His voice was low, “You are safe.”
She nodded. “I feel like an idiot,” her words shook. “He was just a man. And we were in a public place.”
“Trust your instincts, Jessa.” His fingers smoothed the hair from her face. “What did they tell you?”
“That he was dangerous,” she answered. “That running would be bad.”
“Why?” he asked, his eyes narrowing.
“It will sound crazy.”
“It won’t,” he assured her.
She swallowed, whispering, “He would chase us.” She watched his jaw clench. “Which sounds crazy. It does. No
thing happened. So why am I reacting this way?”
“You did the right thing.” He took her hands in his, rubbing them together. “You’re probably suffering from mild shock.”
“From what? Some random guy being too friendly?” her voice rose. “I don’t understand what happened?”
“He would have chased you. He would have chased Oscar.” He waited, still rubbing her hands.
His words were hardly comforting. “What?” she asked, a broken squeak of sound.
He shook his head, his hold tightened around hers. “Do you trust me, Jessa?”
She stared at him, still reeling from his words. “Yes.”
He cradled her cheek in his hand. “Then trust me to take care of this.” His phone began to ring. But when she would have moved to her side of the seat, he tucked her against him.
“Yes?” he answered. “He was here.”
She tried to hear what the other person was saying, but no luck. The rough gravel of Finn’s voice and the heavy beat of his heart drowned out everything else
“I want security at her home…” He paused, listening. “No. Now.” Another pause. “No, I don’t want him to know where we’ve gone. We need a distraction, something to throw them off their scent.” He paused. “Get back to me.”
He hung up.
“Finn,” she murmured, still clutching his jacket lapel. His words were a blur. Security at her home. “Are my brothers at risk?” she looked up at him.
“No.” His eyes swept over her face, his arm tightening about her. “But they’ll have protection anyway.”
“You have to tell me what’s going on.”
He shook his head. “You wouldn’t believe me if I did.” His smile was hard. “All you need to know is that man and I have a history. A violent history.”
She shuddered. “But—”
“I think it’s best if we leave a little early for our trip. Until this is sorted out.” She heard the finality in his voice and pushed off his chest.
“Until what’s sorted out?” She stared at him. “Thirty minutes ago I thought I was having some sort of mental break…thought I was imagining being followed. Now you’re telling me I was right. And that because of your past with this man, my family needs protection—”
“They don’t need protection,” he argued. “It’s a precaution.”
“A precaution?” Her voice rose. “If that’s supposed to comfort me, it doesn’t. I’m not leaving my family.”
“I’ll move them, Jessa. Someplace they’ll have around the clock security, drivers, and complete safety.”