Page 22 of Kingston

I liked River a lot, even though she and Mila had grilled me about myintentionstoward her favorite cousin.Mila was a little intimidating, but she’d been super friendly after I’d confided a bit of my background to the two women.Mila had four kids of her own, and I was convinced she was playing with me when she said she had two sets of twins until she’d shown me pictures from when she was pregnant.

From our brief time hanging out, I felt like Mila and River could both be good friends.As long as I didn’t break Kingston’s heart.That was something I never wanted to do.

But I was terrified he was going to destroy my heart if I wasn’t careful.I hated being away from him for even a minute.When he went to work in the afternoons, I felt lost until he came home again.Or he called me.

Another one of those “you shouldn’t have” moments was when he’d given me a brand-new cell phone.I’d been using the occasional pay-as-you-go phones that I bought at Walmart, but I’d tossed the last one I’d had when I thought Charlie might have caught up to us in New Mexico.Kingston had insisted that I have the phone for Iris’s sake, if nothing else.

I loved it when he called me.It made me feel like a teenager on the phone with her first boyfriend, wanting to just sit and hear him breathe over the line.There was no need for words.I was happy with the quiet between us as long as I knew it was him on the other end.When Kingston had confessed one evening that he just wanted to hear my voice, I’d almost cried from happiness.That man was working his way deeper into my heart every day.

Which was dangerous.At least, I tried to convince myself it was dangerous.For Iris and me.For him.I shouldn’t be selfish, playing with Kingston’s life the way I was.Every day I spent with him could be one day closer to Charlie Johnson finding us.Hurting everyone I’d come to care about.Stealing my baby away.

But I felt safe with Kingston, and it was getting harder and harder to imagine that Charlie could even touch us when that strong Viking-like man seemed indestructible.

Placing the last container on the counter, I barely had time to open the first box to start placing them in the display before someone was asking for two of the apple-cinnamon muffins and a cup of coffee to go.

“I don’t know why y’all haven’t had them the last few weeks, but my wife is going to be a happy woman when I drop these off to her at work,” the older man told Opal as she poured coffee in a to-go cup.

She shot me a wink as she packaged two of the desired pastries in a paper bag while I kept stocking the display.“Our supplier was on vacation, Dan.But you should let your wife and all her friends know that we will have all their favorite muffins in stock for breakfast now.”

He handed her a twenty, telling her to keep the change for a tip, and snatched up the bag.“Her ass is gonna be double the size in no time with these damn things.I can’t wait.”

Opal huffed a laugh as he walked away, whistling a happy tune.“Dan always did appreciate his lady’s backside.Maybe if my first boyfriend had shown more enthusiasm for my ass than his best friend’s dick, we’d still be together.”

“Why is everyone oversharing today?”someone complained from a stool to our right.At a guess, the guy was in his early twenties.Picking up his mug of coffee, he frowned down at his plate of half-eaten breakfast.“I don’t need all that shit in my head this early in the morning.Especially about Rita’s ass.That’s my aunt, for fuck’s sake.”

“Eat your pancakes and mind your business, Dale,” Opal told him without pausing what she was doing.“You don’t want to hear about your uncle praising your aunt’s goodies, then don’t listen to other people’s conversations.”

“Hearing isn’t something I can just turn off.I’m not Delaney Reid, who can switch off those little implant thingies she has attached to her head now.”

“Keep my wife’s name out of your mouth,” a deep voice growled with so much menace I jumped.

Startled, I glanced around, easily finding the source of that terrifying tone.A man who seemed familiar to me, but I was sure I’d never met, stood on the other side of the counter right behind Dale.He had dark hair a little on the shaggy side, startling blue eyes, and the most vicious scowl I’d ever seen on a person before.Danger poured off him in waves, his incredible eyes glittering with the promise of violence.How I’d missed his entrance, I didn’t know, but I took three steps back, my flight reaction engaged.

Heartbeat echoing in my ears, I felt the panic overtake me so fast I didn’t have a chance to fight the way my vision dimmed.When the room began to spin, I knew I was in trouble, but there was nothing I could do to help myself.

“Demi?”Opal touched my arm.

With a yelp, I tried to curl into a ball, every muscle in my body preparing for the impact of the next punch, the next kick.My lungs began to burn and the ache from broken ribs felt fresh, but it was only a memory.

I wasn’t in real pain.Not this time.Just a memory.Just a memory.I needed to remember that it was only a…memory.

“Hey, hon, take a few deep breaths for me,” my friend tried to soothe, but it was hard to concentrate on her voice when there was a ringing in my ears.

Gulping, I struggled to calm my rapid breathing, the erratic beat of my pulse causing sweat to bead along my entire body.

“Whoa.What the fuck is going on?”another deep voice demanded.Someone grabbed my wrist, causing me to scream and jerk back, but they held firm.It was enough to cause me to blink my surroundings back into focus, and I found a familiar face in front of me.

There was no way the man before me could be mistaken for anyone but Kingston’s father.They had the same eyes, which I knew was true for many of the Hannigan clan, but their facial features were so similar.The shape of their nose, the sharpness of their jawline, their thick lashes that were a light brown instead of the dark blond of their hair.

Raider Hannigan had lines on his face that Kingston hadn’t earned yet, but something in those green depths was an echo of the man who had quickly become my safe place.I’d seen Kingston’s dad from a distance in the past, but the day before, he’d introduced himself to me when Kingston and I had picked Iris up from his parents’ house.She spent as much time at her Gammy and Papa’s house as she did at Kingston’s.

My little girl, who had only relied on me for her entire life, now had an entire army of people who adored her at her beck and call.I loved that for her.It was something I’d never had but always hoped for, and Kingston had given it to us.

Fuck, I was pretty sure I was falling for him.

“Demi honey, take a slow, deep breath for me.”His hands squeezed my wrists when I didn’t immediately follow the command.“You’re safe, darlin’.I promise you’re safe.Swear to you, girl, I won’t let anyone harm you.”

“I-I’m sorry.”Tears started spilling down my face, and I couldn’t stop shivering all of a sudden.“I-I don’t know what happened t-to…to make me…”

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