Page 99 of Be With Me (Adair Family 4)

I was too far away.

And she wasn’t answering her phone.

My brother assured me he was on the way with his security team.

But that did nothing to stanch my terror.

I sped recklessly down the coast, cutting the usual forty-minute journey in half. My underarms and back were soaked with sweat as I skidded to a stop in Ery’s driveway, clotted with police cars and flashing blue lights.

And an ambulance.

Feeling sick rise in me, I staggered out of my SUV and rounded the cars toward the ambulance in time to see a man, cuffed to the stretcher, being lifted into the van.

I recognized that face.

Ezra fucking Jefferson.

Roaring with fury, I lunged toward the bastard only to feel strong arms band around me, hauling me back.

Through my rage, I heard Lachlan’s order in my ear to calm down.

“She’s all right, Arran. Calm, brother. Ery is fine.”

Shuddering, I gave an abrupt nod, aware of the police officer who’d stepped forward, wary gaze alert. Shrugging away from Lachlan, I forced myself to settle as the ambulance doors closed behind the murderous fucker. “Where is she?”

“Inside.”

I hurried up the porch, my wrath gathering steam again at the sight of the smashed-in door. Blood smeared the frame, and my vision almost went black.

Only her voice saved me. “Arran!”

She sat on the couch beside a policewoman. Even disheveled, Ery looked calm, stoic.

But holding my eyes, I saw her break.

She sobbed, and I lunged over the couch to get to her. I didn’t know who shook more as I held her while she cried.

“Be careful of her wrist,” the policewoman said as I met her gaze over Ery’s shoulder. “She sprained it in the struggle.”

The struggle.

My hold on her tightened. “What happened?”

* * *

I’d never wanted to harm another human being before. Not in any real or permanent way. Fuck, I still hadn’t forgiven myself for Colin’s accident.

However, Ezra Jefferson changed me in a fundamental way. After Eredine repeated what went down in her lodge that day, I wanted to find the insane motherfucker and gut him until the light bled from his eyes.

It shocked me a little. How bloodthirsty I felt.

How much rage boiled inside me.

Thankfully, love and pride in Eredine were stronger emotions, or the former might have eaten me alive.

The paramedics had insisted Ery get checked over, so I drove her to the hospital after the police were done interviewing her, Lachlan, and his men. Lachlan showed up just after Ery had stuck a knife in Jefferson, and the security team held Ezra at gunpoint until the police arrived.

The police took the CCTV footage from the porch, which could only prove that Jefferson broke down the door. Hopefully, it was enough. After a few hours at the hospital, where the docs X-rayed and splinted her sprained wrist, I took Ery back to the annex. She slept fitfully in my arms, renewing my desire to kill Ezra Jefferson.

Since Lachlan had called to ask us over to his place that morning, Ery and I walked from the annex. As soon as Robyn saw Eredine, she immediately engulfed her in a tight hug. “You’re a warrior,” she said, and I wholeheartedly agreed.

“Thanks to you.” Ery gave her a wobbly smile. “And Kia.”

Robyn frowned. “Kia?”

“My sister.”

Robyn’s face registered her surprise, telling us that Lachlan had kept Ery’s story from even his wife.

Ery squeezed Robyn’s shoulder. “I’ll tell you about her soon.”

Accepting that, she slid an arm around Ery’s shoulders and led her over to the breakfast table where a pile of food awaited. My belly grumbled at the sight. I had eaten nothing since before I got the call about Ery.

“Let’s eat and talk,” Lachlan suggested, and we joined the women at the table.

“You have news, then?” I asked after I’d eaten half a pancake.

Lachlan sighed. “Mac got some information from his contact at the police. Ezra’s family tried to buy him out of custody, but bail hasn’t been set while Ezra recovers in the hospital from the attack. His family wants to press charges against Ery.”

I sucked in a breath while Ery paled.

“But don’t worry, there’s no way. That doesn’t mean his family will not try to make this difficult. Once he’s recovered, I fully expect him to be extradited to the States. By then, however, he’ll be facing several charges of sexual assault and harassment. One of his victims is the daughter of a US senator. She’s spoken with her mother, with her family, and they want her to go public.”

“Jesus Christ,” I muttered, feeling sick to my stomach at the evil this guy had perpetrated.

“I’m sure the lawyers will want to reopen Kia’s case, Ery,” Lachlan said gently. “Are you prepared for that?”

“Oh my God.” Understanding dawned on Robyn’s face, and tears of sympathy glimmered in her eyes.

Ery reached over to squeeze her arm in comfort, and I swear to God, I thought at that moment, I couldn’t fall any harder in love with her. Until she turned to Lachlan and made me do just that by lifting her chin defiantly. “I will do what it takes to finally get justice for Kia.”

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