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“No.” His voice stayed low. “But that’s what the police will be told by every member of my security team.” He rested his hands on my neck, his fingers fanning up to my face. “Georgia can’t protect that motherfucker here. I could easily turn him into the authorities and have them deal with the bastard.”
David would run.
He’d never let the police in Scotland find him.
He was probably already on his way back to the States.
“Brady—”
“But that would be too easy.” He rubbed my cheeks as though he was trying to calm me. “Edinburgh won’t give him the punishment he deserves, which he’s going to get the second I put my fucking hands on him.”
This was too much.
I couldn’t handle any more.
I couldn’t breathe.
I wiggled out of Brady’s hold.
“Where are you going, Lily?”
“I need air,” I said over my shoulder.
He moved in beside me, his hands somewhere on my body, but I was too numb to place their location; I could just feel the heat his fingers were giving off.
With each step, the weight of my feet was becoming too much.
So were my legs.
And my torso.
And my damn chest and head.
“This is my fault.” The tears were coming much faster now. But instead of feeling like hot lava, they were more like acid. “Diesel is lying in that bed because of me. Every discoloration on his skin and cut and bit of swelling is because of me. And that’s just on the surface. I don’t know what’s happening underneath.” I tried to draw in some breath. “The same thing happened to Preston. Don’t you understand, Brady? I’m the problem. I can’t?—”
“Don’t start blaming yourself.” He moved in front of me, blocking me so I couldn’t continue to walk. “Diesel knew what the job entailed before he took it. He knew something like this—or even worse—could happen. And he’s not the only person who would stand in the way of harm to protect you, Lily.” His hands returned to my face, tilting my chin so my eyes were pointed at him. “I would do the same. I would take a fucking beating if that meant keeping you safe. I’d take whatever that asshole gave me as long as I knew you were okay and that he didn’t lay a finger on you.”
How?
Why?
I don’t deserve this. I don’t get to have someone like him.
“Brady …” I gasped in some air. “Why?” My head shook. “Why would you do this for me? Why?—”
“Because I love you.” He pulled me against him, holding me in his arms. A place I never wanted to leave. A place that felt more like home than anywhere I’d lived since my parents had passed. “Because I fucking love you—do you hear me?”
With our chests aligned, I could feel the beating beneath his skin.
And the strength in his hands as they held me.
And the warmth from his body, protecting me from everything, even the chilly breeze.
“I love you. Oh God, I love you.”
When the words were said a third and fourth time, they weren’t uttered in his voice.
They were spoken in mine.
