes. “I don’t get it. I thought we determined it wasn’t him.”

I lean up on an elbow. “It wasn’t. But I did seehim. Stalker Sam. Clear as day in my dream. The only way I got away from Brendan was because his roommate walked in on us. And I didn’t remember it before, but when I was leaving, I heard him tearing into Brendan. He must have been beating the crap out of him.”

I watch as Brooks’s eyes widen, the picture becoming clear to him. “What the—" He huffs and shakes his head, coming up on his elbow to meet my gaze. “Son of bitch. Knight in fucking armor!”

We stare at each other, and I simply nod.

“Insane.” Brooks sits up and looks down on me. “That night, the lingerie show… Who knows what else… This guy thinks he’s looking out for you.” Getting to the edge of the bed, he grabs his jeans and starts pulling them on. “Well, at least now that we know who he is—” His head snaps to me. “Wait. What’s his name?”

Shaking my head, I say, “I don’t know. I don’t remember.”

Brooks’s jaw clenches. “Probably kills that motherfucker you don’t remember him.” He jumps out of bed and finishes buttoning his jeans. Shirtless, he makes his way over to the other side of the bed.

“What are you doing?” Thankfully, Brooks’s activity keeps my mind from spiraling.

“I need to make some calls to my team. We need to get a name for this guy before we do anything else. Then we’ll have to get it to the police, see if they can track him down. We’ll do the same on our end. I won’t leave this only to the authorities.”

As he’s about to make calls, I grab my phone but then freeze. Telling my mother about this means telling her what happened at college. Hell, even Cal doesn’t know that. At the time I preferred to have her gloat and enjoy the win of me returning home rather than feel the heartache a mother endures when her child is hurt. She went through enough of that missing Dylan when my dad dragged him to Greece.

Not even noticing Brooks traveled around the room, I find him right next to me, sliding onto the side of the bed, his arm around my shoulder. He doesn’t say anything, just holds me, infusing his strength into my very bones. And, no matter what he says, I can feel his love pouring into me as well. Then, like some sort of a switch flips, a burst of adrenaline shoots through my system. I don’t know how or when, but deep in my soul, I know I will get through this. Maybe it’s not any one thing, but being here, meeting Jade, her teaching me self-defense and how to handle a gun—and most importantly, knowing I have Brooks in my corner—I feel stronger. Confident. And I won’t let anyone take that away from me.

I turn to Brooks, touch his face and say, “Thank you.”

He squints at me, his dark eyes knowing even though he says the words. “For what?”

“I’m not afraid anymore. I feel safe with you, and I know we’re going to find a way to get this guy.”

Taking me by the wrist, Brooks kisses the palm of my hand. “You’re incredible, you know that? Not many would be able to handle this.”

“Honestly, I don’t know if I could have before. Not until I met you.”

He grins, pulls me in for a kiss, then says, “Well, I have a lot to do. You’ll be okay here? Jade will—”

I shake my head to stop his words. “I guess I should be clear. I need to go back. I need to do the show.”

Brooks’s brows form a deep V. “Are you fucking kidding me? After all this, you want to do the show?”

His aggravation doesn’t intimidate me. Not anymore. So I give him a half-smile. “Brooks, we know who it is. And you’re either going to get your people to find him so the police can arrest him and I can safely do the show. Or…you won’t be able to find him, but he’ll likely be at the show, which means it’s our only chance to catch him.”

Dropping his head, he rubs a hand over his jaw, silent as if taking in my speech. I give him time, but when he says, “I don’t know…” I grab his hands, and he looks at me. “Shay, dammit, I’m not going to gamble on your life like that.”

“I’m sorry, Brooks, but it’s my decision. I trust you to protect me.”

He swears under his breath and looks past me, his face a war of emotions. “Shay…” Then after a few beats, he moves to get up. Tears sting the back of my eyes when he stands. Not because I’m afraid or angry; it’s merely the loss of Brooks leaving me. Of knowing we’ll leave this place and go back to the way things were.

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