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I nod, my fingers flying over the keys as sidewalks and buildings whiz past us outside. “Good point. That’s one threat gone, at least. But we don’t know how long that will last, so we can’t get comfortable. She could have other gangs or hired mercenaries on deck.”
“Where are we going?” Willow asks, craning her neck to look around the seat. “Another hotel?”
I shake my head. “No, that won’t be safe enough either. We need a place away from people.”
“I made a call while we were packing up,” Malice informs her. “We still have some contacts from the chop shop days who owe us for work we did on an IOU. One of them set us up with a safe house. It’s off the beaten path, so hopefully that’ll help keep us off the radar. It’s nothing fancy, but it’ll do.”
Willow nods, falling silent again.
When we reach the safe house, it’s exactly like Malice said. It’s a small place, just two bedrooms, a kitchen, a small living area, and a bathroom. After the time we spent in the penthouse, this is definitely a downgrade, but that’s not what matters right now.
We unload the car, and then Malice and Ransom go to drop the bodies. I stay behind, getting my computers set up and keeping an eye on Willow.
She doesn’t say much at first, but there’s an agitation in her that’s almost palpable. She paces around the small living room almost like she’s Malice, walking the perimeter to keep an eye out for threats.
“Willow,” I say, dragging her out of her thoughts and making her look at me. “Are you alright?”
She sighs and finally comes to a stop. “Yeah. I mean… I just kind of hate this, honestly.”
“The house?”
“No, just… all of it. I hate that we have to keep leaving places behind in a hurry. I hate that this feels like we’re on the run again. We were doing so well. We had the high ground for one goddamnedsecond—and now Olivia has us running again.”
“I know it must feel like that,” I tell her. “But this isn’t the same. We’re in a much different situation than we were last time. We had to run today, yes, but this isn’t a step backward, even if it feels like it is.”
“I guess so. I just hate that it feels like no matter what we do, she always wins. She always holds all the cards. No one has ever been able to make me feel as… helpless as she does.”
“You are not helpless,” I say firmly. “Listen to me. You are so much stronger than you know, butterfly.”
“When that man came at me with that gun, I froze,” she admits, swallowing. “In that split second, it was like my body just went numb. I didn’t know what to do. I definitely felt helpless then.”
“We’re always going to protect you,” I vow. “But would it help if I taught you some ways to defend yourself?”
She licks her lips, considering. “Okay.”
We push the dusty couch out of the way to give us more space, and I run Willow through some basic self-defense drills. We keep it light, considering she’s pregnant, but I give her the information she can use if she needs it. I point out all the sensitive places on a person that she can go for, showing her how to jab someone in the throat or the solar plexus.
“And if it’s a person with a dick, I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how to incapacitate them for long enough to get away.”
She laughs at that, and even if the sound is a bit strained, it feels like progress.
I show her how to get out of a headlock and how to keep someone from choking her out.
When I wrap my arm around her throat to demonstrate a move, her hair tickles my skin, her scent invading my nostrils as I inhale. Being pressed up behind her makes my body respond, my cock going half hard just from this proximity to her. It’s not as intense as it used to be, like the time I kissed her in the kitchen and couldn’t help but come in my pants, but I don’t think I’ll ever be able to touch her and not have a reaction.
My cheeks flush when I realize she can probably feel my cock twitching against her ass.
“Sorry,” I murmur. “It’s… an automatic response at this point.”
“It’s okay.” She makes no move to pull away, reaching up instead to grip my forearm. “I don’t mind. I’ve never minded, Vic. I like that you react this way to me.”
“No one else has ever done this to me,” I admit. “I’ve always been so good at controlling my reactions. There’s just something about you that makes that impossible.”
She sighs, turning in my arms and leaning up to kiss me lightly. It’s just a brush of lips, but it still makes my heart rate speed up and my cock harden even more. If we had time, if things weren’t so tense right now, I’d be tempted to follow the sensation, to press Willow against my body again and let her feel exactly how much I want her.
But there are other things to focus on right now.
“We’re going to live through this,” I say, my voice low. “Someday, we won’t have to worry so much about just staying alive. And then I’m going to fuck you every single day, just because I can.”
