Page 28 of Savage Knight
“W-would you mind if I helped?”she asked, her voice soft and unsure.
“What?”Jeremiah asked, cocking his head.
“I know some pressure points,” she said.“I can show you, if you, uh, don’t mind.”
He studied her for a moment then gave a small nod.Swallowing down her nerves, she rose and rounded the table, approaching him slowly like he was a rabid dog.She knew firsthand how a man could turn on her and mete out torment.
“May I see your hands?”
Jeremiah held them out.On each hand, she pressed the fleshy area between the base of his thumb and index finger, watching him to see if it was helping.Slowly, the frown between his eyes eased.Not a lot, only a little, but it was something.
“The fleshy area between the thumb and index finger is called ‘Union Valley,’” she explained.“There are other pressure points over the body, but this one always helped me.”
After a few minutes, she released him and stepped back.
“I’m impressed,” he said as he inspected his hands, mimicking what she did.“How’d you know about pressure points?”
She hated returning to memory lane, but she couldn’t ignore his question.“One time, Scias hit me and when I fell, my head crashed on a concrete parking spot bumper.I had a concussion that gave me migraines.Scias denied me pain medicine because he said it was my fault.So, I researched what I could do with the headaches and I stumbled across pressure points.It’s not a complete cure, of course, but it helped.”
Lowen returned to her seat, not making eye contact with either man.She didn’t know if Jeremiah believed her or not, so she made sure not to linger.
“Thank you,” he said softly.
Shock floored her as Lowen flashed her gaze toward him, unsure what to make of those two words.Jeremiah stared back at her, sincerity reflecting back.
She withheld a smile, but inside she was happy he felt better.“You’re welcome.”
“I don’t think the phone call yesterday was a prank,” he said out of the blue.“I believe it was Scias Mailliard’s mole, probably trying to figure out if Lowen was here.”
Startled, she dropped her fork onto her plate and it clattered loudly.He knows I’m here.
“Jeremiah,” Evren rebuked.
“I can’t have Scias Mailliard making threats in my casino like he did the other day.”
“Threatening your casino?”she gasped, interrupting him.“What?”
“I handled it,” Evren assured her.
Suddenly, she felt very lightheaded.“Oh, no,” she whispered, a thread of panic shooting through her.Please, not now.Her breathing constricted until she was panting.Not again!
“Hey, hey, hey,” Evren said, laying his hand on her thigh.“Focus on me, Lowen.Deep breath in, let it out slowly.Good.It’s okay.”
But it wasn’t okay.Nothing was okay.Now, there wasn’t any doubt about it.This timeline might be different, but Scias was still demented and was hunting her.He wouldneverlet her rejection rest.Not when his reputation was on the line.
“It’s not safe for me anywhere in Nevada, is it?”she muttered, knowing she couldn’t bring any more trouble to Jeremiah’s doorstep.Her hands shook as she pulled the diamond necklace from under her shirt.“Do you know where I might be able to hock this?I can use the money to help—”
“Stop,” Evren interrupted.He looked at his brother.“I’ll protect her.”
“And who’ll protect you?”Jeremiah demanded.“Mailliard is deadly, and he probably knows now that you’re shielding Lowen.”
“So am I,” Evren shot back.“She’s one of us now.”
“Yes, she is, and that’s why she’s going to Blackmeadow.”
Evren’s jaw dropped.“Uh.What?”
“It’s the safest place for her until we can deal with Mailliard and this fucking mole who’s reporting all our moves.Because he knows where the fucking cameras are, his identity remains elusive.”
