Page 64 of The Disputed Legacy

“What changed?” I asked. “What did that cop say that makes you so sure that I’m not safe here?”Or is it just that you’re not safe to stay here and you don’t want to leave?

“He didn’t seem trustworthy,” he said, sounding too damn vague, like always. “I just got a bad vibe, a bad feeling.”

I almost laughed at the irony. I was the same. My instincts and gut feelings ruled me. I knew what he meant about getting a bad vibe and needing to respond and defend against a potential threat. That was what I felt like since learning I was pregnant with my son. Constantly looking over my shoulder, doubting every little thing, being nervous of someone hunting me and watching and taking me.

That was what it was like to be owned.

If Saul deemed that cop untrustworthy, then we were on the same wavelength there.

But at the same time, I couldn’t convince myself that I could trust Saul, either.

Not in the context of who he was and what had happened.

Only with my love. In what I was trying to downplay as lust, not love, I trusted him with my heart. After too long of leaning on my mind being in control, not my heart, it was the biggest leap of faith to change my tactics now.

“You can stay here,” I reminded him, “but I can’t make Oscar move again.”

That was as vulnerable as I could get with him. That move was the furthest I could go right now.

“Okay, Willow.” He nodded, his chin bumping the top of my head. “We’ll figure this out together.”

Together?

I wasn’t sure how when I still clung to the need to hide my secrets from him.

26

SAUL

Iaccepted Willow’s offer for me to stay with her, touched that she’d assume that I was the one who needed safety. Not her. I was putting her in harm’s way being near her. That was selfish of me, but it didn’t have to be like that. She could leave with me, go somewhere she’d be protected and provided for.

But she didn’t want to. Not yet. She had to trust me first, instead of going along with this strong physical connection we’d found.

Take it slow.

Don’t scare her.

You can’t rush her.

If I wanted to win Willow over, to really have her heart and know she would choose me and be a part of my complicated life, I had to be careful not to push her too hard. She was a civilian, an innocent, and it would take great adjustment to bring her home with me.

After I told her that I’d stay and that we’d figure it out, she stepped away to get dressed before getting Oscar from school. While she was out of the room, I checked my phone.

Hugo:I’m outside the building. Maxim asked me to head up this security detail.

I sighed in relief. There could be a risk of someone identifying him because he’d been in the family for so long, but he was an expert in disguise, too. He’d be careful. I’d made it clear that this was a secret mission. I’d taken on a mission of getting my woman, but I couldn’t spook her by being identified out on the street.

Hugo would have my back.

When Willow came back into the kitchen, I tucked my shirt in and looked up at her. “I’ll go with you.”

“Okay.”

I was almost surprised that she wouldn’t fight me.

“Will Oscar…” I cleared my throat, unsure about how to ask this. “Will he be okay with my staying here with you for a while?”

I didn’t want her to think that I’d leave. Butwewouldn’t be here forever. She’d have to come to my world, to ultimately move in with me.