Page 62 of Rules Of Our Own

I spin her to face me, and my stomach drops at the naked fear written over her face. I close the distance between us and tuck her into my chest, resting my head on her shoulder. The scent of lavender fills my nose with every breath. She’s shaking so much it’s vibrating through me, and I tighten my hold even more. “You’re okay, Mia.”

“I know. I know I’m being stupid, but he… I thought he was going to get through my door. I thought…” She presses her face into me, mumbling. “I wouldn’t have been able to fight him off.”

“We’ve got you, Kitten.” Alex is behind her the second she gets the words out and rests his forehead against the crown of her head. He’s visibly shaking, and I close my hand around his bicep, rubbing a circle with my thumb.

“You good?”

Alex’s eyes meet mine, and he gives me a barely there nod before closing them.

Mia’s hands fist my shirt, and I want to lift her jaw and kiss her until we’re the only things she thinks about, but I don’t. I don’t know where we stand—everything we’ve talked about ended the second she got on the plane.

Instead, I kiss her temple and lean back, keeping one hand around her waist, and wipe away the wetness under her eye. “You need to put in a report.”

She lets out a sardonic laugh. “What good is that going to do? His dad controls everything. When you’re that rich, you can do whatever you want.”

Alex nudges his nose in her hair and takes a deep breath. “How rich?”

“Put it this way. Oprah looks up to him. He’s the CEO of Pharmacorp.”

“Damn,” Alex says.

“Yup.” Her shoulders shake with her laugh. “I sure can pick them.”

He grabs her hand and spins her to face him with a goofy grin on his face. “Yeah, I think you’re getting better at it though.”

“I…ah…” She stutters her words, and I take pity on her.

“If you aren’t reporting him, then you aren’t staying here.”

She grips the back of her neck. “I can stay at Sidney’s. I have her spare key… wait.”

She backs up, looking between us, both her brows up near her hairline. “What are you doing here?”

It’s a testimony to how terrified she is that it took her so long to clue in. “Sidney called us. Said you haven’t been returning her calls. The rest is just luck.”

“I’m sorry about your internship, Kitten. I know how hard you worked for that.”

She sniffs and glares at the door her ex had fled through. Sidney explained it was that asshole who cost her her job, and I want to kill him all over again.

“Truth is, we’re lucky we showed up when we did.” A tremor crawls down my spine, knowing how different this could have ended. “Which is why I think you should come back to Boston with us.”

She huffs out a laugh. “Funny.”

But she stills when we don’t respond, realizing Alex and I are dead serious. I didn’t need to ask him, knowing he feels the same.

“I can’t justgoto Boston on a whim.”

“Why not?”

“I have work—” Her face crumples, and she sucks in a breath. “I can’t just pack up and move.”

“Sure you can, Kitten. Plus, Piper and Misty will be there.”

That seems to cheer her up a bit. Misty mentioned working with her on the Prosthetic For Kids charity before.

I stroke my thumb over her cheek. “It’ll be good to get your mind off things. Fresh start.”

She mouthsfresh startbut still looks unsure.

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