Two days have passed since the arrest warrant went out for Ella’s ex-husband. I’m in the kitchen, staring out the back window toward the distant edge of the forest. He could be anywhere. The warrant went out from Memphis PD, but people talk. He could know where she’s at, and he could come for her.

I change my focus to her reflection in the window. She’s at the stove making scrambled eggs and toast. She’d refused to let me help. I think cooking helps to keep her nerves at bay because she hasn’t stopped baking cookies in two days. Trays of them litter the countertops. I’ve eaten more sugar in the last forty-eight hours than in the last ten years. But I don’t blame her one bit. I’m nervous as hell too.

Although I’m confident that I can protect her if it comes to it, I don’t want to have to use the gun strapped to my waist by one of my brother’s duty belts.

Even in a reflection, she’s perfect. It’s more than just physical. She’s the most mentally resilient person I’ve ever met. Almost anyone else in her position would be curled up in a ball sobbing. Not Ella. She’s strong, fierce, and dangerously beautiful. She’s unlocking the chains around my heart, and I still don’t know if I’m ready for another relationship.

“Food’s ready,” she calls.

“Sounds good.” I join her at the table.

She scoops eggs into her mouth, and all I can see is her lips. They’re a soft rose color, and they don’t need even a touch of makeup. Long, dark eyelashes highlight bright green eyes. Her creamy complexion offsets her pink cheeks. I’ve been memorizing every inch of her, because she could leave any day now. As soon as they catch Brock, she could be gone.

“You’re not eating,” she says.

“I’m not hungry.”

“Too many cookies?” She arches a brow.

“Yeah.”

“Talk to me.”

“Waiting for them to find him is killing me.”

“I know.” She moves from her chair to slide into my lap. “It will be over soon. Then I’ll be free.”

Then what?

The unspoken question hangs in the space between us. I wrap my arms around her waist and pull her against my chest. I don’t want to let her go.

“Have you thought about where you’re going to live after this is over?” My throat is thick with tension.

“The insurance company called earlier this morning. You were still sleeping. They’re paying out the whole policy. It will be enough money to buy a new house. Thank God. I wasn’t sure if they were going to cover arson.”

“I’m glad they’re doing the right thing.”

“Logan… about us…” She turns to straddle me, so we’re face to face.

“Not yet.” I kiss her softly. “We promised we wouldn’t talk about it until after he’s caught.”

“I think we should.”

I sigh. I knew this was coming, but I don’t know how to stop it.

“I’m moving back to Memphis.”

Just like that. My chest heaves. I try to stop the pressure building in my head. The last thing I need right now is a tension headache.

“I can’t stay here,” she says. “I don’t know anyone.”

“You know me.”

“Would you want me to stay?”

I change my grip on her hips to hold her tighter. I want to beg her to stay, but I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do. When I brought her home, I thought it was a temporary thing. I didn’t expect to care about her as much as I do. But what if all of this was just a reaction to her being in danger? What if it’s not real?

“I… don’t know.”

“It’s okay.” She tries to escape my lap, but I trap her with my hands.

“Wait. Here’s the thing—I don’t know if you and I would have gotten together if I hadn’t rescued you from the house. It makes me question what we’re feeling. Until this is over, we won’t know if any of whatever’s happening between us is real or not.”

“It feels pretty damn real,” she whispers.

“I know.” I lace my fingers together behind her back. “But I think we should wait. I can’t risk opening myself up if you’re going to slam the door the minute your ex is in prison.”

“Why would you think I would?” Her eyebrows furrow, and her tone is infused with pain.

The phone rings. She slides off of my lap to get it.

“It’s your brother.”

I turn on speaker phone.

“Do you have him?” I ask.

“Memphis police picked up him just outside town.”

“Outside Blues Town?”

“Yeah. I don’t know how he knew, but he was coming for Ella.”

She pales. I put a hand over hers.

“But he’s in prison now?”

“We’re transporting him back to Memphis. I spoke with the DA, and he says there’s no way the judge will grant bail. Or if he does, it will be way too high for Brock to pay it.”

“He hides a lot of money,” she says. “He’ll do anything to keep it from me. He could get out if the bail is under a million dollars.”

“Let’s worry about that if it happens,” I say.

“I’ve got to run,” my brother says. “I’ll check in with you later.”

After I hang up, Ella lets out a soft sob. I draw her back into my lap and cradle her against me.

“I know it’s not totally over, but this is a huge step forward.”

“What if he gets out?”

“Maybe…” I hesitate. I want to offer her a place to stay so that she’ll be safe, but I can’t stand the possibility that she might reject it.

“What?” She blinks back tears.

“Stay with me,” I whisper. “At least until the trial is over.”

She nods and wraps her arms around my neck. She buries her face in my shoulder and shivers while I hold her. I stroke her back until she stills.

Every protective instinct in my body rears up. I’m ready to fight to the death to make her feel safe. Even though Brock’s in prison, and even though the cops have fingerprint evidence, there are a lot of ways this could go bad. Until he’s tried and convicted, she’s staying with me. I’m not going to let what happened to Penny happen to her.

It’s early evening when Jeff returns from the station. I practically pounce on him at the front door.

“Well? Did you hear anything else?”

“The bail hearing is tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the courthouse in Memphis.” He eyes me warily. “Don’t even think about it.”

