Page 67 of Montana Silence

He huffed a laugh. “First, because Jude is watching your woman so you can beat the shit out of some nonexistent enemies. Second, of all the people in the world, I understand what it’s like to be in love with a woman who’s being stalked.”

I caught the bag and stopped it from swinging.

Stalking.

It hadn’t hit me in that way before. Because Malcolm was in jail, it wasn’t the same as when Evelyn’s ex had stalked her. But he still knew where she was and had clearly arranged the deliveries.

They hadn’t made it onto the property. We confirmed with all the cameras, including the ones I’d installed for Mara, no one had been near her house. It didn’t matter, though. They still violated her peace.

“Fuck.”

“Yeah, I remember that feeling.”

I stripped the gloves off my hands. “I’m a soldier,” I said. “I know how to attack pretty much everyone and everything. But I can’t protect her from someone who essentially doesn’t exist.”

He chuckled. “I understand that too.”

“The bastard is in jail. As far as I’m concerned, I’ll do whatever I can to help him stay there. But if he can do this now, Mara is right. He’s not going to stop whether he’s in jail or not.”

“He doesn’t know where your house is,” Lucas said with a shrug. “At least for now.”

I looked at him and shook my head. “Whether he knows or not, it doesn’t help her now. She—” I had to clear my throat. “She thinks she should give in. To protect me. And Avery and Emma. She’s terrified they’re going to show up and hurt someone else. Specifically, the children, like she was when they hurt her.”

“That’s not going to happen.” His voice was low and urgent. “We have plans in place if we need them. You know that.”

Every man at the ranch had an escape route planned for himself and his partner. In Lucas’s and Daniel’s cases, their children as well. We kept them under the radar, because an escape plan meant nothing if the entire world knew about it.

I hadn’t needed one until now.

My knees shook, and I dropped into a crouch, pressing the heels of my hands into my eyes. “I’m never going to unhear the way she cried, Lucas.”

“Believe me, I get it. I still wake up thinking she’s gone and I have to unearth that fucking coffin.”

Evelyn’s stalker of an ex-fiancé had buried her alive. We’d barely found her in time.

“Is she okay?” I asked. “Evie, after all this time?”

“She has her good days and bad days, like we all do. Is sheokay? Yeah, I would say so. But it’s not something she’ll ever be able to leave behind when she sees his wounds all over her body in the mirror.”

Walking over to my locker, I took out my shirt and put it back on. “I’ll be honest, it’s a relief to see the two of you so happy. You’ve both dealt with everything and come through it. That feels…very far away right now.”

“It’s not easy,” Lucas said. “No relationship is easy. Yes, we are happy. Happier than I ever fucking thought I could be. But we have our struggles. You and Mara are going to have struggles too. All I can tell you is it is worth the work.”

“You say we’re going to have our struggles like—”

Lucas cut me off with a laugh. “Like you’re going to be together forever? Yeah, no shit. Because I see the way you look at her. It’s the way Jude looks at Lena. And Grant looks at Cori. Like I look at Evie. Every single one of us. Like they’re the sun and we’re the earth revolving around them. You’re in love with that woman, Liam.”

I blew out a breath. “I know.”

He laughed. “After family dinner? Everyone knows.”

“I haven’t told her yet. It hasn’t felt right.”

“You’ll know when it is. There won’t be any doubt.” Lucas paused and sighed. “It might feel strange, but you know everything you need to help Mara. You’re not her therapist, and you shouldn’t be. But you understand what it is to have trauma. Hers is just different from ours.”

All of us knew. Still, the thought of Mara having to go through any of it made me want to put the gloves back on and start all over.

Taking a sip from my water bottle, I debated whether to voice the next bit. But Lucas would understand, and I needed to say it to someone.

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