Page 100 of Safe With Me

I swallowed when I caught my voice crack.

“There’s no one and nothing that could keep me from you. I hate this every bit as much as you do, but I’m not going anywhere. No one is chasing me away from the woman I love.”

Big tears snaked down her cheeks as she dropped her gaze to the ground.

I was ready to tear whoever this was apart for doing this to us, and as much as I wanted to handcuff her to her bed to make her stay, it would mean nothing if she didn’t want to.

“I’ll be home around seven.” I feathered my hand down her wet cheek and stepped back. “If you’re going to stay—and stick by me and fight for us—you can let me know.”

I wanted to pull her into my arms and kiss her, hard and deep enough to convince her that what we had was worth everything, because after a lifetime of not believing in love or stupid things likethe one, I knew with a bone-deep certainty that she was it for me.

That was why I’d always been so terrified of loving someone enough to ruin me.

Because it already had.

23

LILA

“Jesus, that’s a lot,”Ally said, squinting at the screen as if she expected me to combust at any minute.

She wasn’t far off.

When things with Ted had been at their worst, I’d spent most of the time in a zoned-out limbo. Too tense and afraid to fully relax, even with the small amounts of sleep I’d manage to get, left me with a constant and all-consuming exhaustion.

This was so much worse. I’d never thought I’d find being miserable on a consistent basis easier than what I was going through now.

When it was all lows, it was much easier for my nervous system to adjust. This time, the terror and misery were dotted with moments of wonderful, making what was happening to us that much worse because it was like a cruel tease.

“So you’re really going to leave?” Ally asked, the deep crease in her forehead as she scrutinized me making me feel even worse.

It reminded me of a very similar conversation between us only a few months ago. Back then, although I’d loved Philly, I’d dreaded the hassle of starting over more than leaving. Nothinghad been keeping me there, other than familiarity and the fear of the unknown.

While I’d only been here for a short time—at least relative to spending my entire life in Philly—leaving Kelly Lakes would break my heart.

“I don’t want to, but I really don’t think I have a choice. I was ready to fight it when it was only us, but threatening his little sister took it to a whole new level. It feels selfish to stay and put them through that.”

“It’s not selfish, and from what you just told me, no one wants you to go. You have a chance to finally get this douche and never think about him again.”

“If it’s him,” I scoffed, raking a hand through my hair. “If it’s not, I have no idea who I pissed off enough to do this to us.”

“Maybe it’s not you. Maybe it’s Mike. Maybe this would have happened to anyone he dated. So, for whatever reason, you running away to Brooklyn to be a third wheel in your cousin’s marriage is only a Band-Aid and won’t solve anything.”

“And is just what they want,” I said, hating that I was playing right into their hands.

“Exactly. And whoever is doing this is pissing off the entire police department up there, so it’s a short matter of time before they get caught. If you want my opinion…” Ally arched her brow as she leaned closer to the screen.

“Always,” I said, dropping my head back against my chair. I pushed out a long gust of air but couldn’t loosen the knot in my stomach. It was eight thirty, the twilight turning the late summer sky a dark purple outside my window.

Mike had to be home by now, unless something else had happened. The crack in his voice when he’d said he loved me so much I brought him to his knees played over and over in my frazzled head.

The feeling was mutual, which made all of this so damn awful.

“Whoever this fucker is thought by raising the stakes with his sister, it would make you leave town. Which may not be wrong…” She trailed off, her eyes thinned to slits at me.

“But go on,” I said, nodding toward the screen.

“What they did was back themselves into a corner. Threatening a child is a big deal, and threatening one you said is related to the chief of police is just plain fucking stupid. Do you really love Mike?”

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