Page 80 of Disarming Caine

Samantha joined them, softening as she rubbed Lucy’s arm. “Whatever she needs, we have or we’ll have delivered. She’s not going anywhere until this is sorted out.”

“The same goes for you, bella.”

“Not a chance. I’ve got work tomorrow. We agreed to the security guys following me.”

“That was before all this!” I released Lucy so I could express myself better with my hands. Flinging them open at her. “Before Lucy was nearly shot and your friend Paul’s in the hospital!”

She looked me up and down, a scowl forming.

“I’m putting my foot down on this!”

“That’s not your choice!”

“Sam—” Janelle touched her arm, but Samantha jerked it away from her.

“I’m a grown woman!”

“So is Lucy,” I snapped. “But you just told her she’s not allowed to leave!”

“Have you all forgotten I trained for this?”

“I won’t lose you!” I grabbed her hands, pulling her to look at me. She was reckless. In need of being in control, just as Miller said. I looked intentionally at the scar on her forehead so she knew what I meant when I said, “I can’t do that again.”

Samantha’s eyes were frantic, the energy inside her raging to get out. She glanced at me, toward the door, Janelle, and back to Lucy. But she didn’t break my grip.

“He’s right, Sam.” Janelle spoke calmly, as she had in the hotel room after the shooting.

“Sam?” Lucy peered up at her, the soft voice blanketing the room in quiet. “I’d feel safer if you were here with me. I could really use a friend.”

Samantha’s shoulders sagged as her gaze settled on Lucy. “What you need is some sleep.”

I released Samantha, and she wrapped her arm around Lucy. They walked down the hallway to one of the bedrooms.

Janelle came to stand next to me. “Who’s the Constable?”

“Not a who, a what. It’s a painting we suspect was stolen and hidden in a house here in town.”

“That sounds like something the police should be taking care of, not her.”

“She only has suspicions, not proof.” Although if someone wanted to hide them enough to attempt multiple murders, that strengthened the assumption they were stolen.

“You need to watch her. I’m worried about what she may do.”

“Was she always like this?” In many ways, it felt as though Samantha had been in my life forever. Sometimes, the truth of it, the newness of our relationship, struck me. Despite the knowledge deep in my core that we were meant to spend our lives together, it hadn’t even been five months yet.

She rested her hands on her hips, the two of us still staring down the hallway. “The stubbornness? The fierce loyalty? Keeping her circle small and tight? To a degree, yeah. But from what I hear, it’s gotten a lot worse.”

“From what you hear?”

Janelle exhaled slowly, pivoting to look at me. Her dark eyes held a simmering rage inside them. “How much has she told you about us?”

“Just that you two have been friends since you were young.”

“We werebestfriends for a long time. Then some shit went down about ten years ago and we didn’t speak until the Scott case.” She tilted her head toward the hallway as the voices grew louder. When the other two didn’t return, Janelle lowered her voice. “Suffice to say she’s fucking brilliant, but sometimes she has the judgment of gnat.”

A gnat?

“When she thinks she’s doing the right thing, nothing gets in her way.”