Page 88 of Here and Now
I wish so badly that I could believe that. “Did you put me in an unsafe situation in Tennessee?”
“No.”
“Then why am I in Ember Falls? Because nothing is safe for too long. They found me then, they’ll find me again.”
Quinn comes closer. “No, they won’t.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“You’re right. I can’t.”
The admission causes me to jerk back. “What?”
“I can’t promise it. I can’t promise that a tree wouldn’t almost fall on your house either. I can’t promise that things won’t go wrong. I shouldn’t have said that to you.”
I hear his words and a part of me hates them. “Okay.”
“I also can’t promise that Edward’s men won’t meet their untimely demise. That you’ll spend the next ten years in Ember Falls without a single issue. I can’t promise you anything, Penelope, other than you’re safe right now and I’ll do everything to keep you safe.”
He doesn’t get it. “And that means that dating someone isn’t a good idea.”
“Why?”
“Why?” I repeat him, my anger growing. “Because I could ... I could fall for Miles.”
“And?”
I swear, I love my brother, but I might have to kill him.
“That would be terrible.”
“You know, you’d think after being married for years, I’d finallyunderstand women, but I don’t. So what if you fall in love? You can’t predict the future, Penelope. Miles is a great guy from what I can tell.”
Now I’m stunned. “What can you tell?”
“Did you think I wasn’t going to run background checks on everyone you’re around? Miles has an exceptional military service record. Not as good as mine, but, you know, I’m a grade-A badass.”
“I had another adjective in mind,” I say, cutting him off.
“He’s loved by his staff as well as all the students he’s taught and been around. The town loves him. I couldn’t find any red flags, and trust me, I looked. I know this might sound stupid, but if you were going to fall for someone in the town, I’m glad it’s him.” Quinn takes a step forward. “He’d protect you, Penny. Honestly, I feel better just knowing there is someone like him in this town.”
Little does he know, he already has when he thought I was in danger. I think about Miles’s face when he got to me. How he drove up this road, during the worst of the storm to make sure Kai and I were okay.
I can’t imagine he’d ever let anything happen to us.
That said, I never want to test it, and I will always choose Kai’s safety, even if it means I have to hurt myself or anyone else.
“I don’t want to hurt him or Kai.”
“I think you’re worried about another person hurting too, Penny.” My brother calls me out, just like Ashton did earlier.
“I’m worried about everyone getting hurt.”
My brother takes two steps forward. “I’m doing everything I can. We keep searching, and I promise I’m trying to make sense of the information.”
“I know, and I’m stuck because I can’t go to the police about it. I can’t explain these half theories to anyone. They’d laugh and they’re also involved, if I understand the part of the book I read.”
Quinn, who has been trained to hunt, kill, protect, and always do what’s right, steps closer. “I will find the answers. I know it’s been years. I know we’ve been working on it for what feels like forever, but when you have a crime ring this big, this ... established, it’s not easy.”
