“I’m okay, sweet girl.” I assured.
The man bucked beneath me, but I fisted the back of his hair and slammed his face into the ground, following it up with a knee in his back to pin him.
“Tessa, go.”
She sniffled but scampered away.
With her on her way to safety, my body relaxed and my instinct-driven senses gave way to logic and reason.
And that was when a second wave of panic hit me.
With the exception of the man on the ground grunting and cussing, it was silent.
No screams from a relieved mother.
No alarm screeching out in warning.
No sirens blaring in the distance.
Only absolute, terrifying silence.
It was wrong.
So fucking wrong.
“Tessa, freeze!” I yelled.
My ribs had still been sore, but I couldn’t sit at home anymore. I was starting to go stir crazy. The only time I’d gotten out of the house over the last few weeks was in order to go over to Heath and Clare’s to see Tessa. We’d been giving them time as I healed to settle in and adjust to their new life. Thankfully, Clare texted pictures nearly everyday. But it wasn’t the same as having her and Tessa living under the same roof.
We’d gone over to celebrate her third birthday only days earlier. It’d been bittersweet. Tripp’s birthday had been the week earlier, but watching Tessa blow out her candles was hard for me. My little boy never got to do that. It was a pain that would never completely disappear, but listening to Tessa laugh as she ripped wrapping paper open certainly eased the sting.
After that, I decided I needed to get out of the house more instead of wallowing in pity and fear.
Per Roman’s requirements, I was wearing a new Rubicon vest and Alex remained close enough that he could have been mistaken as my conjoined twin, but it was a small price to pay for being able to go to the grocery store and then have lunch with Cathy and Kristen.
Alex probably disagreed now that he had been subjected to being our chauffeur to lunch and then forced to eat sushi while listening to Kristen bitch about Seth for a full two hours.
Apparently, Seth had finally called and apologized. They went out again. Hooked up again. Then he never called…again.
Cathy spent half of the time informing her daughter that, if she hadn’t have ended the date on her back, things might have turned out differently.
Kristen spent the other half of the time informing her mother that it was Seth who had been on his back.
Alex spent the majority of the time shaking his head and groaning.
I spent the entire time laughing my ass off.
It was much-needed. After my incident with Noir, I’d been struggling with nightmares and anxiety. I had no idea how Clare had lived with him as long as she had and was still able to smile. I could barely breathe sometimes when the memories of that night ravaged me.
Through it all, Roman had been right there with me, holding me and reminding me that I was safe.
Unfortunately, the same couldn’t be said for Ethan. And it shredded me. Leo’s company, Guardian Protection Agency, had paid for his funeral, and Roman had sent a large sum of money to his parents, but I knew that that did nothing to heal the holes in their hearts. I hated the helplessness and guilt I felt about the whole situation.
I also hated that Clare, Heath, and Tessa had moved out.
I understood why—sort of. But it still stung. Clare and I had become close, and Roman and I had both fallen head over heels for Tessa. And, honestly, I even missed Heath’s quirky jokes—even if he did bitch about my food sometimes.
However, it wasn’t as though I’d expected them to live with us forever. I’d just expected that the threat would be gone before they finally moved out. I worried about them more often than I’d ever admit.
So yeah. A delicious lunch, good friends, and a lot of laughs were exactly what I needed after the last few weeks—or, really, few months.
“I’ve got the check,” Cathy announced.
“No. No. I’ve got Roman’s credit card. He’s buying lunch.” I leaned forward and whispered to Cathy, “Do you have any idea how much money he makes now? It’s ridiculous.”
She giggled. “Well, I don’t know the specifics, but seeing as to how I don’t have a house or car payment anymore, I’m assuming it’s extremely ridiculous.”
“Ah, yes. Here we go,” Kristen said dryly, crossing her arms over her chest and reclining back in her chair. “Roman is the golden child paying off all your bills, and I’m the whore.”
Cathy turned the mom glare on her daughter. “I never said you were a whore. God knows I have no room to talk. When I first met your dad—”
“Oh God, Mom! No!” Kristen exclaimed, plugging her ears.
I choked on a sip of water, my tender ribs aching as I coughed.
Cathy patted me on the back but kept her eyes on Kristen as she scolded, “If you don’t want those details, quit being a dramatic little shit.”