air, even though it looked like that was going to be a major hurdle for Harlow.
She’d self-isolated for so long that every fear she had was now about a hundred times bigger than they had been right after the kidnapping.
I got my ass up and walked over to the couch. “Hey, I’ll have your back, Harlow,” I assured her. I lifted my shirt to show her that I was carrying a 9mm in an inside-the-waistband holster. Hopefully, knowing I was armed would be a relief rather than a trigger for her. Hell, I was ready to do almost anything to convince her that she’d be safe stepping outside with me. “It’s just a short walk. I was a SEAL who got my ass shot at on a fairly regular basis. I think I can manage to protect you if we go for a short walk.”
Her apartment building was small by San Diego standards, and it was somewhat neglected inside and out. The appliances, décor, and exterior were outdated, but it was in the Balboa Park area, so the neighborhood was pretty decent.
When she looked up at me, the mixture of longing and fear in her beautiful blue eyes tore me up.
I held out my hand, hoping to hell I wasn’t pushing too hard.
Oh, hell no, I am not going to start doubting my instincts right now just because Harlow looks so damn fragile and exhausted.
It was my responsibility to help her get her damn life back, even if she was reluctant to take those first steps.
I felt like a goddamn hero when she took my hand and let me pull her to her feet. “I’m scared, Jax,” she said quietly.
“The first time is always going to be the hardest, Harlow,” I told her calmly. “It will all be downhill after that.”
Molly jumped off the couch and sat beside me with barely contained excitement as she waited to see what was going to happen.
Harlow ran a nervous hand through her hair. “I’m a mess. I should probably change—”
“You’re fine,” I interrupted, cutting off any protests she was going to start making. The jeans and lightweight pink shirt she was wearing worked just fine since it had been somewhere around eighty degrees outside the last time I looked. “We’re not going far. Just put your shoes on.”
The last thing I wanted to do was prolong the agony and indecision for her right now, but I still had to ask, “Do you need a compression bandage on that knee?”
“Do I even need to wonder how you knew about that?” she grumbled as she put her feet into a pair of black, casual slip-ons near the door. “And no, I’ll be fine without one.”
She needed gentle exercise to strengthen her knee, and she probably would be okay without the extra support for a short, easy distance. Once we got to the point where we were doing anything more strenuous, I’d wrap that knee up myself if necessary. “Marshall did brief me about anything that he thought would help,” I confessed as I clipped on Molly’s leash. “We’re both concerned that your knee never completely healed.”
I held out the end of the leash to Harlow, and she took it reluctantly.
“These the keys?” I asked as I swept up a set from the side table, along with my sunglasses and a pair I assumed were Harlow’s.
Since the only items on the keychain were a keyless control for her car, and a single key, it didn’t take a genius to figure out which one went into the apartment door.
Harlow nodded nervously.
Jesus! How long had it been since the woman had been outside? She looked terrified.
I yanked the door open and motioned her out. “Ladies first.”
Molly started forward, but Harlow didn’t move.
When the canine sensed Harlow’s fear, Molly gave her a sharp bark of encouragement.
“She’s trying to tell you it’s safe to go out,” I told her patiently. “If she sees something she doesn’t like, or if she has bad vibes about somebody, you’d know it.”
Harlow shook her head like she was snapping out of her internal thoughts, and cautiously stepped outside.
Feeling like I’d just conquered the fucking world, I handed Harlow her shades and locked the door before I dropped the keys into my pocket.
I couldn’t see her eyes because she’d put on her sunglasses, but I could feel the tension in the air as she turned her head to look at the closed door of the apartment.
Oh, hell no, don’t even think about it, beautiful. We’re