Page 63 of Burning Bridges

“He’s obsessed with her, and he always has been, but I’m sure he'll kill her if he gets his hands on her again. What are we supposed to do to stop him?” Ben asks, looking straight to me for answers. He’s not the scared little kid I met at The Joker not too long ago; he’s grown some balls since hanging with Jett all the time. He also looks like he has been participating in Kobe’s workout program.

“She'll stay here with us so I can keep an eye on her,” Jett tells him, sounding like he has already put a lot of thought into this.

“No, I don’t need to do that. I'll be fine, Ben is overreacting, he won’t kill me,” Hazel says, trying to sound confident, but the tremble of her lip gives her away. She doesn’t even believe her own words.

I glance at Piper, and she gives me a nod, like she is thinking exactly what I am. “You should stay here. If we know anything about the Kings, it’s that they will follow through on their threats,” Piper tells her.

“He hasn’t threatened me,” she tells me, like it makes a difference.

Ben turns to her. “He put you in the ICU.”

“I’m not saying I’m going back to him, I just don’t need to stay here with you lot. I’ll go visit some relatives in Mexico for a little while. I can take care of myself.”

Her friend strokes her hair, making her look at her. “Haze, I know you can take care of yourself, but this is Liam. He was scary before he had any say. If he is in charge of the Kings now, he’s powerful, and you know as well as I do, even when he wasn’t, he would have done just about anything to get to you. If the Riveras want to help you, let them. It’s better than being dead.” They keep staring at each other, a silent message passing between them. Her friend is smart, and I hope she listens to her.

“Jett?” I ask for his opinion.

He’s quiet, assessing the room, and I know he has an opinion on the matter; he wouldn’t have stayed so close to her all week if he didn’t. “She’s staying here,” he demands like there is no choice in the matter.

Her angry eyes flick over to him, and I see a spark of something, a little fire. He gives her nothing in return.

“Just until things settle down, Hazel, then you can go on with your life,” her brother tells her. The desperation in his voice shows how much he cares about her.

“Jett, a word,” I say, needing to talk to him in private. I know my brother well enough to know something more is going on here already.

I walk through to the kitchen with him.

“Can you trust Ben? He wasn’t fully up front with us, was he?” I ask, my voice hushed.

“He was trying to protect her. He would do anything for his sister. You know what it’s like, Leo. You would have done anything to protect me and Kobe. Their mother's no help, and their father took off after basically selling Hazel to the Kings to save his own ass. You're right, before last week he wasn’t fully upfront with us, but I know their entire story now, and I can’t help but want to help them.”

“Is there something else going on here? You have never offered to be anyone’s private bodyguard before. Normally you would palm the job off to one of your men.”

“I don’t know if I can trust my men after what happened to her last week,” he snips, not liking what I’m insinuating.

“Well, okay. As long as you know what you’re doing. She is married, after all, to one of the most notorious men this side of California.”

“What is your point, Brother?”

“Just be careful, that’s all,” I tell him, walking back into the living room with the rest of them. “We have decided it’s best Jett watches over Hazel, and the most secure way he can do that is if she stays here. You’re welcome to stay here as well, Ben, and you too, Ruby-Rose, if that would make Hazel feel more comfortable. Stay for as long as you need so we can track Liam down and make sure he can’t hurt you again.”

“So, I literally have no say in my own life,” Hazel says angrily, sounding like a brat when we're offering to keep her safe. But I get it, she’s gone from being practically sold by her father to being watched around the clock in a strange house. She feels like she has no control.

“I’m sorry, Hazel. I care about you too much to have something happen to you when I could have stopped it,” her brother tells her, and she softens a little.

“Your brother is right. But don’t worry, you will have your own privacy. You can stay in the back wing of the house. Piper and I are moving into our own place on Tuesday,” I add, hoping it will make her feel less like a caged animal.

“You're what?” Jett asks, losing the cold edge he has been carrying since he arrived with Ben and the girls.

“We bought a place yesterday. It’s vacant, but I needed time for you to install your security system. So, we will be out of your hair sooner rather than later.” I smirk, knowing I should have told my brothers already, but this was something for me and Piper after all we have been through. This is what we need. A place of our own that we can make a home for us and for Hannah. Somewhere smaller and safer like Piper has always dreamed of having. Something almost normal. Except with all the added security.

“You two don’t mess around.”

“We need to make up for lost time.” Piper smiles, wrapping her arm around me. Despite the shit fight we're stuck in the middle of at the moment, this is the happiest I have ever been in my life. Because I know I have my girl with me. And that’s all I have ever really wanted.

Epilogue

PIPER

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