Page 76 of Safe With Me

A long silence dangled between us, and I could picture the deep furrow in his brow as he rubbed his temple.

“But be careful. Both of you. She told me a little about what her ex did before she moved, and if this is him and he knows she’s with someone else?—”

“I know, Dad. We’ll be careful, but I won’t give her up because of him or anyone else.”

“I didn’t say that. I said, cop or not, just watch yourself. I’m your father. Worrying about my kids is what I do.”

“And you’re awesome at it,” I said, not wanting to get into it. I hoped being a cop would make it easier to protect Lila, but Dad was right. If Ted was still angry enough to come find her after all these months, I’d be a target too if he found out about us.

Or maybe he already had and that was why he’d called her a whore in the ugliest way possible. We had only truly been together for a day, but if Lila really was being watched, we’dlookedtogether for a while—at least enough to make family and friends assume.

“Let me go check on Aaron. He said he’d probably be done at three.”

“All right. You can surprise her with leaving early when you get here. See you later, Officer Russo.”

My father always worried about me, and I was sure I’d taken some years off his life when I’d joined the police department.

But this wasn’t only his usual overthinking. This threat was real, but no matter what her ex would try to throw at her this time, I wasn’t going anywhere.

Because Lila was worth the risk.

16

LILA

“Why don’t you take a break?”

Jake stood over my desk, snatching the folder I was working on out of my hand.

“I’m fine,” I said, grabbing it back. “Work is soothing for me today. Both the distraction and the relief that I still have a job.”

I smiled as Jake narrowed his eyes at me.

“Of course you have a job. To be honest, I figured there was more to why you moved up here than needing a change and buying into Claudia’s love for the country.”

I snapped my head up.

“You did?”

He nodded. “Your references were stellar and you had Claudia vouching for you, so I didn’t think you were dangerous. I thought whatever brought you up here was personal and your business. I hate what happened to you, but I’m glad you’re here.”

“Thank you.” I swallowed after I caught my voice crack, dizzy from the whirlwind of emotions from last night. Happy to be with Mike, furious with Ted for possibly coming back for me after all this time, and terrified of how angry Ted could be now and what he’d do to the people I’d grown to care about.

Jake draped a hand on my shoulder. “And my son is too. You light him up in a way I’ve never seen. And for that, and getting me out of financial hell, I’m very, very grateful.”

I nodded when the lump in the back of my throat blocked any words I wanted to say in reply.

When my life had imploded because of Ted, I’d been on my own. My parents had brushed me off, I couldn’t get the police to help me, and “friends” other than Ally had faded away, not wanting to deal with Ted if they’d invited me out with them.

Here, I’d found people who cared about me enough to get angry on my behalf and worry about me, even when a potential stalker made my very presence around them risky.

“Car is as good as new.”

My head shot up from my keyboard at the sound of Mike’s voice. He sauntered over to my desk, twirling my car keys around his finger. His gorgeous and easy smile was a balm to my troubled soul, even if I had a feeling he was faking it a little for my sake.

“Thank you,” I said, pushing off the chair. “Who’s giving you a ride back?”

“You’re taking a couple of hours off,” Jake said behind us before Mike could answer. “A request from Officer Russo.”

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