Page 8 of Nikolai

"Somehow, I knew you'd still be awake."

I close my eyes. "You guessed, right."

His soft chuckle vibrates through the line. Over the next hour, Sam helps put my nerves at ease. He's good at that. I wasn't lying when I said he was my best friend. Alba is too, but since she moved back to Polson, Sam and I have become closer. Our friendship is strictly platonic. I think of him as a brother, just like he sees me as a sister. "I'll see you tomorrow afternoon."

"Thanks for calling. Tell Alba I said hi."

"I will. Try to get some sleep."

Ten minutes after hanging up with Sam, I fall asleep.

* * *

"Where—what?"I stare up at Sam the next day, minutes after he arrived back from Polson. And he's just dropped a bomb on me.

"I said we are moving to Polson. I talked to Alba."

"You told her?" I cut him off.

"I know I said I wouldn't, but she pried it out of me. You know how she is. It's like she can smell a secret a mile away." My shoulders slump because he's right. "The club is going to help. Alba is filling Gabriel in on the situation. Polson is the safest place for you."

"Just like that?" I ask.

"Just like that. It's time for a fresh start—for both of us."

"What about the apartment you said you found and your job?"

Sam shrugs. "I'll find a place in Polson. Also, the club and Logan's brother Nikolai own a construction company. I'm going to try and get a job there."

"How soon are we leaving?"

"When I hashed out the details with Alba, I said I need at least a month to secure us a place to stay and a job. She called me on my way back. The club found us an apartment. We can move in whenever we're ready. So, we leave soon."

Gabriel is Alba's boyfriend and the father to her unborn baby. He is also the Enforcer for The Kings of Retribution. Suddenly, just the mention of the MC has my heart rate picking up. I've been to the clubhouse once, and those men are next level intimidating.

Sensing my onset of panic, Sam comes to stand toe to toe with me. "Leah, I know those guys just as much as you do, which is not a whole hell of a lot, but one thing I do know is they are good people, and they can protect you. Alba wouldn't have suggested the idea if she didn't trust the club. Staying here in Bozeman is risky, Leah. You having any association or living anywhere near The Kings of Retribution is the last thing your father would expect from you, and Polson is probably the last place on earth your dad will think to look."

I nod, swallowing past the lump in my throat. "You're right. My father would never look there. Staying here longer than necessary is a risk."

Sam squeezes my shoulders. "I know this situation is scary, and things are moving fast, but I'll be with you every step of the way."

"I don't know how to thank you for everything, Sam. You're giving up a lot to help me."

"I'm not giving up anything important. Like I said before, your safety is my number one priority. And this move is for me too."

Sighing, I step back and plop down on the bed.

"I'm serious, Leah." Sam sits next to me. "With me quitting school and the shit I'm going through with my dad, I need a fresh start like you. I don't want to go back to Texas, and there is nothing for me in Bozeman. I can't explain it, but something tells me this move will be good for both of us."

Sam wasn't lying when he said his relationship with his dad is rocky. Sam attended the University on a football scholarship, but he was facing suspension from the team when he got into a fight with a teammate. That alone would have put his scholarship in jeopardy. Sam ended up dropping out before the situation came to a head. Alba was sick over what happened since the fight he was in was over her. He was quick to assure her he had no hurt feelings or regret over his decision. Like me, his only reason for going away to school was to escape his home life and put as many miles between him and his dad as possible.

* * *

The next dayI am hanging up the phone after talking with Alba when Sam comes bursting through the door of the hotel room. It's only a quarter past nine o'clock in the morning, and he's supposed to be at work, so showing up with a frazzled look on his face, sets me on edge. "Sam, what's wrong?"

"Your dad showed up at my job."

I jump from the bed. "What! He found me?" My stomach sinks.

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