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“I thought that you said that you weren’t much of a talker?” she reminded.
“I’m not making small talk, Rose. I need to know what kind of trouble you’re in and what, or in this case, who I’m dealing with. You want me to keep you and your kid safe, right?” he asked.
“Sadie,” she reminded.
“Okay—you want me to keep you and Sadie safe, right?” Rose looked him over and noticed the vein in his neck looked about ready to pop and she couldn’t help but laugh.
“You really do hate talking, don’t you?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he grumbled.
“I can tell by that vein in your neck that I grate on your last nerve,” she added.
“You’re not wrong about that either,” he admitted.
“Fine, it’s good to know where I stand with you, Thorne,” she said. Honestly, it hurt her feelings that he didn’t like her. Thorne didn’t even know her yet, but he had already decided that she was a bother. It didn’t matter though. As long as he kept his promise to Savage and kept her and Sadie safe, that was all she really cared about.
“Can we just get to the part where you stop looking at my vein and psychoanalyzing me? Tell me about your ex,” he repeated.
“Fine,” she spat. “His name is Joseph Stern,” she said. God, even saying his name out loud made her want to dry heave.
“You two married or just together?” Thorne asked.
“We never got married, thank God,” she said, “but, he’s Sadie’s father. He’s on her birth certificate and he’s got the means to fight me in court for her and win.” The thought of Joe getting his disgusting hands on her daughter made her physically ill. How she was ever with a man like him was still a mystery to her. She definitely had on rose-colored glasses the night she jumped into his bed. That was a mistake she’d never make again. Rose wasn’t ever going to let another man hurt her.
“And let me guess—he wants custody?” Thorne asked.
“Right, and I can’t let him win. He used to beat me. That’s why I took Sadie and left him. I can’t let him do the same to her,” Rose said.
“No, you can’t,” he breathed. “I won’t let him touch her.” Hearing Thorne make her that promise gave her hope that her cousin hadn’t just pawned her off onto some bodyguard who wouldn’t give a shit about her or her daughter.
“Thank you for saying that Thorne,” she said.
“No problem,” he said. “When was the last time you saw your asshole ex?”
“Language,” she chided, “and, I saw him about three days ago. That’s when I decided to head to Huntsville and find Savage. Our fathers were brothers, and they didn’t like each other very much. Savage and I were close as kids until our fathers finally quit talking to each other. I haven’t seen him in years, but I had a gut feeling that he’d still help us if I showed up on his doorstep.” Savage had always been that type of guy. He’d help anyone who needed a hand. He was the kindest guy she had ever known. Savage gave Rose hope that she’d be able to find someone like him someday, but so far, all she seemed to attract from the male population was losers and assholes.
“He’s one of the best guys I know,” Thorne agreed. “He said something about your ex selling cars.”
“Yeah, he’s a car salesman and a bad one at that. He’s always got a wad of cash on him though.”
“So, you think that he’s up to no good,” Thorne concluded.
“Yeah,” she agreed, “how else could he make so much money while not selling any cars?” Rose asked.
“Savage will get to the bottom of it,” Thorne promised. “If he’s using the car sales gig as a cover, he and Bowie will find out and tear him down. You won’t have to do a thing except follow my orders so that I can keep you and our kid safe until they are done with your ex.”
She sighed again. “Sadie,” she breathed. Rose had a feeling that Thorne was just trying to push her buttons by calling Sadie a kid and cursing all the time. Maybe she should just let it go and then, he might stop, but she knew that guys like Thorne would just find another way to annoy her. It’s how they seemed to work. Guys like Thorne were trouble and if she had learned anything from being with Joe, it was to avoid trouble at all costs.
* * *
Rose woke up just as the sun was peeking over the horizon. “It’s morning?” she asked.
“Yep, you fell asleep just after midnight,” Thorne said.
“We’ve been driving this whole time?” she asked. How did she not wake up once during the night? She usually was up half a dozen times to check on Sadie, but last night, she slept like the dead.
“Yeah, well, except when I stopped for gas and coffee a couple of times,” he said. “We’ll be at the safehouse in about an hour.”
