Page 23 of Promising Her Forever

“I’m Lila. You can come with me. Deputy Wilson will get your fingerprints done and there’s some paperwork we need you to fill out.” She smiles at me.

Fionn grabs me and kisses me before I head off with Lila.

“I’m sorry you’re going through this,” she says as she squeezes my hand. “You’re in good hands, Hugh is great and if you want, I can stay too.”

“I’d like that, thank you. And thank you both for doing this. I don’t understand what I did for this guy to do this.”

“Sometimes they can get fixated on one person and this is what happens. But like Lila said, you’ll be okay. We’re going to have you fill out these papers and then you’ll write down what you found in the box. That way we have it all on file in case something else happens,” Hugh explains to me as he does my fingerprinting.

“Thank you. I wish I hadn’t met Playboy.” I sigh.

“Do you remember when you met him for the first time?” Salvatore asks.

I have to think for a second. “I think it’s been a month? I met him about two weeks before I went to Ireland. So maybe a little over a month.”

“Okay. If he’s been here maybe a month to a month and a half, he can only be here for another month and a half. Because I’m doubting he has a visa to be here.”

“He didn’t strike me as the type to do things the right way. Why does this feel like you’re all used to situations like this?” I say as I look around at each of them.

They’re all unusually quiet and I sigh at them.

“We might have had to deal with some things before,” Salvatore says.

“Maybe a little.” Lila adds.

Oliver snorts as Hugh punches him in the arm.

“Ow.”

“That didn’t hurt.” He rolls his eyes.

“Of course it did, you hurt my feelings,” Oliver says with a straight face.

I start to giggle as I watch them. Fionn comes over and holds me from behind as I lean back on him. Is it possible to love someone this fast? I’m not sure if it is, but if this isn’t love, then it’s something big. Just having his with me makes me feel safer. And I like that, especially with what’s going on.

“You’re all children,” Nelson, Salvatore’s chief deputy, says as he joins us.

I got to meet Nelson and his family. He told me how he ran against Salvatore for sheriff of Lake Renegade and lost. But the time he spent here while he was campaigning made him realize he wanted to stay, even if he lost. So he applied for the chief deputy position and Salvatore agreed to have him on his team. I love how this family has come together. There’s a big part of it that’s blood related. But the rest are ones that have been welcomed into the family. That includes me and Daphne.

“I know Fionn has said this to you, but I don’t think you should go anywhere alone. You have Oliver and after today, Giacomo may want to put a second bodyguard with you,” Salvatore tells me.

“Is that really necessary? It seems a little excessive.”

“You can argue that with him if you’d like.” He laughs.

I think about it for a minute. Giacomo Bastianini is a huge guy and while he seems fairly easy going? I’m not sure he’s used to people ignoring what he says. So I make faces at Salvatore instead of answering.

After I fill out all the paperwork and we’re getting ready to go back to the coffee shop, we hear dispatch calling on the radio. And my heart drops.

CHAPTER NINE

Fionn

When we hear over the radio that there were shots fired at Espresso Joy, we all run to our cars and head back. Riley’s sobbing in the car and all I can do is hold her. The only information we have is that a female was shot. And that could be anyone. One of the mamas, Daphne, any of the customers that were in the shop. The other piece of information I heard as we were running out is that the shooters were wearing Feral Raptors cuts. That means Playboy is to blame.

I know that Salvatore will call my zio. Even if he’s sheriff, Lake Renegade has a council that makes the big decisions here. There are seven men on that council. This is one of the times that they will be getting involved. And for that I feel a little relief, Riley doesn’t know my family. But I do, and I know that they won’t let Playboy and his assholes get away with this.

A ten minute drive feels like an hour when you’re worried about people you love. I can feel the fear coming from Riley as I hold her. I kiss her head. We finally get to Espresso Joy andthere’s more cop cars and a couple of ambulances. I take Riley’s hand as we run straight to Salvatore.