Page 47 of Chasing Forever

My eyes widened. “You really don’t have to do that.” I was sure something like that cost a pretty penny, and I hated the thought of him shelling it out because of me.

His face softened. “Should’ve done it a long time ago, sweetheart. It’s for the best, really. It’ll make sure you’re safe from that asshole, and it’s also another level of security for our guests. It’s a win-win.”

I wasn’t sure I believed him, but the stubborn set of his jaw told me he wasn’t going to be deterred. “Fine. As long as it isn’tjustbecause of me. I mean, I didn’t see him. I don’t know when he was here.”

Tristan’s thumbs swiped back and forth across the pulse points in my wrists, pulling my focus back to him. “What makes you certain he was here?”

I huffed out a breath. “He left flowers on my car.”

Tristan’s brows pulled together. “Flowers? And you’re sure it was him?”

I nodded, pulling my bottom lip between my teeth and biting down nervously because I knew Tristan wasnotgoing to like what I said next. “I’m sure. It was six long-stemmed red roses. Those were his apology flowers. He gave them to me every time he hit me.”

Sure enough, Tristan’s expression turned murderous. His cheeks grew ruddy and the vein in his temple began to throb. A haze moved over his eyes, and I knew he wasn’t with me anymore. He was somewhere else, lost in his anger.

I’d never seen that look on him before, and if this had been a few months earlier, it might have scared the hell out of me. But now I knew Tristan would never hurt me. He might have looked like he was seconds away from morphing into the Incredible Hulk, but there wasn’t a single part of me that feared what he might do.

“Hey. Come back to me.” I placed my hands on the sides of his neck and forced him to lean in closer to my level. “I’m right here. You need to come back.”

He blinked, and just like that, my Tristan was standing in front of me once again. “Dandelion.” That word came out in a rasp.

“Whatever he planned on those flowers doing didn’t work. I’m right here, and I’m fine, so you need to be too. Okay? He doesn’t get a second of our energy.”

Tristan’s chest rose on a controlled inhale. He closed his eyes, and his lips moved wordlessly as he counted to ten before giving those baby blues back to me. “What do you want to do? You want to go to the station and file a report?”

“I want to go home,” I answered without hesitation.

“Baby—”

“I stomped those flowers to death in a fit of rage.”

“She did,” Raylan confirmed. “Walked up on her grinding them to dust under her shoe and cussin’ up a storm that’d put the devil to shame.”

The corner of Tristan’s mouth trembled in a barely-suppressed grin at that news. “Would’ve paid to see that.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, well, it wasn’t one of my finest moments. Though, I’d say I was entitled. But there’s no point in reporting this. As far as I’m concerned, Warren’s the only one who suffered anything from this little stunt.”

Tristan’s expression turned bewildered. “How do you figure that?”

A sly grin curled my lips up. “Because he wasted money on expensive flowers that I destroyed in two seconds flat. And when I get home, I’m going to forget all about this.”

Pride flashed across Tristan’s features right before he brought his lips down on mine. “So goddamn strong,” he said under his breath.

And he was right. I was strong. And that son of a bitch did not get to win.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Tristan

I’d watched Merritt like a hawk since we got home from the lodge the evening before, waiting to see if there would be a delayed reaction to the stunt that piece of shit had pulled, wanting to be there if the nightmares reared their ugly heads, but nothing happened.

She went about the rest of the night like she did every other night. She made dinner and chatted about all the things happening at the lodge. She asked Levi about his day, and listened raptly as he shared his latest adventures.

I paced the kitchen while she was upstairs, getting the little guy ready for bed, and after she’d tucked him in, she came back down to me and had a glass of wine like we did every night. She’d slept peacefully in my arms all night long, not a nightmare to be found. And I knew that because I hadn’t been able to sleep, too busy waiting for the other shoe to drop. It still hadn’t by the time the sun rose on a new day.

Ivy had insisted she take the day off, and if Merritt was going to be home, I was too. Even if she was okay, I couldn’t seem to get a handle on my emotions. I felt like I was coming out of my skin, and the only thing that helped at all was being near her so I could make sure she was safe. I didn’t trust anyone else to do it. So instead of going into the station, I’d spent the morning pouring over the files on Harrison’s and my drug case from the comfort of the dining room while Merritt worked on another antique piece in the garage. The only noise in the house—aside from Doc’s rattling snore—was the faint strains of the music Merritt was playing in the garage as she worked.

We still hadn’t gotten anywhere on the case, and with every day that passed without a lead, the more frustrated Harrison and I became. Ozzy had stopped talking completely, refusing to see either of us if we went to the prison. As bad as it sounded, without another victim, we were stalled, with nowhere to go.

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