Page 85 of My Secret to Protect

‘My family are going to worry,’ I say as I run my hands over Beans. He’s sad. His head is resting on my lap, and there’s a bandage wrapped around his paw that Arlo put on while I was upstairs packing.

‘I know,’ he grumbles. ‘I don’t know what we should say to them, Bree. I have no fucking clue how to explain this to them.’

‘Where are we going? Shouldn’t we stay and let him come for us if we’re going to stop him.’

‘I don’t know,’ he yells, and Beans and I both flinch. I glance across to see him gripping the steering wheel so hard I think he might actually snap it. ‘I got distracted. I should have stayed focused.’ His quiet words, that I think he’s only really saying to himself, knot up my stomach. ‘Fucking idiot.’

‘Baby…’

‘No, Bree, just,’ he inhales deeply and blows it out, ‘I need to focus.’

My attention drops to Beans, and I drag my fingers over his velvety soft ears and sink my teeth into my bottom lip to keep from crying. I can’t help feeling like everything is about to fall apart.

We pull into a parking lot at just after four am, and I look up at the unlit sign above the locked-up garage.Harper’s Autos. This is his shop.

‘Come on.’

We get out of the truck, Arlo carrying our bags as Beans and I follow him around the side of the building to a door that he unlocks with a pin code. We make our way up a stairwell to a short corridor, and he unlocks another door, this time with a key.

Stepping inside the apartment, I take a deep breath. Beans immediately trots off, knowing he’s home, and Arlo disappears with our bags. I stand awkwardly, not knowing what I’m supposed to do until he comes back, heading straight toward me, and wordlessly wraps me up in his arms.

‘I’m sorry,’ he grumbles, and I start to cry. Jesus, I have never cried so much. ‘Tonight freaked me the fuck out, Bree because I wasn’t ready for him. I was ready for him every night until we started…’

‘Don’t make it smaller.’ I tip my head back to look up at him, and he frowns. ‘Don’t say until we started fucking or anything else that diminishes what this is because you feel guilty for being distracted.’ He nods just once. ‘I’m glad we were distracted, Arlo, because this past week has been amazing. I have loved every second of being with you the way we have.’

‘But…’

‘He was always going to come.’ I shrug. ‘We need to regroup and figure out what to do now, but you said it yourself. We want him pissed off so that he can’t help but show his ass, and tonight, he did just that.’

‘It wasn’t him.’

He releases me, and I take a step back, confused. ‘What do you mean?’

‘It wasn't him in the house, pix. When I got downstairs, somebody was still in the living room. I chased him, but he jumped on the back of a bike, and they took off, two of ‘em.’ I swallow hard as he grinds his teeth, his jaw tight. ‘They had on Bone Roses cuts, Bree. They were from the club.’

Y’all Keep It In Your Pants

Arlo

I’mgoingtokillsomebody. I knew I was putting the leftover pieces of Nolan Fuckin’ Joseph in an unmarked grave or four, but now, my sights are set firmly on the club I used to call home. Everything in me itches to get up and go, right now, to find out what the fuck is going on and who I need to kill, but Bree needs me.

It hit her hard that the club was somehow involved in this, harder than it hit me, which surprised me, but she feels betrayed by the people who were supposed to keep her and her family safe all these years.

‘Is my grandma safe?’ she asks, and I pick up my phone, firing off a text to Mrs. C that I know she’ll answer when the sun comes up. Somehow, I know this isn’t about Mrs. C. This is all about Bree.

‘You need to get some rest, pix.’ I kiss the top of her head.

‘I can’t, not tonight. I’m…’ She doesn’t finish the sentence, but she doesn’t need to. She’s jittery, and I’m fired up.

‘Food then, you need to eat.’ I release her and head for my kitchen, hopeful that there’s something I can throw together, but there’s nothing. Some rice and lentils and, thankfully, some dog food, but I cleared most things out before I left for Forest Falls. I glance at the clock on the microwave. It’s almost five. The deli I go to sometimes to pick up breakfast for my team will be open by the time I get there. ‘Let’s go pick up something to eat.’ I grab my phone.

‘Can I stay?’ Bree says, and I feel my heart race. ‘There’s a keycode on the door downstairs and a key to this one. I don’t want to leave right now, Arlo. You go. I’ll figure out where we’re sleeping tonight since you don’t have a bed here.’

She smiles softly, and I know she’s just trying to put on a brave face. I don’t want to leave her alone, but we need to eat. I can’t force her to leave, and she’s right about the doors.

‘I’ll be half an hour, maximum. Take a shower and get comfortable. Don’t open the door.’

I don’t like this. I head for my bag and pull out a gun, checking it’s loaded before handing it to her. She takes it, but before she can pull away, I grip her wrist and pull her close, lowering my mouth to hers.

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