“Don’t make promises you can’t keep,” I whispered with as much sultriness as I could.

He groaned and turned me around, no longer appearing as pissed as he had been sixty seconds before.

“So what happened with Cassie?”

I was put off by the abrupt change in topic but answered anyway. “Not much. We talked but it occurred to me that she could just solve her daughter’s ‘Ryan’ problem if she moved her to another school. Why doesn’t she just do that?”

“She said she didn’t want to uproot them too quickly with changing homes and leaving their father.”

“And you agreed with her?”

He stared until I began to squirm. “I had other things on my mind.”

I immediately knew what he alluded to—me killing his father and going missing in the middle of the night. He opened the bedroom door and led us to the front of the house where the girls were arguing over which cartoon to watch.

“It just seems like Cassie would be better off. Maddie isn’t in school yet so she would hardly be affected.”

“It’s none of our business.”

“You made this your business.”

“Do you really want to fight about this? They are safe and she won’t testify.”

I was prevented from arguing with him by the front door opening and the woman I recognized from the facility entering.

Chapter Seventeen

KEIRAN

I could tell she wanted to argue so I was relieved when the front door opened and Laurie appeared. I was also thankful to see store bags in her hand, or I would have gone postal.

“Where have you been?” I asked anyway. I didn’t have the right to question this woman or what she did with her kids. Not to mention they weren’t my responsibility. I felt it anyway.

She held up the grocery bags, but her eyes weren’t on me. She stared at Lake who stared back. I did a double take because I couldn’t fucking recognize the look in her eyes. Whatever it was made Laurie pale and lower her gaze. I couldn’t let it go on another second. I gripped her elbow hard to catch her attention and pulled her away.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“What?” she snapped. All she was missing was the neck roll. I stifled the urge to grab said neck until she remembered who called the shots. I sounded like a chauvinistic prick, but this was what she did to me. No one else.

“What was that?”

“I don’t know what she was talking about.”

“The car,” I reminded her.

She had the good sense to appear afraid. “I don’t know,” she said again. “I don’t trust her. What if she testifies anyway? Do you really trust her?”

“Of course not,” I spat. “But she’s our only chance of beating the charges.”

“You think they’ll find something?”

Fuck. Did I lie to her? I was sure they would. I didn’t know how closely they were watching, but I knew the grocery incident wasn’t the last we’d hear from them.

“I think we should be prepared if they do.” I told myself it wasn’t a lie.

“Fine. I’ll be good.”

“You better.” I kissed her lips softly and walked her back over to Laurie. She must have sent the girls away because they were nowhere to be found.

“You’re supposed to be lying low and why did you leave them alone?”

She looked insulted, but I didn’t give a shit. “Do you think this is the first time she’s had to look after Maddie? Their father is a drunk, young man. I’d come home some days to check on Maddie in the middle of the day and find him passed out drunk on the couch. Sometimes as early as ten.”

“Why not leave them with someone who wasn’t drunk by ten?” Lake grilled. I shot her look to chill the fuck out.

“He’d find wherever they were and drive them home, drunk or not.”

I shook my head but didn’t say more. Every time she spoke about her husband, I questioned the decision to let him live.

“Look, we’re out of here. You have my number if you need it, but lay low, Laurie. You’re in more danger now than you were living with him.”

She nodded and waved goodbye from the porch as we drove away. I drove us to a hotel nearby for the night. It was too long a drive to make tonight. We decided to stay in since Lake had homework to get through. I ordered room service and pulled out my own laptop. We worked in comfortable silence until the food arrived.

I paid for the food and turned around to see her drop the last of her clothing on the way to the bathroom. She paused at the entrance and sent a come-hither look over her shoulder before disappearing behind the door. The shower came on as I set the food down and stripped as fast as I could.