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Gwen:
Do I get to choose which?
Emma:
Nope!
Gwen:
??You’re no fun!
Emma:
I know, LOL.
Emma returned the phone to the nightstand and headed off in search of her new clothes.
“He was in her house.”Noah forced himself to lower his phone and place it gently on the kitchen counter. If he hadn’t already been sitting, he was confident his knees would have buckled. “Franklin Bishop was in Emma’s house.”
“Excuse me?”Mamálooked up from the white rat in her lap, her smile evaporating. She’d gotten such a kick out of Emma’s pets and had been playing with them since she andPapáhad arrived two hours earlier.
“Franklin Bishop was in Emma’s house,” Noah repeated. “At least, the detectives think he was. Her security system showed the back door opening seconds before I arrived. If I hadn’t gotten there when I had, he might have—”
His voice broke, and he nearly did, too. Pressing a hand to his mouth, Noah willed the contents of his stomach to stay where they were. He’d already lost Amanda, and it had nearly gutted him. If he lost Emma, too, it would destroy him.
Papáclamped his hands on Noah’s shoulders and squeezed. “But you got there in time, and that’s what you must focus on right now. She’s safe, and we’ll keep her that way.”
Noah gripped one ofPapá’shands and held on, thankful to have his family with him. “I’ll just keep her here until Bishop’s caught. I’ll also have Andi finalize her security detail.”
He’d already had the latter in the works so that, once their relationship went public, she’d be safe. The Whitlow family had already had one abduction attempt years before, and Noah didn’t want Emma caught in that kind of crossfire. He’d rather pay anything he had to on the front end to keep her safe, as opposed to paying a hefty ransom on the back end.
“Careful,Mijo,”Mamáwarned. “Keep her safe, yes, but be careful you do not dictate her life. She doesn’t need to feel pressure from you as well as a madman.”
“I’m not trying to pressure her,Mamá. I’m trying to keep her safe.”
“And that’s admirable. I’d expect nothing less from the man I raised. Keeping the woman you love safe should be paramount, but you must be smart about it.”
The woman you love.
Hearing the words said aloud was a blow to the solar plexus. They were true enough—he was slowly coming to terms with that—but everything was happening too fast. Nothing had felt stable since she’d waltzed into his life. He was walking on a flimsy piece of plywood someone had placed over quicksand.
“Have you told her about Amanda?”Mamá’swords were soft, a contrast toPapá’ssuddenly fierce grip on his shoulders. He should have knownMamáwould have picked up on the way Amanda’s ghost had been haunting him with renewed vigor.
Noah shook his head. “I can’t talk about her.” The guilt, as always, was too raw.
“Which is even more reason you should,Mijo. She has pain in her past, too. She will understand. And maybe you could help each other heal.”
He shook his head again.
“At the very least, don’t you think she should hear what happened from you?” she asked. “We did everything we could to bury what happened deep, deep underground, but you know nothing is truly buried forever. Tell her,Mijo, before she learns someone else’s version of the truth.”
But his lingering guilt over the role he’d played in Amanda’s death made that easier said than done. Part of him knewMamáwas right. He needed to tell Emma—full disclosure she’d call it—but he also wanted to protect her from ever learning of that night and the dark marks it had left on his soul.
The whisper of feet overhead drew his attention, and he met Emma at the base of the stairs. She’d paired a tan off-the-shoulder blouse with a pair of black leggings. Her feet were bare, as was her face. She’d pulled her auburn curls into a loose knot atop her head, but several strands had fallen to frame her face. She looked casual, stunning, and most importantly, as if she belonged here, that shefithere.
“Hey,” she said, voice soft but not shy.
“Hey, yourself.” She stood on the next-to-bottom step, so they were practically eye to eye, making it all the easier to wrap his arms around her waist and draw her against him. “I see you found the clothesMamábrought.”
