Next to Never (Fall Away #4.5)

“That’s not everything.” He tsked, stuffing the money in his pocket and holding out his hand again. “Car keys.”

“It’s not my car,” I growled.

“All right,” he said, looking falsely sympathetic. “Say, ‘Bye, Mommy.’”

He turned around, taking Jared with him.

“Thomas, stop!” I cried.

Turning around again, I retrieved the keys from my purse and handed them over.

“Atta girl.” And then he looked me up and down. “Now you know what else makes me happy, right? Come on. One last time before I leave.”

I shook my head, flashing my eyes quickly to the knife that sat on the counter.

“Now!” he barked, making me jump. “Or I’ll do you right here and let him watch.”

I shook, tears streaming down my face. If I lunged him, Jared could get hurt. I’d never overpower him, and he could run off with my kid.

I swallowed the sobs in my throat, staring at him through blurry eyes as I pulled my shirt over my head, leaving me in my bra.

But then I blinked, seeing a dark form behind him, and I sucked in a breath.

Jase.

He crept slowly up the foyer, but Thomas must’ve sensed him or saw my eyes flash to him, because he twisted around.

Jase lunged for him, wrapping his arm around his neck, yelling, “Kat!”

I rushed forward and caught Jared just as Thomas dropped him.

“Oh, my God,” I cried, holding my son in my arms and standing there as Jase slammed Thomas into the wall, my car keys falling out of his hand as his head hit the corner.

He grunted and closed his eyes, still standing but no longer fighting.

“Now I want you to look at me and memorize my face.” Jase spun him around, holding him up by the collar. “Because the next time you see me, it will mean the end of you. You know why?” he growled, a mere inch from Thomas’s face. “Because I’m smart, I’m rich, and I know people who can make you wish you were dead. I can do whatever the hell I want and no one can stop me. If you ever”—he slammed him into the wall again—“come near her or her son again, I will make sure every shit bag in gen pop thinks you’re a rapist, and you know what happens to rapists in prison, right?” He leaned into his ear, but I could hear his whisper. “No one will keep you safe. I will make sure of that, and it won’t stop until you’re crying like a little girl.”

Thomas gasped for air under the pressure Jase was putting on his neck, and I hugged Jared closer, turning him around—away from the two men—and crying.

“You understand?” I heard Jase say. “Good. Now leave, and go far away before I make you go away. I’ll find you when it’s time to sign your divorce papers.”

I waited, finally hearing uneven footsteps trod along the floor before the door opened and closed. I turned around to see Jase come right for me.

Holding on to Jared with one hand, I clutched onto Jase with the other, burying my face in his collar.

“Are you okay?” he breathed out, one arm around my waist and the other on the back of my neck. Jared whimpered between us.

I nodded, kissing the top of Jared’s head. “I am now.”

He placed his finger under my chin, lifting it and kissing me softly on the lips.

“You were amazing,” I whispered against his mouth, feeling his lips curl into a small smile.

“Oh, you liked that, huh?”

I gave a weak laugh, readjusting Jared on my hip. “And I thought you were just a pampered yuppie. Are you like that in court?”

“Oh, no.” He kissed my forehead. “People are watching then. But you don’t want to see me at a business lunch. That’s pretty scary.”

“I’m sure.”

He walked over to the back door, turning on the porch light and checking the lock. “I’ll follow you upstairs.” He turned and guided me out of the kitchen. “We’ll move Jared’s crib into your room until I can get an alarm system set up here.”

Jase locked the front door and went upstairs to make sure all the windows were closed and locked before moving the crib from Jared’s room to mine. I rocked Jared in my arms until he stopped crying and rested out on my chest, finally fast asleep. I stared down at him, his little eyelids fluttering from time to time like he was having a bad dream. I didn’t know if babies had those, but I just wanted to erase the past nine months from this kid’s life like none of it had ever happened. He was going to be happy now.

I ran my fingers over his arm, seeing the red mark from where Thomas had hurt him, and tightened my arms around him. He’ll never get to you again.

Jase came into the room and took off his jacket, laying it on the bed like that’s where it always went, and walked over as I stared down at Jared, sleeping in the crib.

“He won’t be back.”

“I know.” I brushed a hand over Jared’s hair. “You were a hassle, and he doesn’t like hassles. He’s off to whatever’s next. I’m not worth it.”

His hot breath fell against my ear, sounding desperate, as his arm slipped around my bare stomach. “Yes, you are.”

I turned around, wrapping my arms around his neck and pressing myself into him as I kissed him hard. I held him so tightly and breathed him in, the sandalwood in his aftershave heating my blood and making my body tingle. So safe.

His mouth moved over mine, the heat of his lips spreading down my neck and into my stomach. I flicked his tongue with mine, gripping his collar as he slipped a hand inside my baggy jeans, taking my ass in his hands. His tongue and lips left a heated trail across my cheek and down my neck, and I moaned.