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“Harvey is smart enough not to get caught until now. While this move is more brazen than he’s been so far, it makes sense he’d stay under the radar aside from it.” His eyes trailed to Oliver, and he added, “You should consider staying with him until this blows over. It’d be safer all around.”
Oliver’s arm tightened around me, and he nodded. “We were already talking about that.”
The sheriff stood, gesturing for his partners to finish up. “Good, I’ll leave you two be now, but give me a call if you need anything. Stay safe.”
Then he left, and it was just Oliver and I again.
Neither of us moved at first, each of us taking in the new changes, but finally I broke the silence with a shaky sigh. “I should…pack some things, right?”
I needed to do something. The longer I sat here staring at the wall, the worse I was going to feel.
He must have picked up on that because he nodded, standing up and offering a hand. “Yeah, the sooner we get that done, the faster we can relax for the rest of the day.”
I let him pull me up, moving as if on autopilot to my room. I’d need several changes of clothes, my shower things, a toothbrush…
The list seemed to go on forever, and the longer I thought about it, the worse it got. The mattress dipped next to me and I turned, focusing on Oliver’s worried face. His hand lingered near mine on the sheets, his eyes open and heavy with concern as he spoke.
“If you need more time to adjust and take everything in, we can do this later.”
I knew that, but the thought that Harvey had beenright therewas enough to sour my stomach. I wanted out of here andnow. I hated that he could corrupt this place, the area I’d made mine, but Harvey didn’t care about my comfort.
He never had.
He’d been after money, and when I made it hard for him to get that, he showed his true colors. Thankfully, I hadn’t married him.
I could only imagine how much worse this would have been if I had. Getting a divorce was always ugly, and that’s assuming he would have let me do it at all. I would have had to run away later; only then things would have been more tremulous.
Or would he have killed me later down the line for my family’s money?
The thought sent a chill down my back, and I melted into Oliver’s side, desperately needing the comfort as my mind spiraled into what-ifs.
He didn’t say a word, offering comfort silently until I felt strong enough to pull myself back together. Taking a deep breath, I spoke.
“Thank you, but I want to have this done with. I want to feel safe again. I want to hide in our own little bubble away from the world until Harvey is caught, and all of this feels like nothing more than a bad dream.”
Oliver nodded, kissing my head and lingering for a beat. When he spoke, he didn’t move away and the words brushed my hair. “I can help with that. Pack everything that’s irreplaceable, just in case Harvey attacks here again and destroys things. We’ll go home. I’ll make whatever you want for dinner, and we can just relax. I can’t put that creep away, but I can promise that he won’t get to you. Not while I’m still breathing.”
The promise all but oozed with determination, and I believed him. Swallowing past the fear and uncertainty, I nodded. “Hopefully, the sheriff will get him soon, and it’ll all be a moot point.”
Then I stood, despite the urge to melt into his side and never leave. If I wanted to get out of here, I needed to actually pack stuff. Hiding in Oliver’s chest wouldn’t get anything done, no matter how nice it felt.
Digging out my duffle bag, I started sorting through my clothes for my favorites. It didn’t take long since I hadn’t brought much with me to begin with. Grabbing the other necessities, I looked around at the mostly empty room with a sigh.
“I’d hoped to decorate this more, but now I’m kind of glad I didn’t.”
Oliver got up from the bed, his presence hovering at my back as he gently took my bag and pulled me closer. “After Harvey is dealt with, I’ll help you decorate it however you want. Heck, you can decorate my house for all I care.”
Affection swelled in my chest at the offer and I smiled, shaking my head. “That’s your area, and I wouldn’t feel right taking it over like that. Thank you for the offer, though.”
I went to walk toward the door, but his hand on my arm stopped me. Turning, I caught the dead serious expression on his face before he cupped my cheek and spoke.
“Jen, I don’t care in the slightest if you decorate my house. If it makes you feel better, run whatever you want to do by me first, but it won’t be a problem. I’ve seen your style, and it isn’t anything that would clash with how I prefer things.”
A flutter blitzed through me, and I reveled in it. After the past hour of emotional turmoil, I’d earned the right to be happy.
But when I caught the numbers on the clock nearby, I reluctantly pulled away. “Come on, let’s head out before we stand here all day. I can think of plenty of better things to do with our time.”
He hummed his agreement, following without complaint. Hopefully things would calm down until Harvey was caught, because my heart couldn’t handle too much more of this.
