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For fuck’s sake, he bungled this shit up and Reese paid the price.
He spun on his heel and strode back to the kitchen, to where Reese stood leaning against the center island, her head hanging down and the bag of peas held to her face.
He’d hurt her.
Warren fucking hurt her.
This was no longer a skip.
This had become personal.
He needed to get Reese to a safe location Warren wouldn’t know about.
Then he was doing what needed to be done.
Fuck Bianchi and fuck the bail.
“Pack some shit, I’m gettin’ you the fuck outta town.”
Her head lifted and her one eye went wide. “I can’t leave! I have court coming up. I have cases to work on. I can’t—”
“The fuck you can’t. This ain’t one of your legal arguments, Reese. I’m gettin’ you the fuck out of here, whether you like it or not.”
“Deke, no. Billy won’t come to the house. He knows Reilly isn’t here now.”
“I. Don’t. Give. A. Fuck.”
“I can’t leave.”
“Where I’m takin’ you is only about twenty minutes away from your office. We’ll figure it out. But for now, you ain’t stayin’ here alone.”
“Deke...”
“Reese, this ain’t up for fuckin’ debate.” He squeezed his eyes shut, tamped down his rage and then softened his tone as much as he could. Which wasn’t much. “Just ‘til he’s caught. But I’m takin’ you somewhere safe and don’t give a fuck if you don’t like it.”
She stared at him for the longest fucking minute of his life. Because he expected her to continue to fight. And he was ready to go as many rounds as necessary with her until he had her packed in his truck and on their way to Manning Grove.
This was a fight he wouldn’t lose.
Maybe she saw that in his face.
He loosened a little when she sighed and said, “I need to shower, at least. I need to wash off the blood, change my clothes. I’m... a mess...” The last came out broken.
Her whole body lurched as a loud sob escaped her and she began to crumble in front of his eyes. He rushed over and caught her before she hit the floor. The bag of peas fell from her fingers and landed at their feet when she pressed her forehead lightly to his chest and fisted his shirt.
Jesus fuck.
He wrapped his arms around her, giving her the support she needed to remain on her feet while she cried.
Justice circled around them, whining, not understanding what was wrong with Reese. Her muffled crying had his head tilting and him getting more frantic.
“Jussie, it’s okay,” he said softly, in an attempt to soothe them both. “It’s okay. She’s okay.”
Thank fuck she was okay. Just a bit battered and she’d be sore and bruised for a little bit, but nothing that wouldn’t heal.
He moved her hair off her forehead and after staring once more at the cut above her left eye held together by the butterfly bandages, he pressed his mouth to her right temple which wasn’t bruised or broken.
He held her and simply breathed.
He waited for her to finish crying. Because she needed that.
And, if he admitted it to himself, he wanted her to need him.
“It’s okay, babe. That motherfucker will get what’s comin’ to him. Promise. Just need you somewhere safe ‘til that happens. We’ll make it work.”
Her sobs slowed, but she continued to hang on to him. And he continued to hold on to her.
He didn’t want to let go.
Not yet.
When she was ready, he would. Until then, he gave her what she needed.
After a few more minutes, she lifted her head and sniffled.
He was tempted to pick her up and carry her, but she might fight him on that, causing herself more injury. Instead, he escorted her across the house to her room. Helped her out of her ripped and dirty clothes, and went into her bathroom to turn on the faucet in her tub. As the water filled, he helped her pack a bag.
When hot water filled the tub, he helped her into it and while she soaked, he ran upstairs to pack his shit. He piled everything by the side door, along with Justice’s stuff.
And when he was done, her fingertips had pruned, so he helped her out of the tub, dried her off and then curled up on the bed with her, holding her tight.
She hardly said a word, but then, nothing else needed to be said.
She was allowing him to make the decisions right now, but when the sun rose and she was no longer in shock at what happened, he knew that would change.
He decided they’d spend the night in her house and then leave first thing in the morning. He knew by delaying their departure, he risked her arguing with him about leaving in the morning, but he’d deal with that then.
It was only a few hours before dawn, but he laid awake for every minute of those hours, plotting his revenge.
