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Christ. The man sounds like a fucking asshole. "What's goin' to happen now? If you leave Esme alone, are they gonna come for you again?"
He nods. "According to them, yesterday and today's work only accounts for a portion of paying them back."
"You leave those assholes to me," I tell him. There's no fucking way I'm going to allow him to continue following Esme, but I'm also not going to let those fuckers get away with this fucking bullshit. "Stay the fuck away from Esme, and you and your partner will be fine."
He nods. "I promise I will." He's still trembling. Christ. He's a nervous fucker, and I'm not entirely sure that I can trust him. But there's no way I'm letting him stay around Esme.
I reach forward for his wallet that's on the center console and see his driver's license. I pull out my cell and snap a picture of it. "I know where you live now. You fuck around, Milo, and we'll have problems."
"I promise, we won't. I'm really sorry. I was just trying to survive this clusterfuck."
I grip his shoulder and press tightly. "Expect a call from me tonight. Once I've spoken to my brothers, I'll call you."
He swallows hard, his throat constricting with the movement. "Okay. Please can you tell Esme that I never meant to scare her."
I narrow my eyes. "Does she know you're following her?"
He nods. "I scared her when she was in the grocery store. I never intended to do so."
I slide out of the car. "Go home, Milo, and wait for my call."
I don't wait for him to acknowledge me. I slam the car door shut and move back to my bike. I climb on and start the engine, driving it until I reach Esme's house. I park it outside, not willing to put it into the garage tonight. I want people to know that her house is protected by the Vipers. I'll be fucking damned if anyone else fucking tries to stalk her.
I knock on the door, and it takes her a little while to open it. When she does, I see that she's pale and shaken, and her eyes are red and puffy. She's been crying. I know that everything about her says stay back and hands off, but I can't. I pull her into my arms, and she freezes, but eventually starts to relax. "You good, babe?"
She nods against my chest. "I'm running a little behind," she says sheepishly, not raising her head from my chest. "Are you okay to wait? It should be around forty minutes."
"No problem, babe. You cook. I gotta talk to you about somethin', then I gotta call my brothers."
She raises her head, and I see those gorgeous eyes of hers fill with fear. Christ, that motherfucker has frightened her. "Okay," she says, her words shaky.
"Whatever goes down, honey, you're goin' to be fine."
She pulls in a shaky breath. "Okay," she says, and this time, it's much stronger. I pull her into the house and close the door behind me.
I take a seat at her kitchen table and wait as she grabs me a beer and takes a seat opposite me.
"That asshole who was following you around today is gone," I tell her, needing to get it out of the way. "He won't be back."
She blinks. Her mouth falls open, and she closes it quickly, reminding me of a fish. "You killed him?" she asks in a whisper.
I chuckle. "No, honey, I didn't. Though seeing you've been cryin', no doubt 'cause of him followin' you, I should have. But no, I didn't. I sent him on his way. But he comes near you again, I will."
"Why was he following me?" she asks, her eyes wide still. "He wouldn't tell me. He kept close behind me as I walked around the grocery store. I couldn't escape him."
Fucking bastard.
"He owes money to the Jacobson’s, and to pay his debt off, he was to follow you."
Her breathing begins to deepen as she glances down at the table, her fingers curled into a fist. "I'm sorry," she says through her breathing. "You've been dragged into my mess. Harry is an asshole. I thought after the conversation I had with him he'd leave me alone." She shakes her head. "He's never going to leave me alone, is he?"
No, he's not. "Don't worry, Es. I'm not goin' to let that fucker anywhere near you again."
She nods. "I hate that he won't leave me alone. It's over. Why can't he accept that?"
"I'm goin' to call my brothers. No doubt your girl will be here the moment she finds out. You got enough food to feed everyone?"
She laughs just as I intended. "Yeah," she says softly. "I always cook more than I should. I was planning on freezing it for dinners, but there's more than enough to go around."
