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Now that the truth was out, there wasn’t going to be any further lies or evading questions for me.

“The bullet barely missed her heart,” Ralph answered. “She needed emergency surgery to save her life, and she was in the hospital for a while. She can tell you any of the details she chooses to share. I will say this…I’ve grown fond of Reese, and I’ll do anything I can to protect her. She’s been through hell and is still going through hell. She lost a friend and a partner and almost lost her own life. She was tossed into this situation through no fault of her own. If you have a problem with her lying to all of you, put yourself in her place. She left everyone and everything she loved to come to this place with nobody but me to talk to about it. The agreement when her new identity was created was that she tells absolutely no one the truth. If anyone has a problem with that, you come to me. Reese has been through enough.”

“Nobody is going to give her any grief,” Tanner rumbled. “They’d have to go through me first.”

Ralph sent Tanner a satisfied smile. “Glad you see it my way.”

“I know we all do,” Millie commented. “I don’t think anyone can imagine being in her situation, but all of the Remingtons will be here for her. And not a single one of us will ever reveal her secret. We understand how important that is now.”

“That’s about all of the facts I’m going to give you,” Ralph said in a firm tone. “You know what you need to know. It’s up to Reese how much she wants to share about her real life.”

“It’s really all we need to know,” Tanner agreed. “We’ll all be there to protect her whenever she needs it. Is she safe in her apartment alone?”

“As safe as she can be,” Ralph replied. “She has nosy neighbors that always have their eyes out for trouble of any kind.”

“She can stay with us,” Hannah said adamantly.

I almost jumped out of my chair when Devon slammed his fist down on the table. “Fuck that! She’s staying withme.Nobody has to protect her. If that asshole wants her dead, he’d have to kill me first, and that’s not going to happen.”

He stood, took my hand, and pulled me to my feet.

“We’re leaving,” he announced. “Reese has had enough for one day. You can ask all of the rest of your questions later.”

Without another word, he pulled me by my hand toward the door and never looked back.

And because I was shocked, I let him lead me out the door without a single protest.

If he’d stopped for just a single second and turned around, he would have seen all of the approving faces of his family still sitting around the dining room table.

Devon

We were at my house in less than thirty minutes.

I’d stopped at Reese’s apartment, and I told her to gather what she needed for a few days.

We’d get the rest of her stuff later.

She’d tried to argue that she was fine in her apartment.

I told her she wasn’t, and if she didn’t grab her stuff that I’d do it for her, and she might not end up with everything she needed.

She’d come back ten minutes later with a small suitcase that I’d tossed in the back of my truck.

I handed her a glass of wine after we’d gotten into my family room, and she’d settled herself on the sofa. I sat beside her with something a little stronger.

I took a deep breath. “You can talk or not talk,” I rumbled. “I’m good just knowing you’re here and that you’re safe.”

I should have been there for her after Gloria and her newborn had left in the ambulance.

I hadn’t because I’d been too busy sulking about the fact that she hadn’t told me that she was a completely different woman than the one I’d come to know.

I’d thought that I’d needed some space for a while to try to digest the fact that Reese…wasn’t really Reese.

Now, I wanted to kick myself for being such an asshole.

My gut twisted at the thought of her nearly dying because some lunatic shot her.

Never, during all of the time that I’d wanted to know her secrets, did it occur to me that she could have suffered that much or that she was in that much danger.