“I am. But that’s not your concern. It’s not your worry. Your job right now is to tell me what happened so I know best how to protect you.”
And protect her he would.
Ed cleared his throat. “Tell us what happened so we can protect you.”
Linc shot him another look. He should know that Linc was riding the edge of his temper. He didn’t want to push him over. “She’s mine to protect.”
Ed held up his hands. “Not arguing that point. Just saying, I do wear the badge in this room. My job is literally to protect. You wanna let me do that?”
If he had to.
Linc gave a nod. He turned to Marisol who was watching them with wide eyes. “Don’t worry about me, teeny. Just answer our questions honestly, okay? Give it all to me . . . to us, we’ll take care of you.”
She swallowed heavily. “Okay.”
“Marisol, what happened to make you run?” Ed asked.
14
Marisol took in a deep breath. She didn’t want to talk about this. Her head was pounding. She just wanted to curl up with her snuggly and Princess Nana and sleep.
Although the likelihood of her sleeping tonight wasn’t good.
“Um, I guess I have to start further back than tonight. Back to that same night as when I went out to the ranch for Charlie’s bridal shower. And you caught me speeding.” She blushed as she looked at Ed.
Linc let out a low growl. “That won’t be happening again.”
She had to admit, she kind of liked this dominant, bossy side of him. She wouldn’t want it all the time. Sometimes she needed softness. But she liked knowing that someone cared whether she was hurt or not.
“When I got home, I noticed his truck in the garage, my aunt’s boyfriend.” She rubbed at her temples.
“Do you need a drink? Some pain medication?” Ed asked with concern.
“Um, no.”
“Get her some water,” Linc demanded.
Ed just stared at him. They got into some alpha male stare down and she held her breath.
“Please,” Linc bit out but didn’t let his gaze drop. Ed nodded and rose, leaving the room.
Linc took her hand in his, placing his fingers over her pulse. “Are you okay? Have you eaten recently? Do you need to take your blood sugar levels?”
She looked at the clock.
“I checked my blood sugar before I left work. I usually have a snack before bed.”
He nodded. “I’ll make sure you have something before bed tonight.”
She could take care of herself. She’d been doing it for years. Pretty much from the day that Harry told Rosalind to get out.
But she didn’t argue with him. She was tired. Exhausted. It was so hard to constantly be on guard. To never know when the person who was meant to love her might turn on her. Rosalind’s emotions were up and down on a good day. On a bad day. . . well, it was hard to live with someone when you never knew how they might react. Unpredictable was her norm. And then there were the other dangers lurking. Saber and Tiger. The Devil’s Sinners.
Ed returned with a bottle of water for each of them. Her hands shook as she tried to open hers. Without a word, Linc reached out and took it, unscrewing the top for her.
“Thank you,” she said quietly as she sipped from it.
Both men waited for her to finish but she knew they had to be getting impatient. She had to get this out. Now.