I wake to Wilder shaking my shoulder. “The plane just touched down.” I open my eyes and look out the window to see that we’re on the ground. I have slept since the moment I got on the plane. It was a straight shot.

Being on the run has exhausted me physically and mentally. But I have felt at ease since Wilder has been here; not being alone is comforting.

Wilder unbuckles my seatbelt and I stand up. He takes our bags from the overhead compartment; we both packed light.

“I want to thank you, Wilder, once again.” I touch his arm to get his attention, and he glares at me, so I drop my hand.

“What did I fucking say about that shit?” I take a step back, and his eyes darken. He splits the distance between us, and his hand goes to the back of my neck softly. “Sweetheart, I would never hurt you. I would rather take my own life than hurt you.”

I duck my head, feeling ashamed for acting the way I did. It’s an instinctive thing when someone is powerful and angry. It would make anyone feel that way. “I didn’t mean it.”

He sighs loudly and lets me go, and his hand curls around my forearm and pulls me against him. My forehead hits the middle of his chest, and his lips touch the top of my forehead. My eyes burn at the feel of someone hugging me and kissing me. I haven’t felt that in such a long time, if ever. I went on dates, but there was never a second date, and my mom never had any nurturing instincts. I grip the back of his shirt, not wanting him to let go just yet.

“Alright Sweetheart, let’s go get you fed.”

I laugh out loud at that. Wilder is constantly trying to feed me.

“You know before too long I won’t be able to get through a door,” I say and he chuckles. Taking my hand he leads me off the plane and through the airport.

When we are in his truck, I say, “You don’t have to take me to dinner. A hotel is fine.”

He arches an eyebrow. “A hotel? Why not go to your house?”

I lay my head against the window. “I guarantee my mom and her new husband are staying there. They tend to show up and take over my life, forcing me to leave.”

I hear the leather of the steering wheel creak, and I peek over at him. He seems pissed off. “You will come home with me.”

“What do you mean come home with you?” I touch his arm. “I can’t do that, Wilder. I don’t expect you—”

He pulls the truck in front of a restaurant and turns toward me. “Joslyn, I will not have you staying at a hotel when I have spare rooms for you to sleep in.”

I growl angrily because he has a point, and I am almost out of money on top of that. A hotel won’t last me another week—by then I will be broke—and that doesn’t count me having to eat. I am stuck. “Fine.” I open the door and step out.

He laughs at me, which makes me pissed off. I walk in front of him to the restaurant not looking at him.

“Sassy,” he mutters.

She is fucking sassy and hot as fuck when she is pissed off. She is quiet, but the second I piss her off, her whole attitude changes.

I’d rather she be pissed than scared out of her mind. She is scared all the time, though she pretends she’s not. I see the way she looks at her surroundings, and when someone gets close she expects the worst out of them.

Pisses me the fuck off.

Her fear will not be a problem for long.

What she doesn’t know is that he has been following us from the moment I picked her up at the hotel. Joslyn has let her guard down. The fucker wouldn’t dare to try something when I am around, and I wanted him to follow us home. It will be easier to take care of him in my town rather than drawing it out.

“What are you smiling at?” Joslyn says, and I quit thinking about torturing and killing the fucker so I can focus on her.

“Nothing, Sweetheart.” I wink at her and she blushes, looking at her lap. She’s already forgotten to be mad at me.

Nothing at all.

“What do you mean you are dropping me off and going to get my stuff at my house?” I glare at him.

He leans against the doorframe to his house, blocking me from leaving. “You heard me, Baby.” He smiles.

My eyes narrow. “I heard what you said, but does that mean I have to mind you?” I fling my arms around getting more pissed off every second.

He walks over to me, and I lower my eyes out of instinct. I brush the bottom of my shirt, trying not to freak out as he gets closer and closer to me.

Why does he affect me this way?

Hands touch my jaw, lifting my face until my eyes meet Wilder’s once again. “I will be right back, Baby. I am getting your clothes.”

I sigh loudly in defeat. “Okay.” I do need my clothes. His lips touch the top of my hairline, and his hands fall. He turns around and walks out the door, leaving me alone.

His truck starts up and he backs out of the driveway, the gate shutting behind him. I hope he doesn’t get into trouble. My mom and her new husband aren’t the easiest to deal with.

“You ready?” Lane asks and I nod.

I eye the door to Joslyn’s house and hear a ton of laughter inside. Laughter inside the fucking house, while their daughter was running for her life.

