Page 36 of Trace's Passion
It hurt him that she wouldn’t take this seriously. He knew it was scary and must be terrifying to her, and that was the hardest thing of all.
That she didn’t take it seriously. He needed her to be safe. To be his.
He had just found her. After years of loneliness and pain, she had come into his life like his sunshine.
And the fact that she could be taken from him made his chest ache and he felt hollow.
The other door opened, and Trace went still, waiting to see if she was going to walk away or ask him to take her home and never talk to her again.
He shut his eyes and tried to block out the pain of that decision.
She came up behind him and put her arms around his middle and rested her head on his back.
Trace let out the breath he was holding and covered her hands with his.
“I’m sorry. I am so sorry love. I will take you home if you want. I didn’t mean…”
She cut him off, “No, I am sorry Trace. I didn’t mean to act like that. I am scared. Terrified of him touching me. Of him finding me. I can’t bear it. It’s hard for me to wrap my head around it and I don’t want to think of him. Of all the things he has done just because I didn’t do as he asked. I know he is crazy. And I'm sorry that I'm not taking it as seriously as I should. I just never thought that far ahead. I can’t. It’s too scary to think that way.”
He turned and wrapped her in his arms, kissing the top of her head softly. “I know Sunshine. I know. I don’t want you to think of what could happen, but I also want you to take his threats seriously. Men like him won’t stop. Not until they get what they want. And he wants you. I will do everything in my power to keep you safe because that’s what I do. But we also need to let Kian and Reid know. They can help me. And so, will Brek when he comes home. Don’t cut off my line of support to keep you safe, okay? I need them. Need them to make sure you don’t get taken from me. Not when I have searched for you for so long. Not when I just got you.”
He pulled her back and looked down at her, and her eyes were shining with tears. He used his thumb to brush at the one on her cheek. “I love you too. I hope you know that. Thank you for taking care of me. For loving me.”
He cupped her face in his hands, and put his forehead to hers, “You are very easy to love sunshine.”
She smiled and he kissed her. “Let’s go call your brothers, okay?”
She nodded and he laced his fingers with hers and led her back to his car.
When they got situated, Emery blew out a breath and dialed Reid’s number. She put it on speaker phone and a man’s deep voice came through the line. “Em and em. How are you? Kian told me you have been a little sassy with him today.”
She rolled her eyes and Trace bit his lip to keep from laughing. “I'm fine. And yes I have been sassy, but you two bring it on yourselves.”
Reid laughed, “We sure do. What can I do for you? How did your date go? Was he good to you? Kian says he's a nice guy.”
She laughed, “He certainly is. He's sitting next to me and listening to everything you're saying.”
“Oh. Well that’s new. Hello Trace.”
Trace chuckled, “Hi Reid. Em wanted to tell you something.”
“Oh? Go ahead Emery I'm all ears.”
She gave a small sigh, “Um, Lance texted me tonight. He knows where I am, and he said he's coming for me.”
Reid cursed, “Fuck! Goddamn it! That little creep! Do you need to come back here? Kian and I are packing as we speak. He had a feeling we needed to be there sooner, and we both finished our jobs today. So we should be there late tomorrow night. Even sooner if we drive like bats out of hell.”
“Reid, I'm fine. You know that Trace is a Deputy Sheriff. I'm safe with him around and the Sheriff is coming home as well. You don’t need to rush on my account. And what are you going to do for a job? You both love being police officers.”
Reid snarled, “You and Gran are more important than any position. We can always get another job, but we can’t get another sister. It doesn’t work that way and mom would skin us alive if something happened to you when she told us to keep an eye on you.”
She started shaking her head and Trace plucked her phone from her grasp, “Well Reid, it just so happens that our department has been trying to find some cops to hire. We haven’t been successful yet, and if you're looking for a job, I can guarantee you'll have one.”
“Really?”
Trace laughed, “Really. We have been short staffed after an incident a few months ago that almost wiped out our entire police force in one go. And right now, we have two men working while our Sheriff is on his honeymoon. So yes, having two seasoned cops in our department? Brek and I would be thrilled. Not to mention the old police chief can re-retire again.”
Reid blew out a breath, “Done. Kian and I both accept. Thank you Trace. We’ll be leaving soon and keep an eye on our sister.”
