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Just because I couldn’t see any Blackjacks didn’t mean a damn thing. They were still here. Somewhere.

“Looking for someone?”

I snapped out of my thoughts and jerked away from the window. Connie raised her eyebrows with amusement, swaying with a sleepy Emma in her arms.

“No,” I replied, sounding defensive even to my own ears.

“You wouldn’t be hoping that a certain biker might drop by for a visit then?”

I sighed, clearing Wylie’s toy cars off the couch so I could take a seat. At this hour, late in the afternoon, Nathan was homefrom working at the local factory, tossing a baseball around in the yard with Wylie.

“I was actually thinking about the trial,” I said.

Connie’s amusement evaporated in an instant, dropping her gaze to study Emma’s features.

“You know how I feel about that subject.”

“I’ve been in Brightwater for nearly a week,” I replied. “And I haven’t told the police. I was supposed to inform them when I came back to town, so they could assign an officer to keep an eye on me.”

She fiddled with Emma’s blankets, shaking her head.

“But you’ve been laying low here. Or at the hospital. It’s not like you’ve been parading around town. Do you think it’s necessary to get the police involved?”

Guilt gnawed at my conscience. I didn’t want to put even more worries on Connie’s shoulders. She had enough on her plate with the new baby.

I wasn’t afraid to give my testimony, wasn’t afraid of the threat that this robber’s accomplices—who were still unaccounted for so far—might try to intimidate me into silence. The police had been very clear to make sure I understood what kind of position I was getting myself into.

It was one thing to face this trial on my own. I didn’t need to drag Connie and her family into it by association.

“Maybe it would be better if I got a hotel room until the trial,” I suggested.

Connie frowned.

“Do you…are you not feeling safe? Is that the problem?”

I thought about Vlad, seated on that motorcycle in the shade. How massive he was, like a mountain. The Enforcer patch on his chest.

Neil could have been the one watching me. Instead, he sent his muscle—the biggest, burliest, beast of a man.

I hadn’t been concerned before. Hadn’t even given the trial much thought. But now…

Even though I’d experienced Neil’s over protectiveness throughout the course of our marriage, and the ensuing divorce, he had a very good reason to be. From the abuse and abandonment of his childhood, to clawing his way into the 1% ranks, Neil had come face to face with the worst that humanity had to offer.

Bottom feeders and shit dwellers,he called them.

If Neil was appointing the toughest member of his crew to watch my back, that meant he was worried.

It’s just a precaution,he’d told me.

Neil had proverbially brought out his biggest gun and set it on the table, declaring to anyone who might be watching that there would be hell to pay if they touched a single hair on my head.

“Whether you’re here or not,” Connie said. “Everyone in Brightwater knows we’re related. If someone wanted to hurt you, it wouldn’t take much effort to figure out they could go through us.”

Nausea clogged the back of my throat. What I hated even more was the fact that my sister had to be the one to point out that fact. If I went to a hotel, it would spread protection resources thin. Staying at Connie’s house was the best option, whether I wanted to admit it or not.

“I guess I’m just eager to put this whole thing behind me and get it over with,” I said with a small smile that I hoped was comforting.

Connie kissed Emma’s forehead.