Page 73 of His Reluctant Savior

He looked so peaceful and innocent; like nothing had harmed or traumatized him. I sat on the edge of the bed and ran gentle fingers through his strawberry-blond hair,wishing I had a do-over. Owen didn’t deserve this. Hell, no child deserved to be hurt, even teens like Sid, who hid their suffering behind bullying.

Once life returned to normal, if it ever did, I’d have to find a good therapist for Owen. He was still young, and eventually, all the scary things he’d seen would be like a hazy dream. Even if his trauma was blocked, it could still have a profound effect on him and his life, affecting his mental health.

“Thank you for coming to get us,” I whispered, not taking my eyes off my son, but I could feel Sid behind me.

“You knew I would. I’ll always be there when you need me.”

I stood, faced him, and wrapped my arms around myself, looking at this man I’d fallen for, which also terrified me. “What if I need you tomorrow and the next day? Instead, you’re leaving to go back into the viper’s nest. What if… they take you away from me?”

He chuckled humorlessly. “You forget that I’m a viper, too.”

“This isn’t the time for jokes, Sid,” I hissed under my breath, glaring at him.

“Who’s joking? Seriously, Dalt… I need to do this. We can’t run forever. Someone will catch up with us, eventually. If not the people hunting you, it will be my family.”

He stepped up to me, grabbed my hand, and tugged me against him. I didn’t fight him as I slipped my arms around him and rested my head on his shoulder made of granite.

Sid held me tightly as if I would slip away from him, but then he gently eased me back by my shoulders, unable to look at me, before sighing. “I can’t do this, Boy Scout.”

I held tightly onto his forearms. “What do you mean?” When he didn’t answer, I gripped him tighter. “What. Do. You. Mean?”

“You almost died because of my failings. I’ve been questioning everything I am and what I do… all my mistakes since I took on this job. If we continue as we are… you’re going to die, or… Owen is. I’ve made too many mistakes. You and Easton are right. I’m too damn distracted. This situation has gone beyond being personal. I’ll still protect you, but…”

He shook his head and pushed me back, but I refused to let go of him. “No, yousavedus! Several times!” I snapped, desperate for him to listen. He couldn’t do this to me. Not now. Fuck if I’d let him leave me behind.

When he still wouldn’t look at me, I tugged on his hand and pulled him outside to talk freely because he was about to get a fucking earful.

The evening was cool, so I wrapped my arms around myself and shivered.

Sid pulled me against him again to keep me warm, thank god. I needed his touch. No way was I going to let him push me away. Not now. Not… ever.

“The bastard who hurt you was right about one thing…” He sighed and kissed my bruised head.

“Right about what?”

“Loving someone is a liability. Not just to me, but to you and Owen.”

“He’s an idiot. Love makes you stronger. Love makes you fight harder. Love will push you to your max. Love helps give us a reason to survive and to keep moving.”

“And love will fucking destroy me if you’re taken from me because of what I do, Dalt. It’s a risk I’m not sure I can take. Let’s say we make a go of this thing growing between us, thatyou’re willing to put aside your code of life and come to work at The District… There may be a time when someone finds you and knows of our special connection. They’ll hurt you just to hurt me. I’m not sure if those are consequences I can live with.”

It was definitely a risk, but I was more at risk than ever without him. Even if things worked out, there would always be doubts among the people I worked with. There could be other politicians who wanted to silence me, knowing what I was capable of.

I sagged against Sid and gripped the back of his shirt. “There’s no going back, baby. I’ll always be a liability to the government. Who knows what stories have been told about me? What if they always hunt me? What if they find a way to turn me into a criminal and take my son from me? Anything can happen, even with you stepping aside. No matter what, my old life is over, and I’ve got to come to terms with that. Owen and I will be the safest with you. I know you will do whatever it takes to protect us because you’ve already done it. Don’t push me away. It won’t save me. Beyond all that, Ineedyou, too. I want you.”

“We don’t know that. We don’t know shit until all this gets cleared up. If we do this right, you can get your job back, and life will return to normal.”

I looked at him and pulled his face to meet my eyes. “Exactly. We don’t know shit. Still, you and I both know I can never trust the people I work for again.”

He rested his forehead against mine. “And what if I can’t save you from my own family?”

“You can. Do you know why?”

Sid shook his head, still fighting this.

“Because I’m coming in with you. I’ll work with you.”

He shook his head again and tried to push me away. “No. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but no… You’ll lose a part of yourself… the part I actually love about you the most. I’ve always been drawn to your goodness.”

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