I kick the door in.

A woman and two men jump off the couch. I instantly recognize the woman as her mother. The bitch looks just like Joslyn. Joslyn is beautiful, though, and kind—this woman is evil.

I step inside the house and grin at the woman and her husband.

“Who are you?” Joslyn’s mother says. Her voice is shrill. My brothers file in and surround me. I laugh at her scared expression and at her husband, who is holding a pillow in his lap. He fucked pissed himself.

“Get out of here!” she screams, jumping off the couch and stepping closer to me.

I laugh at her antics. “Why the fuck should I mind you? I am here for your daughter’s things and to kick you out.”

Her eyes narrow and her lips form the word “daughter,” but nothing comes out. Then she says, “Daughter?” She shoots a look to her husband and the man sitting next to him.

“You are with Joslyn?” her mom says in disbelief, her eyes moving up and down my body. She bursts out laughing and sits down on the couch. “Is this some kind of joke?” She screams with laughter.

I don’t like this bitch one fucking bit. I look over my shoulder at the guys behind me, and they look as pissed off as I am. I don’t like my Joslyn being mocked. “She is mine,” I growl loudly, shutting her up immediately. I look at her stepfather. “Get the fuck up.”

He smirks at me, then at Joslyn's mom, before standing up slowly and going head-to-head with me. Nothing will give me more pleasure than fucking him up. He cocks his head to the side. “Joslyn must have a pussy of gold, considering she is ugly as fuck.”

Rage hits me, and he doesn’t get to finish his sentence—I punch him in the mouth. His front teeth break under my knuckles. He screams and clutches his mouth. I throw another fist, hitting him on the mouth again, and hear a satisfying crunch.

“You fucker!” Joslyn’s mom screams, running toward me. One of my brothers, Derek, swoops in and picks her up before she can reach me.

“I will kill you for this,” Joslyn’s stepfather stutters through his fucked-up mouth.

I point my gun at his forehead. “I would like to see you try.” The butt of the gun hits his temple, knocking him out.

“Prospects!” I yell, and they walk in. “Drop them off three towns over.” Aaron, one of the new prospects, picks up Joslyn’s mom, and the other prospect grabs her stepdad’s foot and drags him to the front door.

“Let me get our stuff!” Her hands are clenched around the door frame.

I throw my head back in laughter. “Why the fuck would I do that? When your daughter has been on the run from you for three months. You’re lucky I am letting you have the clothes on your back, only because I don’t want to touch your nasty ass.”

She flips me off, and I point my gun at her. She falls out of the prospect’s arms, hits the ground, and takes off running, making the prospect run after her.

Lane walks over to my side. “Now we wait for the stepbrother.”

I grin. “Can’t wait.” I can’t wait until the moment my bullet is planted right between his eyes. First he will eat every single word that he has spoken to her that has frightened her. The threats that made her run for her life.

Only a matter of time.

The front door opens. “Joslyn?” Wilder calls.

“In the kitchen!” I yell.

Every footstep rakes my nerves. What went down at my house?

Something smacks the floor behind me, and I turn around to see a couple of duffle bags. I look at him to make sure he is not hurt. “How did everything go?” My stomach twists and turns.

He smiles reassuringly. “Nothing bad happened, Sweetheart. Your mother and stepfather are out of your house, but Robert might come back.”

He is right about Robert. My mother will call him and tell him what went down, leading him right back to me. A huge part of me doesn’t fear him anymore, and I don’t have to guess why I feel this way. Wilder.

My phone rings on the counter next to me, my mom’s number flashing on the screen. Wilder takes the phone from me and answers it. “Never fucking contact her again, or I won’t be so nice next time.” He stops speaking, his jaw clenched. “You understand?”

I hear her talking, but he cuts her off by slamming my phone down on the table, cracking it. The phone that I saved up for—broken.

“I will get you a new one. Sorry, Jos.” Wilder walks out of the room, leaving me totally confused.

Wilder has to be one of the most frustrating men in the world. He didn’t even tell me what happened, but I didn’t fail to notice that the skin on his knuckles is cracked. My stepfather was probably on the other end of that fist.

I pull out a barstool and sit down. Why must my life be so complicated? I want to be alone to think about all that has happened, but another part of me doesn’t want to be alone. Being alone is something that I have become accustomed to, but I will be living with Wilder for God knows how long. How will I cope?