Hannah had never felt so uncomfortable in her life. And, at the same time, she'd never felt so tantalizingly close to absolute peace...but that chasm was so large that her chest actually ached with yearning.

The gathering of the Stocktons in Chase's house was almost too much for her to handle...both because she ached so badly to be a part of that kind of family, and because she had absolutely no idea how to ever let herself get that close to people. Ever.

It was a cruel tease, showing her what she wanted, when she knew she was incapable of ever being a part of anything like that.

She was sitting on Chase's couch, tucked up against Maddox, his arm locked around her shoulder. Spread out around the room were his brother Zane, who looked seriously scary in his leather jacket and earring. Zane's wife, Taylor, however, looked insanely happy as she leaned against him, wearing jeans, pink fuzzy socks, and a hooded sweatshirt. Also present were Lissa, whose fiancé Travis, was still out of town on tour. Hannah still couldn't believe that the country music superstar, Travis Turner, was Maddox's brother.

Chase was sitting on the couch, while his wife, Mira, sat on the floor playing with their toddler, JJ, who was immersed in assembling a miniature horse ranch on the carpet. Steen was leaning against the breakfast bar, his arms folded across his chest. His wife, Erin, was also leaning on the bar, standing just close enough to him that their shoulders were touching. Every man in the room had positioned himself just close enough to his wife to be able to touch her easily. Chase was sitting close to Lissa, and it was apparent that all of the brothers were watching out for her since Travis wasn't present. Dane Wilson, the sheriff, was also there, and it was clear from how the Stocktons treated him that he was family, just as how the Harts had all been family, despite not being biologically related.

The rest of the kids were playing in a newly built family room off the back of the house. She could see Lissa's lovely daughter, Bridgette, showing Ava how to play air hockey, while Steen and Taylor's boys, Toby and Luke, took them on. There was a lot of laughter, and a lot of teasing, and Ava was grinning widely. It was evident that playing with the other kids had completely taken Ava's mind off everything.

It made Hannah realize that she alone was not enough for Ava. Her daughter needed friends, and a community, and the Stocktons had welcomed both of them in with open arms.

It reminded her of her first night with the Harts. It had been raining and cold, and she and Katie had been hiding in an alley, trying to use a fire escape for shelter. Brody and Keegan had found them, and when Hannah had refused to go with two unknown boys, they had returned with Elle, who had convinced them that the boys would be their defenders, which they had.

Like the Harts back then, tonight, the Stocktons made Hannah feel safe, like she didn't have to face this all by herself. At the same time, she felt wildly out of place. All of these people were a family, and they clearly lived by that credo. She wasn't one of them, even though they were all sitting around talking about her problem as if she were.

So, yeah, she felt both more uncomfortable and happier than she'd felt in a long, long time.

Dane ended the call he was on. "Rick got on a plane at nine o'clock. He's scheduled to arrive just after midnight. It'll take him about four hours to drive to Rogue Valley from the airport, if he leaves right away."

Hannah let out a breath. "So he's really coming." She had been hoping that it had all been a false alarm, that he wouldn't make the effort to track her down, so hearing confirmation that he was on a plane, in the air, on his way to Rogue Valley made fear grip her spine.

Maddox tightened his arm around her. "We got this, sweetheart," he whispered. "You're not alone."

She nodded, too tense to answer.

"Yeah, he's coming," Dane said. "He's flying with a guy named Roger Cochran. You know him?"

"Roger?" Her skin went cold. "That's his older brother." She'd met Roger several times, and he had made her skin crawl, the way he'd looked at her, the way he'd held her hand too long when they'd shaken hands. The way he'd watched her with such cold cruelty during the trial had been completely unnerving, making her glad she'd been leaving town. She had no doubt that Roger had a string of crimes against women behind him, crimes that his family's money had hidden. And he was coming with Rick? "He's...God, he's terrifying."

Maddox pulled her closer. He pressed a kiss to her cheek, and leaned down so his lips were against her ear. "I promise we'll keep you both safe," he said firmly. "We're good at this."

Mira, Chase's wife, looked up from the floor. "Maddox is right," she said. "They all came to my defense when I needed them. I didn't even know them at the time. They were morally opposed to Chase getting tangled up with a woman, but they came rushing to my defense like a bunch of denim-wearing superheroes." Amusement flickered in her eyes, as the men groaned at her description. She winked at Hannah. "Fortunately, most of them have evolved to the point of realizing that falling madly in love with an awesome woman makes their lives better, not worse, right, Chase?"

"You got it, babe. You're my world." He bent over and gave her a tender kiss, clearly not the least bit reluctant to show affection in front of his brothers.

The affection on Chase's face was so genuine, so warm, and so beautiful, that Hannah's heart expanded simply by being in the vicinity of such love. She had caught an expression similar to that on Maddox's face a couple times when he'd been looking at her, but it had been so fleeting, chased away intentionally before he allowed himself to feel it.

