To the Stars (Thatch #2)(30)

“Low!” Knox’s exasperated tone filled the room. “You’re just going to start texting someone after you drop that on me?”

“I’m making sure he doesn’t come looking for me!”

Knox’s large hand cradled my cheek, and when he spoke again, his voice was deep and soothing. “I’m taking you from him, Low. I’m not letting you live with him; we’ll go to the police—”

I started shaking. “We can’t! Knox, you can’t! Do you know who his dad is?”

“Of course I do. How do you think I knew what your last name was?”

“His dad will somehow make sure nothing happens to Collin, but it will get back to Collin that you were the one who reported it. Please. Promise me you won’t. I’m not being dramatic when I say Collin will come after you. I can’t let anything happen to you,” I sobbed.

“And I can’t stand back and not do anything.”

Tears fell harder down my cheeks, and I moved my hands to curl them around the sides of Knox’s neck; my thumbs brushed his jaw. I love you flitted through my mind over and over. My entire body trembled now that I was touching him again, and it would’ve been so easy to say those words. They were on the tip of my tongue, begging to be spoken. Instead, I said, “Knox, I need you to leave. I need you to leave, and I need you to forget what you saw.”

“How can you expect me to do that?” he asked, his voice rough with emotion.

I shook my head. I couldn’t answer that, because I knew that I couldn’t do that. “I can’t let you get involved in this. Just please listen to me. Leave this room, forget about what you saw, and forget about me,” I repeated, my voice shaking with urgency.

“I can’t do that,” he confessed, and for the very first time I watched as wetness gathered in Knox’s dark eyes. “We’ll run away, something . . . anything. I told you the other day; you were always supposed to be mine. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”

My jaw trembled and my head dropped. “We can’t. Didn’t you hear me? He’ll kill my family. If I leave, if I tell anyone . . . they’re dead.”

“Then he deserves to be six feet in the ground or rotting the rest of his life away in a damn cell! He’s f*cking sick, Harlow.”

“You think I don’t know that? But this is what’s happening, Knox. I’m dealing with it; you need to, too.”

“I refuse to deal with this. I refuse to deal with the fact that you have a husband who not only hurts you, but lets older men touch you in front of him.”

My head jerked back, and it took me a few seconds to remember that he’d seen me when Ren was still there. “No. No, Collin was furious when he saw that.”

Someone pushed against the door, and my entire body went rigid. We both held our breath as we watched the person put pressure against the door a few more times before giving up, but that didn’t ease my fear.

“I need to go back out there.”

“Let me take you away from all this,” he pleaded.

“You can’t.” My voice was hoarse as I pulled out of his arms. “I’m sorry, I know you don’t understand, but you can’t. I swear to you I’m much safer staying with him than if I were to leave.”

“Harlow,” he groaned. His shoulders sagged in defeat as he ran his hands over his head. “I can’t make you leave your husband. If you think you and your family are in danger, I won’t go to the police until you give me the okay. But I’m here. After all these years I’m still here. If it ever gets to be too much, if you ever can’t handle it anymore, if you ever need someone to get you away from him, then call me and I’ll be there.”

I hesitated before nodding.

Knox’s too-perceptive eyes narrowed. “What? Do you not have my number anymore?”

I shrugged and quickly shook my head; the action contradicted my next words. “I remember it.”

There was a brief pause before he asked, “Then what, Low? Are you changing your mind? Do you want to get out n—”

“No!” I said quickly. “No, I just . . . I won’t be able to call you. He looks for things that I don’t even have, Knox. He searches the house and my car. He goes through my phone.”

“What the hell?” Knox mumbled as I continued.

“I wouldn’t put it past him to check the phone bills to see if I’m hiding something. I can’t risk contacting you.”

Knox looked lost, like he didn’t know what to do with what he knew. His head shook absentmindedly, and he blinked slowly as he stumbled over his next words. “T-then you ne—we’ll—I’ll think of something,” he promised. “I don’t know what, but I’ll think of something. Jesus . . .” he whispered, and I knew he was still trying to wrap his head around it all.

“It’s not worth it.” I appreciated what Knox wanted to do, but he still didn’t understand what Collin was capable of.

“You, and knowing that you’re ali—okay will always be worth it.” He looked around the room, then nodded toward the bathroom. “I’ll hide out in there for a few minutes just in case. If anyone sees me leave, I’ll take care of it. But I don’t want to risk it for you if he’s standing out there right now.”