Page 61 of Love At Close Range

“I knew you would. That’s part of why I wanted to know exactly what was going on before I told you.” He sat on the bed and just stared at me to see if he could gauge my reaction.

My eyes narrowed. “You knew he was dealing with me when you took the contract?”

“No. I found that out afterward.” I believed him.

“But once you did, you still didn’t tell me.”

Lennox nodded slowly. “I should’ve. At the time, I was more focused on finding out if any of his shit could reach you or Rhyse before I put something else on you to worry about.”

“That wasn’t your decision to make.”

“I know,” he offered sincerely.

His answer caught me off guard because I had expected him to argue. Instead, he reached for my hand and held it between his.

“Were we in danger?” I asked.

“There was a possibility,” he stated honestly.

My hand immediately went still in his. “Was?”

“Was,” he repeated. “I know what’s up with Dorian now. I know who I’m dealing with, and none of it is getting close to you or Rhyse,” he assured me.

I pulled my hand free and stood because sitting there suddenly felt impossible. “Do you understand how fucked up that is? Dorian picked my child up. He came in this house and sat around me knowing whatever bullshit he had going on could’ve followed him here.”

Lennox stood and came toward me, but I shook my head before he could touch me. The more I thought about Dorian, the more irritated I became. He had spent years hiding pieces of himself, and I had never cared enough to dig deeper because we weren’t that type of couple. Still, I had trusted that whatever he did outside of me wouldn’t end up at my front door.

“The crazy part is I can see you doing the job you were hired to do,” I admitted. “but Dorian walked around here in damn loafers and button-downs like the biggest threat attached to him was another bitch.”

“Damn, that’s fucked up,” Lennox laughed.

“Don’t laugh… I’m serious.” My damn emotions were all over the place right now.

I pushed his chest, but he caught my hand before I could pull it back. His expression sobered almost immediately.

“I’m sorry, Ree. You should’ve known once I found out you and Rhyse were connected to him. I still wouldn’t have given you every detail because some of that shit you don’t need to know, but I should’ve told you enough to know something was going on.”

“I’on need every detail of what you do. Truthfully, I’on want every detail. But if something has the possibility of touching me or my child, you tell me,” I countered.

“Our child,” he corrected quietly.

Something about the way he said it softened some of the anger sitting in my chest. “Yes. Our child. If anything can reach this house, me, or Rhyse because of what you or anybody around us is doing, I need to know.”

“You will.” He nodded.

“I mean that, Lennox,” I asserted.

“So do I.” His thumb moved slowly across the back of my hand. “Nothing is happening to either one of you.”

“You can’t promise me that.”

“I can promise you what I’m willing to do to make sure it doesn’t,” he stated.

I searched his face, and the certainty there made it hard to argue. The scariest part was that I believed him. I didn’t need him to explain every step he planned to take. I just believed that if Lennox said he was going to protect us… he would.

“I hate that we lost all that time,” I admitted after a moment. “And I’m not just talking about me and you. You should’ve had Rhyse.” Lennox’s jaw tightened as his eyes stayed on mine. “I should’ve kept trying to find you or found another way to—”

“I can’t get those years back with him,” Lennox said quietly. “And I can’t get them back with you. I accepted that because there ain’t shit I can do to change it. All I can do is be here now.”