Page 96 of One Lucky Hero (Men in Uniform 1)

Only Violet was here and now. And Dean had a hard time imagining there was anyone else who would ever challenge him or enchant him the way Violet did.

Chapter Twenty-Three

VIOLET WALKED INTO her bedroom to check on Daisy before dinner and found her sitting up in bed, holding her phone.

“What is it?” Violet asked.

“He won’t stop texting me,” Daisy said grimly.

Violet knew exactly who she was talking about. The police department had warned her that Quinton would probably make bail, so they’d filed for a temporary restraining order. It was supposed to include calls and text messages, so Violet held her hand out for the phone. “You don’t need to read them. Tomorrow we’ll get you a new number, and in just a few days, you’ll be a state away, starting a new life.”

“What if he follows me? What if he doesn’t stop?” Daisy’s voice was filled with high-pitched panic and tears. “I should have listened to you. You told me he was bad news, and I insisted—”

“Daisy, listen to me. You did what so many women can’t. You got out. You told him it was over, and you are moving on with your life. You are strong and courageous and amazing. Whatever power trip he might try, you took back control the minute you chose to take care of yourself first.”

“But you never would have put yourself in that position,” Daisy said.

“Maybe not, but I’ve made plenty of bad decisions, handled things all wrong. That’s just life, sweetie. If we don’t fall down, how are we going to get back up?”

“Did you get that from a self-help book or something?”

“Actually, I think it was an Internet meme.” Violet heard the door creak behind her and turned to see Casey. “Someone else wants to see you.”

Daisy glanced around Violet, a wide smile spreading across her face. “Case!”

Violet got up, and Casey took her place, giving Daisy a gentle hug. She left the room just as Casey mentioned something about cutting Quinton’s balls off, and as she read through the text messages, she had a hard time not siding with her brother on this one.

It’s not over, bitch.

Violet gripped the cell phone and walked into the kitchen to find Dean cutting up the produce for the tacos.

She had no idea what expression she wore, but it must have scared Dean, because he immediately set the knife down and gathered her against him. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t know how to protect her,” Violet whispered.

“Daisy? She’s going to be fine—”

“You know as well as I do that a restraining order is just a piece of paper.” She pushed away to show him the texts from the unknown number. “He’s harassing her. What if he decides to follow her to Oregon? Stalk her? I mean, I might just be paranoid, but it happens every day.”

Dean’s large hands ran down her arms, and although his touch helped, it couldn’t fully chase her fears away.

“It’s not going to happen to Daisy, okay?” His lips brushed her forehead, warming her skin, and she sighed, closing her eyes. When his mouth covered hers, she held onto his arms, sinking into the hard length of his body.

Finally, she broke the kiss, breathing hard. “Are you trying to distract me?”

“A little. Is it working?” he asked.

“Yes, but if we don’t stop, I’m afraid we’re going to get interrupted and potentially scar Casey and Daisy for life.”

“I guess I’ll just have to forgo the pleasure of this”—he kissed her once more before releasing her—“and fill the void with food.”

“Wow, I’m a little insulted that I am so easily replaced,” she teased.

“Oh, it’s not easy, but the way I see it, I’m starving. The meat smells incredible, and even if you wanted a piece of me here and now, I couldn’t give a peak performance without proper nourishment.”

“Counting your chickens a little early, don’t you think? A kiss is just a kiss.”

“But it took your mind off your sister’s ex-boyfriend, so I’d say it did the trick.” Picking up the knife again, he asked, “What else do you want chopped up for these tacos?”