Page 89 of A Better Place

My stomach is in a thousand knots. The thought of Carly being in a situation that caused her to change her name, move across the country and hide out makes me feel as though I could throw up. Everything I’ve learned about Carly and Jack over these several weeks — the fact that neither of them have any sort of social media presence, the fact that I can’t find any information about Carly Hanson —all comes crashing down on me like a wrecking ball. “Shit.”

“Yup.”

“Thanks for telling me.”

“Sorry to ruin your night,” he says. “I just… I felt like you needed to know. Since Nicole left, you haven’t really… and Carly? She seems…”

“She is. She’s it for me. She’s everything. No doubt about it. And I’ll protect her with every last breath I have in me if I have to.”

“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that. Listen. When you have a plan with Tate? Let me know. I’m here, man. If he did what I’m assuming he did to her, to make her run, move to a strange place and all that… I’m here for you. Got me?”

“I got you,” I say, reaching out a fist to bump his. “Thanks again. I appreciate you telling me what’s up.”

“Not a problem. Hated to be the one, but I knew you had to know. Try and forget about it tonight. Go enjoy the rest of your evening.”

“I’ll try.” I swallow hard and give him a single nod just as Carly emerges from the restroom. Her soft smile tells me she didn’t overhear any of our conversation, for which I’m grateful. I’ll tell her. I just have to figure out the when and how.

“Ready?” her sweet voice drifts over me, giving me back a piece of the calm I felt before talking with Will.

“Sure am,” I tell her, swallowing down the fear that is threatening to take over. I take her hand in mine and pull her close, letting her nearness soothe the growing ache in my heart.

“Talk soon, Will. Thanks again.”

“Anytime, man. Have a good night, you two! Keep it clean!” he shouts as we make our way toward the door, thankfully lightening the mood for me.

Now, if I can only figure out how to manage the rest of the evening without crawling out of my skin. The not knowing when this dipshit of an ex is going to sling his venom back onto my girl is likely to drive me insane.

Everything at the shore went off without a hitch. Harrison had our table set up and waiting for us. The moonlight glistened off the lake, giving it a soft glow against the black of the water. The meal was spectacular, and I got to watch Carly damn near climax eating the tiramisu chocolate truffles. I had to readjust myself so I wouldn’t stand up after our dinner and embarrass myself.

Thankfully, I was able to put the ex-husband thing out of my mind, at least mildly. Knowing I was here by her side, able to defend her, made that much easier. Realizing she would be going home where Jack was there also made me feel a little better also. But it’s not like I can tell Jack what’s happening. No way do I want that on his shoulders. He already carries enough of that burden. However, until I know for certain that this asshole’s gone for good, I don’t think I’ll ever feel completely settled. Unfortunately, the only way I see him being out of the picture forever is for him to be in the picture for a very short period of time. None of that is appealing at all.

“Do you want to come inside?” Carly’s voice pulls me out of the funk I had quickly let myself get into. Damn Vince. And now that I have a name, it’s all I can think about.

“I’m not sure yet,” I say, blowing out a breath.

“James?” her voice is timid, nervous.

“Yeah, baby?”

“Is everything okay?” she asks, wringing her hands together in her lap.

I sigh and relax back into the seat. I turn my head toward her and reach over to caress her cheek. “Everything is great, beautiful. Just thinking.”

“About?” She leans into my hand and worries her bottom lip. I slide my hand that’s on her cheek and release her lip with my thumb.

“How amazing you are. How I don’t want to lose you,” I tell her honestly. I don’t tell her I’m afraid of losing her to a force that is potentially bigger than both of us.

“Not possible,” she promises as she twists her head, giving me a gentle kiss to the palm of my hand. I’ve never wanted a promise to be fulfilled so badly in my entire life.

“I’m falling, baby. Hard.”

“Yeah?”

“I am. You feeling any of that?”

“All of that,” she tells me, her voice trembling.

“I’m really glad.”

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