Page 32 of Savage Protector

“Good enough.” He paused, his brows drawing together. “There’s something else. I got a call to the main number from the medical examiner. It looks like you were listed as next of kin under Jack Meadows’ pension benefits, so they tracked you down.”

Not now. Later, not now. I couldn’t let the feelings in. Pressure already filled my chest and threatened to split my skull. Later, when everything was over.

I swallowed back the burning coal lodged in my throat. “He didn’t have a family. Married to his job, that kind of thing.” That didn’t mean I knew I was his next of kin.

He shifted a little uncomfortably. “They’re looking for someone to claim the body. I’m sorry, but I thought you should know.”

“I’ll have to handle that when I come back. Thanks for the heads-up.” My thirst for blood was more intense than ever. I gripped the table’s edge with both hands, silently withstanding the swirling funnel cloud tearing its way through me. Scarlet, Jack, all of it threatened to blow me apart. “Give me a call when the guys are on the road.”

“Will do.” A look of relief washed over his face before he ended the call, leaving me sitting in profound silence while Scarlet stared daggers at me.

“When were you going to tell me this was happening so soon?” she whispered.

“Soon? We’ve been here more than a week now,” I reminded her, my tone brisk as I pulled up the information Drake sent. It was all in place. She’d receive a new set of papers and cards once my men arrived, and they would escort her on a chartered jet to a small town in Maryland. I would never see her again, but she would be safe there. Safe was all that mattered.

“Dammit, you know what I mean!” Her voice quivered with emotion as she stood the way I did. “Grayson, how can you send me away? I told you I’m not interested in starting a new life.”

“I’m not interested in what you’re interested in,” I shouted back, watching pain etch itself across her forehead. It was necessary. She could hate me all she wanted. She had to go.

“That’s it? It’s that simple?“ She threw her hands into the air before a soft whimper bubbled out from her throat. “You’re just going to send me away?”

“That’s not what this is about. I’m doing it to keep you safe.”

“Safe? Is there such a thing?”

“That’s the point,” I reminded her through gritted teeth. My emotions were much too close to the surface, and she insisted on pushing me further. “He is not going to find you. You are going to take the documents when they get here, you’re going to grab the money you receive, and you’re going to go. Far away.”

“And if I say no?”

“Scarlet, so fucking help me,” I warned, closing my eyes. “You’re pushing me too far. This has to stop.”

Did she listen? Of course not.

“I am through with letting other people decide for me. Don’t you get it? I’m not running away.”

A deep breath did nothing to cool the fire making its way through my veins. Opening my eyes to find hers filling with tears, I explained, “That’s not what this is. Protecting your life is not running away. It’s making the smart decision.”

She wrapped her arms around her trembling body, lowering her head until she stared at the floor. My arms ached to hold and comfort her, but I didn’t dare. “Maybe it would’ve felt that way if I didn’t know anything else about what he’s capable of,” she whispered.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, he killed your friend. I mean, he’s going to be after you now.” Her head lifted, a tear dripping from her chin and landing on her chest. “I am tired of him winning. He gets his way no matter what it takes. Running away would be the same as telling him it’s all right to do what he did. It is not all right.”

If only I couldn’t see her point. “Do you understand the additional resources that would go into keeping you safe if you don’t go away?” I asked, searching for a plausible excuse. “How I couldn’t worry only about myself if I had to worry about you too?”

“There’s a pretty simple way to get around that. You don’t have to protect me.”

“Fuck that,” I spat, gratified to see her head snap back. “Not going to happen.”

Her chin lifted as a defiant gleam touched her teary hazel eyes. “That’s your choice, isn’t it? And this is mine. If you drug me and put me on a plane, I’ll come back. You can’t throw me away.” The tears spilled over before she covered her face with her hands.

The fight drained from me, leaving no choice but to round the table and wrap my arms around her. “Is that what you think?” I asked, holding her head against my chest while she shuddered from the force of her sobs. It wasn’t easy fighting back the rage that still bubbled so close to the surface, rage she hadn’t caused. I used to be better at it, but Dominic had erased years of work on my temper by murdering the man who convinced me to get it under control.

It wasn’t Scarlet’s fault either way. I had to remember that. She was innocent. I had no right to vent my anger at her.

Once I had a handle on myself, I murmured, “I’m doing whatever I can think of to get you away from all of this. It’s going to get ugly. He might work harder than ever to find you and make me pay for betraying him.” The idea made my arms tighten protectively even as my blood began to boil all over again.

“Control yourself. Once you master that temper, you can do anything.” Jack’s wise words came back to me and forced me to take a few deep, calming breaths.