Page 14 of Savage Protector

Anxiety gripped my heart almost as tightly as I gripped the stupid pillow. “What are you going to do that it’s going to take a couple of days?”

“Scarlet.” The way he said my name stole my breath. It had been a while since anyone used my real name beyond my old landlord and HR at the casino before they printed a special name tag at my request. “Can you follow instructions? Or are you too busy asking questions to listen?”

"Wow, my bad. I’ll stop asking questions and just blindly follow along like a robot. That better for you?”

He narrows his eyes, his expression darkening. The corner of his mouth twitches briefly as if trying to suppress the urge to snap back. Instead, he takes a slow, controlled breath, the tension in his posture palpable. “I will not ask again.”

The man could be condescending, that much was for sure. “I can follow instructions.”

“Good. While I’m gone, there are a few things you need to do if you don’t want somebody else showing up here looking for you.” He dipped his hand into his back pocket and withdrew a generic-looking phone. “Use a burner. Always. Power down your cell, and do not power it back up for any reason. Do you understand me?”

Rather than answer verbally, I took my phone from the nightstand, powered it down, and then tossed it on the bed. “Done.”

“Next. Cash only.” Again he reached into his pocket, withdrawing a wad of bills. “Don’t worry about it,” he muttered when my mouth opened in surprise. “We can settle up another time. If you need anything, use cash. I am honestly surprised he hasn’t found you yet. It’s not that difficult to trace card activity.”

The truth behind his words tightened my stomach. “Right. I won’t do that again.”

“There is enough here to cover anything you might need. This is where you’re going to go.” Along with the money, he handed me a slip of paper with an address written across the top and directions scribbled underneath. “It’s another motel around two hours north of here. You’re going to go, you will get a room, and you will pay in cash. Once you’ve checked in, tear that paper up and flush it down the toilet. You can’t afford to leave anything to chance. Understood?”

“I’ve got it.” Strange, but even though he almost barked orders at me, there was comfort in handing the situation over to him and doing what he instructed. Normally, I would have told him to fuck off with his attitude.

There was nothing normal about this. I needed all the help I could get. “I will call you on that phone. I am the only person who knows the number,” he said. “You don’t have to worry when it rings. Call me when you arrive, then lay low. I’ll update you. It won’t be more than a day or two before I come to get you.”

“What happens after that?” It wasn’t an easy question, but I couldn’t imagine anyone who wouldn’t ask it. What happened after this? Where would I go? What was I supposed to do? This couldn’t go on forever.

“After that?“ With another glance out the window, he muttered, “We’ll figure it out when we get there.”

Staring at him, I voiced one final question weighing on my mind. I thought I knew the answer, but I had to ask. “You’re not like him, are you? Please, tell me.”

“No, I am not like him.” But it took too long for him to answer. He had to think about it. If Dominic had hired Grayson to do this, he trusted him. What would happen if that trust were broken?

“What happens if you never come back? What do I do then?” I asked, my heart picking up speed at the idea.

There was no hesitation this time. “Run. You keep going until the cash runs out, and then you pray he can’t track you. But don’t worry,” he added. “I will come back. All I need is for you to lay low and wait. Can you do that?”

Could I? Do I have a choice? “Yes.” I identified the determination in his voice, his face, his every move and decided to adopt it myself. If he were determined, I could be too. “Yes, I can do that.”

He held my gaze for a beat, and I swear I saw his eyes darken, the color shifting like a storm cloud rolling in. It wasn’t just intensity, it was something dangerous. My heart skipped, my breath caught, but I didn’t look away.

For a moment, everything stilled, even the air between us thick with unspoken words. Then, without another word, he rose from the window seat. He stood, slow and deliberate, like he was deciding whether to stay or leave.

Stay.

But then he walked out without looking back.

7

GRAYSON

It was rare for Jack to meet with me outside of our normal weekly coffee at the diner. Some situations called for a change in routine. Some even called for us to sit in my truck in a parking garage across the street from the restaurant where I’d scheduled a sit-down with my childhood friend.

“She needs help.” I adjusted my tie, which felt a hell of a lot more like a noose. “Badly. It’s exactly the way I imagined. They were together six months, he assured her she was dead if she ever tried to get away.” I couldn’t imagine those words coming out of my mouth, ever. Only a weak, sniveling, cowardly piece of shit would threaten a woman that way.

A brave woman. Feisty. Someone whose frank, level gaze and half-naked body had inspired more than one ill-timed daydream since I left her yesterday. Since then, she’d called using the burner to tell me she was safe at the new motel, where there’d be no trace of her presence. I hadn’t expected her to show up at the door wearing next to nothing, like hearing me out there had gotten her moving before she thought logically about what she was doing.

It wasn’t the first time she’d used doubtful judgment. Hence, my waiting here before going in to sit down with her ex.

Jack grunted his shared disgust, scrubbing a hand over the white bristles covering his cheek. “You know how it is for guys like him. The sort of guys you grew up around. Once something is theirs, it’s theirs. Nobody else can touch.”