“What?” I hate that he can read my damn mind.

“You’re not going to court.”

“What if Ella wants to go?” I ask.

“Where is she?”

“Taking a nap.”

“You shouldn’t take her to the hearing. It’s going to be over in five minutes, and he’ll be locked up until the trial. It’s pointless.”

“I want to make sure.” My teeth grind together as my jaw clenches.

My brother just shakes his head and climbs the stairs. I follow. As he disappears into his bedroom, I walk into mine. I close the door. Ella’s sleeping in the middle of the bed. I smile. No matter how many times I try to get her to sleep on her side, she rolls onto mine. I’m sure there’s a joke in there about her being like a dog, but she’s too beautiful to ever be compared to one.

I sit on the edge of the bed. Her golden hair covers a pillow. I stroke it softly before lying beside her. She rolls onto her side and her eyes flutter open.

“Hey.”

“Jeff just got home. He says the bail hearing is tomorrow. Do you want to go?”

A flash of fear darkens her eyes. She pushes up to sit against the headboard. She fiddles with the purple lace edging the sexy nighty I bought for her last week. I don’t want to interrupt her while she’s thinking, so I wait. I want to go so badly, if nothing more than to see his face so I know who to watch out for in case he does get bail. Jeff seems to think that he won’t, but shit happens.

“Will you go with me?” she whispers.

“Of course.” I tilt her chin up. A single tear runs down her cheek. “Talk to me.”

“I’m scared.”

“Oh, honey.” I cradle her cheek and brush away the tear with my thumb. “I’ll be by your side the whole time. We can sit in the back. He won’t even notice that we’re there.”

“He’ll know. I can’t understand how he found me. They picked him up on his way into Blues Town. This isn’t a place you pass through. It’s off the main highway. You have to intentionally drive here. He still wants to kill me. He wants to finish what he started the night of the fire.”

“I won’t let that happen. We’re going to the hearing, and I won’t leave you alone for a second.”

“If you hadn’t rescued me that night, I don’t know where I’d be right now.”

“But I did, and you’re right where you need to be. With me.”

She gives me a shy smile. I kiss the tip of her nose. As we snuggle together, I can’t help but think about the other time I felt this close to a woman. I lost her. I don’t know if I can go through that again.

Until now, I’ve been floating through this relationship like we’re on a pleasure yacht. But the rough waters are still to come. Can I handle it? I don’t know. I’m trying to take it one day at a time, but it’s hard when I have no idea if her feelings will change at the end of all of this. I have to wait… and that’s the hardest part of all.

The courthouse is packed when we enter through the double doors at the back of the gallery. Ella squeezes my hand so hard that it hurts. I lean over to whisper in her ear.

“It’s going to be okay. Where do you want to sit?”

“Last row.”

We slide into the last row. She’s dressed as if she’s attending a funeral. A large black hat with a floppy rim hangs over her forehead. Dark glasses cover her eyes. They’re not quite as dark as sunglasses, but they alter her appearance enough that they might as well be. Her dress is black. It’s as if she’s trying to form a black hole so he can’t see her.

When the judge walks into the room, we all rise. We sit after he does. The man’s in his sixties or seventies. Stern. I hope to God he’s just. The last thing we need is for this hearing to end with the possibility of him being released.

A man in shackles shuffled into the room. He’s wearing an orange prison suit. His hair’s a tangled mass that looks as if it hasn’t been washed in days. He’s short, maybe 5’6”, and he’s sporting an impressive beer gut.

“I can’t believe I ever loved him,” Ella whispers.

A knife cuts through my gut. To have someone you once loved turn on you the way he did… I shake my head.

Brock stops behind the table for the defense. He turns to scan the gallery. When his gaze lands on Ella, he smiles. It’s the evilest look I’ve ever seen on anyone’s face. A chill runs down my spine. I put an arm around Ella’s waist and pull her closer to me on the bench.

A court clerk opens a file folder.

“First case. Number 51799563. The People v. Mr. Brock Polk. One count attempted murder. One count felony arson.”

“How do you plead?” the judge asks.

“Not guilty,” Brock responds.

My gut tightens. Of course, he’s not going to own up to what he did. A part of me secretly hoped he would, but it was wishful thinking. This isn’t going to be easy by any means.

After some rambling by his lawyer and by the attorney for the prosecution, the judge renders a ruling.

“Bail is set in the amount of five hundred thousand dollars.”

“No!” Ella’s on her feet before I can stop her.

“Order!” The judge bangs his gavel. “Next case.”

Brock twists to look at back us. He winks and sneers at her. He mouths something that suspiciously seems like, “See you soon.”

I’m outraged. How the hell could the judge let this guy go? He tried to kill his ex-wife. What’s wrong with the fucking justice system?

“No.” Ella plops onto the bench, head in her hands. “This isn’t happening.”

“We knew it would be a possibility. Don’t worry, honey. If he tries to come anywhere near you, I’ll kill him.”

And I mean every damn word. Jeff’s not the only one who learned how to shoot at a young age. Our father was huge into hunting. I could shoot the stump off a pumpkin by the time I was old enough to sit at the grownups table. If that motherfucker thinks he’s getting anywhere near Ella, he’s in for a serious reckoning.