Page 62 of The Disputed Legacy

Right now, I felt like the dumbest person on the planet to imaginenothaving him here.

“Willow?” He let out a deep breath but didn’t release me. Without knowing much about me or my life, he could read me accurately. Somehow, he sensed that I needed his arms wrapped around me as he enveloped me and gave me that bone-deep sense of security I’d craved for years.

“Would you be willing to relocate to a safer location? You and Oscar both.”

Hearing him pose that question the second time sharpened me into a reaction. I’d heard him right the first time, even if hisinquiry didn’t settle past the lingeringoh-fuckpanic of a cop at my door. Furrowing my brow, I shook my head without stepping back. “Relocate?”

“Just temporarily.”

I huffed a wry laugh of disbelief. I’d had experience with that. It was also known as having a life on the run. And it wasn’t suitable for a child.

“Why…” I stepped back now, my defenses rising despite how comforting his hug was. “No. What are you talking about?”

Struggling to hurry and connect the dots, I tried to piece out how he’d landed onthatquestion. “What did that cop say to you? What’s going on? Safer? Why would I need to move somewhere else?” I retreated another step from him, shaking my head as I ranted and rambled quickly. “How is my home not safe enough for me and my son?”

Obviously, it’s not safe anymore, idiot.That cop coming here was the first clue that my careful hiding was compromised.

“What’s going on, Saul?”

“Willow, I can’t explain it all, but I’m worried that it might not be safe here for you and Oscar.”

I let out a harsh exhale again. “You’reworried? It’s your call to determine whether I’m safe or not?” I began to pace, unable to control my guarded reaction to what he was saying. I’d been in the position of others determining my fate before, and I vowed to never be controlled like that again.

Ashedeclared this apartment no longer safe, he was taking the stance that his choices and opinions should rule.

I’d brought him here to help him with his wound after saving my son’s life. After saving my life. It was an act of gratitude and concern for him being in pain. It was a chance to escape the cops.

Everything else that happened afterward wasn’t planned. It just happened. We fell into each other. But that couldn’t have given him some kind of authority around here, dammit.

“I am worried about you,” he repeated. In one fell swoop, he sidestepped my accusation about him overstaying his stay and having too much say.

“Because of the shooting at the diner?” It was all I could ask him. He knew nothing about my past—unless that cop told him more about my life.Hold on.I narrowed my eyes and set my hand on my hip. “Where did that officer go?” I didn’t want a cop around here, but he wasn’t bothering me anymore. Saul had somehow gotten him to leave. But I couldn’t trust that. He could come back. With others. Withhim. Not knowing what Saul and that officer said was a threat. I had to be informed.

“I handled him.”

Handled him?“What does that mean?”

“It means we had a conversation and he’s gone now.”

I wished it could be that simple. “You had a ‘conversation’ about a noise complaint? And at the conclusion of that he just walked away?”

He nodded but seemed to have a different sort of smirk on his face. “Yeah.”

“What did he say?” I crossed my arms. “I’m not getting the full picture here. You talk to a cop and then come back and say I should leave because it’s not safe here.”

“Because that’s all that you need to know right now. I didn’t trust that cop. I didn’t like his attitude, and I haven’t always seen eye-to-eye with figures of authority.”

Oh, hell.

My breath left me in a whoosh. Oscar’s theory about Saul being a superhero in disguise wasn’t the answer here. My guess seemed more accurate.

He’s on the run.

A criminal?

Another law enforcement agent undercover?

Fuck. What have I gotten mixed up with?