Page 35 of Safe With Me

Although I didn’t have any details, the bad feeling I’d had about what could’ve made her move to Kelly Lakes so fast was now a certainty. Other than clocking Jared across the jaw—something, as a cop, I couldn’t do without asking for a shit-ton of trouble—I had no idea how to help her.

I would have to wait until when and if she was ready to tell me, but there was no way I could’ve left her alone tonight.

I pulled into the spot behind her and jumped out to meet her at her car door. She peered at me through her window, shooting me a tiny smile before she opened her door and climbed out.

“Mike, I’m fine. You really didn’t have to follow me home. I appreciate it, but I think I’m just going to go inside and try to relax after the humiliation burns off.”

“And I promise to leave you alone so you can—afterI walk you inside and know you’re safe.”

“I thought Kelly Lakes was a safe place to be,” she said, her voice tired and small. I could tell she had been nervous for most of tonight, but I hadn’t noticed such a deep exhaustion in her eyes until now.

It made me want to pummel Jared even more for setting off whatever was weighing on her.

“It is, but think of it as a favor to me. I’d be able to sleep better.”

“As you wish, Officer Mike,” she said, giving me a weak smile as she unlocked her door.

A bone-deep need to protect her had taken over me, but I couldn’t fight against what I didn’t know.

I shut the door behind me as Lila trudged inside her apartment, tossing her keys into a bowl on the kitchen table and slumping into one of the chairs.

“I’m really sorry.” The pull in her tired features killed me. “You tried so hard to make sure I had a good time. I feel like I ruined your night.”

“You absolutely did not.” I took a seat across from her, my fingers itching to touch her like I had in the bar tonight. I’d been focused on calming her down, but when my thumb grazed the corner of her mouth, the temptation to taste those full lips and kiss her fears away was so potent it itched under my skin.

She’d looked so beautiful tonight, it had been hard for me to look anywhere else. And once I’d spotted her, I couldn’t leave her side.

I’d said I’d stay close to help her navigate the unfamiliar crowd, but if I was honest with myself, my attachment to her tonight was from simply wanting to be near her, no matter how little sense it made.

I wanted to pull her into my arms, thread my fingers through the silky strands of her hair, and promise I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.

That would probably do more harm than good right now, and I couldn’t convince her not to be scared if I didn’t know what she was afraid of.

“I had a really great time tonight, despite how it ended,” she said with a wince. “The whole town probably thinks I’m a weirdo, which is what I was hoping to avoid, but here I am.”

“They don’t,” I told her. “You are not the first woman to yell at Jared to back off. In fact, you probably gained some respect.”

Her shoulders jerked with a chuckle.

“Thanks for trying to make me feel better.”

“I’m not trying to make you feel better. All right…yes, I am,” I said when she arched her brow. “But Jared isn’t very popular in town, despite all the arrogance he struts around with. In fact, Aaron and I got suspended in high school for getting into a fight with Jared and some other asshole on the football team.”

“Really?” Lila’s brow pinched.

“Oh yeah. I broke Jared’s nose when he was a senior and I was a freshman.”

“No way,” she gasped, her eyes wide. “Good for you, although I can’t really see you being the kind of kid to fight in school.”

“It wasn’t one of my best moments, but I was defending myself. My father flipped out, but that was my only fight inschool. Jared hasn’t changed since then, and unfortunately, he never left town.”

My stomach uncoiled a little bit when I pulled a laugh out of her.

“Mike, I need to tell you something.” Lila exhaled all the words in one breath.

“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to.”

“No, I do. Ineedto tell you at this point.”

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