Daddy in Cowboy Boots (Montana Daddies #9) - Laylah Roberts Page 0,45

lose it. Calm. Be calm. She needs you calm now. You can’t lose it on her.

“They’re not good people.”

He hated that. So much. Hated that she’d been exposed to them.

“You said she normally warns you. This happens often?” Ed asked.

“The parties? No, not that often, thank God. But her boyfriend comes around a lot. She’s been with him for years. Even through her last two marriages. They’re getting married now. His son told me that he’d now be my brother. That he was going to be . . . to be in charge of me.” Her voice broke on a sob.

“What the fuck?” Linc spat out, hating how pale she’d grown. In charge of her? Who was this prick? Linc fought the urge to drive out to her aunt’s place and hunt this fucker down.

The fear on her face gutted him.

“Marisol? Did he hurt you? Is that what happened tonight?” Ed leaned forward again.

Linc held himself very still. He wasn’t sure what he would do if she said that somebody had harmed her.

Kill them all.

Jesus. He’d never felt like this at all in his life. Not even when he learned of Jessica and Jon’s betrayal. Sure, he’d been fucking furious. But he hadn’t wanted to tear Jon to pieces and then roast his limbs on a firepit.

“Linc? Are you okay?” she asked.

He stared down at her in amazement. She was worried about him right now?

You’re not taking care of her the way she needs.

Leaning in, he cupped the side of her face. “Hey, you don’t need to be worrying about me right now.”

She bit her lower lip and he reached down and freed it from her teeth then rubbed his thumb along her full bottom lip. Shit. If Ed wasn’t in the room, if she wasn’t so upset, he’d likely feed her his thumb and order her to suck. Then he’d take her mouth with his.

But Ed is here. So he drew his thumb away from her mouth.

“You seem really upset.”

“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