She sighed and pulled her gaze back to Dane as he continued to talk. "I'll hang around the main road into town and watch for his arrival," he said.

Hannah knew what he wasn't saying. "You can't detain him, though, can you? Because he hasn't broken any law, right? He can just drive right past you to my house, and no one can stop him."

"Hey." Maddox took her hand. "Rick will make a mistake, and Dane will be there to catch him. We just need to create the opportunity."

"Create the opportunity?" she repeated, dread settling in her gut as she realized what he meant. "You want to let him get close?"

"Hell, no. He's not getting anywhere near you," Maddox snapped, his voice unyielding. "You and Ava will stay here with my brothers. They'll be ready in case somehow Rick figures out that you guys are here. More likely, he'll go to your place. I'll go to the house and wait for him."

She sat up, not liking that plan at all. "You'll wait for him alone? But he and Roger are together. They'll team up against you. That's not okay. "

At that moment, Maddox's cell phone rang. He answered it before she could see who was calling. "Maddox here." He paused for a second, listening, his gaze flicking toward Hannah with what almost looked like a guilty expression. "Great," he said. "You're all set on directions?" He paused. "Okay, see you in fifteen minutes."

He hung up the phone, and glanced at his brothers. "You guys ready?"

Chase nodded. "Ready."

Hannah frowned at Maddox. "Who's coming? Another one of your brothers?"

Chase swore under his breath. "Shit, Maddox. You didn't tell her?"

Maddox stood up, and took her hand. "Come on, Hannah. We need to talk for a moment."

"Talk?" Her heart started pounding as she rose to her feet. "What did you do?"

He said nothing as he led her out of the living room and down the hall to a guest bedroom. He walked inside, shut the door, and then turned to face her. Her stomach knotted when she saw the grim expression on his face. "What happened?" she whispered. "How could things be even worse than what they are? What didn't you tell me?"

He ran his hand through his hair, his gaze steady on hers. "When I listened to your messages, I knew we didn't have much time. I made some choices, choices that I should've asked you about first, but I thought you would say no. I didn't want to give you that chance, because I felt like I needed to do it. But in retrospect..." He grimaced. "I think I made a mistake not telling you first, even if I was going to do it anyway."

Hannah stared at him, her chest constricting. Here was the man she'd told she loved only a few hours ago. What had he done? She trusted him, she had trusted him not only with her heart, but with her daughter, and her body, and her dreams. But from the way he was talking, it felt like he was going to confess he'd done something terrible. "Tell me."

"I knew we had to get you and Ava out of the house. The only place I could think of taking you was Chase's house, but you need protection here as well, in case Rick figures out where you are."

She nodded slowly. "Yes, that makes sense."

He didn't look relieved by her agreement. "I needed a team to go with me to your house to lay a trap, but I wanted Chase, Steen, and Zane here with you. None of my other brothers could get here in time. There's no one else I trust. So, I made a call."

"You made a call?" She stared at him blankly, trying to understand who he had called, and why she would care… Then realization hit her. Reeling, she stepped back, her hands clutched to her heart. "You called Brody? You got his number from my messages, and you called him?"

Maddox nodded. "It turns out they have access to a private plane. They just landed at the local airport, which Dane had cleared by the town plows when I called him. They'll be at the house in a few minutes."

Hannah felt like she couldn't breathe. "I haven't seen them since I was eighteen years old," she whispered. "I told you that I left that part of my life behind. I haven't even called Brody back for months. I don't want to be a part of that!" Dear God. She had no idea what to say to him...Maddox's words suddenly flashed through her mind. He hadn't said "him." He'd said "they" were going to be at the house in a few minutes. "'They?' Who's coming? What do you mean by 'they?'"

"Brody is coming. He's also bringing Keegan, Jacob, and Lucas."

Hannah stared at him, her throat constricting as he named the boys from her past, the ones who'd wanted to be her brothers, who she had severed from her life when she had walked away. "You don't understand," she whispered. "They offered me the last name of Hart, and I said no. I said no, and I left with Katie. I rejected them, Maddox. They were all mad at me. Brody was the only one that kept in touch. I don't…I don't even know what to say to them. I haven't seen them or talked to them in ten years. How could you ask them to come? I owe them now. I—"

"You don't owe them anything. Their love is unconditional."

She bit her lip, tears swimming in her eyes. Guilt tore through her. How could they want to come save her when she'd ignored them for a decade? And how could she not talk to them when they showed up at Chase's house? "I don't know what to say to them," she whispered. "I don't know how to act."

Maddox swore. "I'm sorry. I knew how you felt, but I couldn't take a chance with your life. I had to do it."

"Maybe you feel you had to do it, but did you have to do it without telling me? Was that part so important to you as well?" Tears filled her eyes and she wrapped her arms around herself, a cold ache settling in her gut. "I know you have your family, Maddox. I sat there in that living room, and I saw how much they love and support each other. The Harts are like that, too. But I'm not. Don't you understand? I'm not like that."

