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“Seriously? How is that possible? I thought Sean was out of resources.”

“Forrest hates me as much as Sean does,” I said. “He has since high school. If Sean has convinced him he can get me out of Lakeview, that might be enough.”

“I can’t believe a police officer would stoop that low. Just to get back at you fromhigh school?”

“He never really matured past his teen years.”

“I guess there’s a few people like that in Lakeview,” Harley grumbled, and I knew she was thinking of Blakely.

“I don’t have proof of it, but Hawk and I are on it. This complicates things, though.”

“That’s a nice way to put it.” Harley ran her hands over my chest, like she was checking for bullet wounds she didn’t quite believe weren’t there. “You could’ve been killed, Steph. It feels like the walls are closing in.”

“I know you hate this. I hate it, too. I hate how unpredictable everything is. I hate that Sean and his lackeys keep catching me off-guard. I hate that this is still going on.”

“What are we going to do?” Harley asked. “How are we going to stay safe?”

My dragon hummed with pleasure at that word—we. Even as bad as things were, she wasn’t planning to leave again. She wanted to stay in Lakeview with me and solve this as a team. As mates. “Right now, I think it’s best if you stay on the property,” I said. “I know I said it’d be okay to go into town with a few enforcers with you, but after this…”

“I agree.”

That surprised me. If feisty, independent Harley Founty was willing to be locked up like a princess in a tower, she must beseriouslyscared.

“This is really fucked up,” Harley said quietly. “I thought I was kidnapped because I wasn’t with you or any of the clan. I figured Sean and his guys were still afraid enough to avoid attacking you directly, and they’d never cross that boundary. Until now, everything has seemed…” She paused and searched for the word. “Roundabout. Like if I stuck around you and the clan, it’d be okay. But now, they’re going for you directly, Steph. First your car, and now a drive-by. I don’t think they’ll stop at anything to hurt you. To hurtus.”

“I won’t let that happen,” I said fiercely.

She closed her eyes and rested her head on my shoulder.

“I know I keep promising that,” I continued. “And it keeps happening.”

“That’s what scares me,” she said. “It keeps getting worse. And what about Dylan? He’ll have to be cooped up here, too, and that’ll be a lot harder for him than it is for me.”

“It won’t be for long. I’m going to end this, Harley.”

“I need you to.” She pulled back and stared into my eyes. “I need this to be over. And now…” She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together.

I brushed my fingers over her cheeks. “And now what?”

“And now I don’t know how we’d live without you,” she whispered. “You can’t get hurt, Steph. You can’t getkilled.We need you. You can’t leave me.”

I kissed her cheeks, then pressed my forehead to hers. My dragon was right under the surface, desperate to make our mate feel safe and protected.

But there were limits to that feeling. There was only so much I could do to protect her while Sean and Forrest were out there.

“I won’t leave you, Harley. Not now, not ever. And I’ll take down anyone who tries to separate us again.”

That much I could promise her with my whole heart.

40

HARLEY

Ifelt a little better when I woke up in the mid-morning sunshine. I’d slept like a baby in Steph’s arms. When he’d left for work early that morning, he’d woken me up with a soft kiss and a promise to be back soon. After yesterday, I wasn’t too keen on letting him leave at all. I’d be happier if he was holed up in this house with Dylan and me, but I knew that wasn’t possible.

Yesterday’s events still hung over me like a dark cloud. The risk was suddenly too real. More unpredictable. What if Steph got shot on his way into town? Or what if those guys showed up at the garage ready to kill everyone? I wanted to lock the doors of this house and never leave, which was basically what I had agreed to do until this was all sorted out.

The enticing aroma of coffee wafted through the air, and I heard the unexpected sound of toddler giggles, followed by Dylan’s laughter. I got dressed and went downstairs to find Mia and Cassidy on the couch, sipping coffee while they watched Dylan help Bella stack a tower of wooden blocks and knock it over. Zoey, the German Shepherd, was on the couch with her head in Cassidy’s lap. Striker sat at the dining table with a cup ofcoffee and a newspaper in front of him, but his eyes were fixed on Cassidy. He saw me looking, then jerked his gaze away and gave me a sheepish grin.