Sage

Sage

Once the police were through with us, Trevor took Erica’s car and drove us home since she was definitely not okay to drive. I feel bad. I feel like I should have protected her more, at least comforted her more. I was in fight or flight mode at the time, and then when that passed, a familiar numbness sank into my bones, and it has yet to fade.

When we get home and settled inside, I expect Trevor to start drilling me with questions. Instead, he sits down on the couch beside me, not too close to where I feel crowded but close enough that I know he’s beside me. We sit there in silence for I don’t know how long, and honestly, it’s exactly what I need. He always seems to know exactly what I need exactly when I need it.

Which is why when I turn to face him, he’s sitting there quietly, waiting for me once I’m ready to speak.

“So, I have a pretty psycho ex-boyfriend,” I say dryly.

I think I was attempting to be funny, but honestly, I don’t even laugh. Trevor just stares at me which tells me I need to just get this shit out of me.

“What do you want to know?” I ask.

“Everything. Anything.” He pauses before shaking his head. “Where did you even meet a guy like him?”

“Seattle. I was sixteen the first time I met him. He was thirty-two.”

“Jesus,” Trevor exhales with a shake of his head.

I nod. “It was at a party in a sketchy part of town. I told Dad I was staying the night with a friend, and we snuck out to go. Some college guy my friend was hooking up with was holding the party. Some bikers were there, one was giving me a hard time before one of the guys jumped in, beat his ass, and watched over me for the rest of the night.”

Trevor lets me continue, only reaching out and resting his hand on my leg in support.

“Then the next day he showed up outside my school, took me on a ride on his bike. We hooked up that night and became pretty much inseparable.”

“At sixteen?” he cuts in with a disgusted shake of his head. “That guy is a fucking predator. Where the fuck was your dad?”

“Busy. Trying to coach up some of the best players in the NFL and no time for a troublemaker daughter.”

Trevor shakes his head but doesn’t say more.

“Anyway, when I turned eighteen, he got the opportunity to join the Santa Fe chapter. He was just an enforcer up here, but his best friend ran the chapter down south and wanted him to be his VP. So, he packed a bag for me that night, and I left a note for my dad telling him I’d see him around. Dad didn’t try to call, and I didn’t look back. I know it sounds dumb, but I was happy. He gave a shit about me, took care of me.”

“Until?”

“Until we got down there.” I look down at my hands, rubbing my fingertips together, mesmerized by the movement. Or maybe it’s just better than looking at the disappointment on Trevor’s face.

“Everything was fine for a bit. Everyone welcomed us like an arriving king and queen. I even made some friends. My best friend Calista is still down there. She’s married to Hammer, their enforcer. I haven’t heard from her in a while which should have tipped me off that something wasn’t right,” I say, finishing my sentence in a whisper.

“What happened when you were down there?” Trevor says, redirecting my train of thought.

“Nothing until some shit went down. The president ended up dying, and Alec lost it. Started dipping his fingers into the product they were pushing, something he never did before. He got mean, violent. Hammer and Calista got really good about hiding me from him when he was at his worst, but one night they couldn’t and…”

Trevor’s grip on me tightens as I breathe through the painful memories. I look over at him, doing my best to smile as a tear drops down my face.

“Suffice it to say, I got a little messed up. Couldn’t walk for almost a week because of my broken ribs. Took me longer to go out in public because of the black eyes I was sporting. I was scared, and I didn’t think I had any options until Calista bought me a bus ticket and put me on it, in the middle of the night, when they were off doing a pickup.”

“That was back in April. I’ve been trying to lay low here ever since. When I was here for several months and didn’t hear from him, I thought he moved on. Even heard he was spending time with one girl in particular. I thought I was off the hook. Now I realize I was just being naïve.”

“Hey, look at me,” Trev says, and I blink a few times before realizing I’m staring at a blank wall as I meet his deep blue eyes.

“I’ll never let him touch a hair on your head again, you have my word.”

I give him a sad smile as I shake my head.

“You can’t keep that promise, Trev. I know you want to, and I know you believe it, but you have no idea the reach these guys have.”

“Don’t give a fuck. I’ll send you away if I have to. To the East Coast, Europe. I’ll take you as far away as it takes until you’re out of his grasp, you hear me?”

“He always gets what he wants,” I say almost to myself as I lick away the fallen tear that’s smeared across my lips. “And according to his henchmen, what he wants is me.”

Trevor’s hand leaves my thigh before cupping my jaw.

“Well, he can’t have you. You hear me? You’re mine, and I’ll kill anyone who touches what’s mine. We are going to keep you safe. I’m going to keep you safe.”

The ferocity he says those words with have me almost believing him.

Almost.

“I’m gonna call a private security company. From now on, your ass is locked down. You won’t be out of my sight any more than physically required, and when you are, you’ll have two men on you. We’re gonna get another gate, more cameras, more—”

“You don’t have to do all that,” I say with a shake of my head.

He looks as if I’ve slapped him as he reaches over and pulls me into his lap, clasping his hand behind my neck as he speaks.

“Of course I do. You are the most precious thing in the world to me. And I’m going to do anything and everything to not only keep you safe, but make you feel safe. Money doesn’t matter, resources don’t matter, you are all that matters to me, Sage.”

As if he could ease my anxiety with just his words, my breathing comes and goes a little easier as I nod my head softly.

“Okay.”

“I love you, babygirl, so fucking much.”

I close my eyes, allowing his words to coat me like a balm, to my previously bruised and cracked heart, before I open them to look at him.

“I love you too, Trevor.”

The smile that spreads across his face is like nothing I’ve ever seen as he brings his lips to my own. I lose track of how long we stay like that, wrapped up in each other, whispering promises and declarations of love and what will come after all of this ends.

I don’t have the heart to tell him that the ending will no doubt be much more sorrow filled than he’s envisioning.