Maddox sighed. "Sweetheart, you have a tremendous heart. You don't need to do anything. Just let people love you. That's all it takes. You can do that—"

"I can't!" She balled her fists in frustration "I don't know how to be a part of a family like that. I don't know how to trust a bunch of people with my safety." She stared at him, unable to keep the accusation out of her voice. "You're the only one that I've trusted in my whole life besides my sister and my mom. That's it, Maddox. That's all. I don't have the capacity to open myself up to all these people. They're going to walk in this house, and they're going to want explanations. And I'm going to have to admit to them how completely damaged I am." She stumbled back, barely able to breathe. "Damn you, Maddox! How could you do that?"

"Hannah, I'm sorry—"

"No!" Tears burned her eyes, and she spun away, fumbling for the door. She would grab Ava and they would leave. They would just get in the truck and drive and—

Maddox braced his palm on the door above her head, holding it shut. "Hannah."

"Damn you." She spun around and faced him, slamming her hands into his chest. "You're right, Maddox. I shouldn't have trusted you. I thought that you saw me as a human being, not as some pawn for you to exercise your badass masculine protector persona." She couldn't keep her voice from breaking. "But I'm not, am I? I'm just...I'm just—" God, she didn't even know what she was to him.

"Hey." Maddox felt like his heart was being sawed in half as he watched the tears glisten on Hannah's cheeks. He felt that darkness surge inside him, that deep, self-hate of who he was. He knew she was right. He was an autocratic asshole. "I'm sorry."

She stared at him. "No, you're not. I can see it in your face."

He swore under his breath. "I'm sorry that I upset you, but yeah, I'm not sorry that I called them. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you're safe, including taking action that makes you hate me."

She closed her eyes, refusing to look at him, a cut that burned so deeply he could barely breathe. "Hate you? You want me to hate you?" She opened her eyes. "Is that why you did it? To drive me away? To convince me not to love you?"

"Shit, no—" But he stopped. Maybe he had. Maybe she was exactly right. He had gotten what he wanted: Hannah finally seeing him for what he was. It was what he had been trying to get her to see since the first moment they had met, but now that he had accomplished it, it felt like absolute shit. "Hannah." He kept his voice low and tight. "You don't need to say a word to them. I'll meet them outside, and we'll go to the house. But before we do, I want you to know something."

She opened her eyes and looked at him, but there was so much hurt in her eyes that he wanted to scream, to shout, to punch something. Son of a bitch. All he had wanted to do was protect her and Ava, but he had broken her heart, the same way his dad had broken his mom's heart. He had never believed that he would ever strike her, or any other woman, let alone one that he loved. What he had believed was that he would destroy her soul, that he would strip from her that which gave her meaning, that which gave her a reason to live. He had seen it with his mom, he had seen it with Beth, and now he saw it in Hannah's eyes.

His legs suddenly felt weak, and he wanted to sink to his knees, bow his head, and ask her for forgiveness. "I…" He had to stop and clear the hoarseness from his throat. "There is no way in hell that I could let anything happen to you and Ava. I knew you would be pissed when I called Brody, but I also knew that I would rather go to hell for eternity than to make a choice that resulted in that bastard so much as breathing on you."

Hannah pressed her lips together, but she didn't take her gaze off him.

He knew he had to go, so that he could catch the Harts outside, before they entered the building. But he couldn't go until he said one more thing, until he told her that one thing. "After we take care of Rick, I'm going to turn him over to Dane, and I'm going to leave town from there. Dane will come back and get you, and tell you that it's safe. So this is my goodbye."

Unlike when he had been leaving her house before, there was no sadness in her eyes at the mention of him leaving. She just stared at him, her face so impassive that he wanted to beg her to say something, anything. Except he didn't really want her to talk. He knew he couldn't handle the words coming out of her mouth that would be like the ones Beth had written to him. "I know I betrayed you in the same way I betrayed Beth. I played the role of the good guy for the last few days, but in truth I'm not. I broke your confidence when I called Brody. But, here's the truth…" He paused, replaying the words that he had been about to say. He had been about to tell her that he'd done it because he loved her, because loving someone turned him into a monster, the kind of monster that would rip out her heart. He wanted her to walk out of there, understanding that there was at least one person in this world who loved her in an absolutely pure and beautiful way.

But the words wouldn't come. All he could think of was Beth's reaction, and how she was disgusted by the thought of him loving her.

He didn't want to make Hannah's life worse by telling her that he loved her.

So instead, he sighed. "You will always have a home here with Chase, Lissa, and the rest of my family. They'll take care of you. You're an incredible woman, Hannah. Your kid is amazing, and she's going to be okay. I'll deflect the Harts, and you won't have to talk to them. And you won't have to deal with me again either. I promise you that I'll stay out of your way." He knew that when he walked out, he wouldn't return. If Hannah became friends with his brothers and their wives, he didn't want to ruin that for her by showing up from time to time. "I give you my family."

Then, before he could say anything else to make things worse, he reached past her, opened the door, and walked outside.