Chapter 41 Hannah
CHAPTER FORTY-ONE
HANNAH
No matter how hard I try to put it out of my mind, I can’t stop thinking about the way that couple glared at me.
Objectively, I know they were busybodies who have nothing better to do with their time than to judge others. But I can’t help but wonder if this is what the rest of my life looks like if I allow my relationship with Rowan and Asher to continue.
What happens at parent-teacher conferences? Will our kids be bullied because they have two dads? Will the parents call me a whore behind my back?
I press my eyes closed and force a deep breath into my lungs.
I’m getting ahead of myself. We’ve been doing whatever the hell it is we’re doing for a week. It’s far too soon to be considering things like children.
The problem is, these are the questions I need to be asking myself now because if I allow myself to stay in this, for our relationship to grow, it’s not just one heartbreak I’ll be left with. It’s two.
Just another challenge to add to the being-in-a-relationship-with-more-than-one-man pile.
I can’t help but wonder if I’m better off cutting my losses now and getting out before I can have my heart shattered.
“I can hear you thinking from here.” Rowan breaks the silence that fell between us the second he pulled away from the curb.
I shrug, not bothering to turn toward him. There’s too much conflict bubbling inside me that I don’t want him to see.
Not yet.
Not until I can make sense of it myself.
To his credit, he doesn’t push me.
I’m sure he’ll make me talk about it before long, but he allows the car to fall back into tense silence.
Rowan expertly weaves through traffic, only getting stuck at a handful of stoplights before we’re out of the city and on the way home.
Home.
When did I start thinking of their house as my home?
It’s only been a week.
Surely it should take longer than that for me to feel comfortable enough somewhere to consider it my safe place.
It took months in my college dorm and almost as long in my apartment in the city.
Or is it the two men who live within those walls that have become home?
The thought alone has a fresh wave of panic slamming into me.
I make a point of paying more attention to where we’re going this time. Even if I’m not considering making an immediate escape, I’d still like the option if needed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Rowan checking the rearview mirror for the third time in as many minutes, his frown growing each time.
His fingers tighten around the steering wheel as he accelerates slightly.
I glance over my shoulder, checking to see if someone is tailgating us, which is when I notice the dark van without headlights on behind us.
That’s not good.
“Rowan?”
“We’re fine, sweetheart,” he says, but there’s an ounce of uncertainty I’m not used to hearing in his voice.
He’s always so sure, so certain, but this has him rattled.
I bite down on the inside of my cheek to stop myself from asking again, but the fresh wave of anxiety sitting in my chest makes it hard not to need reassurance.
Don’t be needy, I reprimand myself. The last thing Rowan needs if we’re in a dangerous situation is to have to comfort me.
The car accelerates again, and I gather my hands in my lap to stop myself from holding on to something.
I trust Rowan.
If there’s anyone I trust with my safety, it’s him.
But that doesn’t stop fear from skittering across my skin.
I startle when a phone ringtone plays through the car speaker, and Rowan curses under his breath before clicking something on the steering wheel to answer the call.
“This is Rowan.”
“See how easily I can get to her, Cane?” My grandfather’s voice comes over the speaker, and cold dread stutters in my chest. “My guy could run you off the road, and it would be hours before anyone even knew you were missing…except maybe that good-for-nothing son of yours. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree with that one. ”
Rowan growls, his eyes flicking up to check the van again before refocusing on the road ahead of us. “You think this is a game, Jeffrey?”
“Isn’t it, though? Hasn’t it always been a game for you? Trying to destroy me? And my granddaughter is just the latest tool you’re using to achieve what you’ve always wanted.”
My head whips to the side, staring at Rowan’s clenched jaw.
Is that why they want me? Am I nothing more than a pawn in a game I never agreed to play?
“Hannah is not a fucking game,” Rowan forces through gritted teeth. “Now, unless you want to be calling a cleanup crew for the van of assholes behind us, I suggest you call them off. Now.”
His tone leaves no room for argument, but I know my grandfather well enough to know he never backs down from a fight. He prides himself on winning, and even something as simple as a surrender is a hit to his ego that he won’t accept.
“You can make all of this go away so easily. All you have to do is pull over and hand her over, and then you can go back to being the lowlife criminal you are.”
Rowan scoffs. “If you think I’d go back to life as normal after losing Hannah, you clearly haven’t been paying attention. She is my life. Now tell your lackeys to fuck off because there’s nothing I won’t do to protect what’s mine.”
He ends the call, but the tension bleeding from him is so thick it’s hard to breathe.
I open my mouth to ask if he’s okay, but I don’t get a chance before another call comes through, followed by a string of obscenities.
“Listen here, you fucking cunt—”
“Whoa,” Asher’s voice comes down the other line. “I know I piss you off, but—”
“Shit. Sorry, Ash.”
I follow his eyes as he glances over his shoulder at the van that’s still tailing us.
“Let me guess, Jeffrey Malone?”
“How’d you guess?”
“There are few people on earth who can get under your skin like he can. What’s going on?”
“He has someone following us. Lights off. Dark van. He called to gloat and to give me an ultimatum.”
“Sounds about right. Where are you?”
“Ten minutes from home, but I’m going to try to lose this asshole. Don’t want to lead him straight to the house.”
“I’m leaving the city now. Let me know if you need any backup.”
“Will do.”
“You okay, Little Doe?”
“Yeah,” I say as confidently as I can manage, but the shake in my voice is obvious.
“It’s okay if you’re scared, Han. Rowan will take care of you.”
“Always,” he confirms.
“We’ll see you at h—the house.” I catch myself before I say the word, but the tension in Rowan’s shoulders eases for a split second.
The call ends, and silence falls over us once again.
This has been a really weird night.
“Hold on,” Rowan says a moment before the car jerks forward, and this time I don’t bother stopping myself from doing just that.