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for the next few months while I finish high school.
    “Katarina.”
    My attention shifts to Bruce when he calls me by my full name. Not many call me Katarina.
    “I would be honored if you would stay in my home until you graduate high school. My wife forgets she’s not the one in control. Cole has made it clear to me how much you mean to him, so you will always be welcome in this home.”
    I’m not sure how to reply to that. A perfect stranger is treating me better than my own mother ever did. A lump forms in my throat as tears flood my eyes. Cole wraps his arms around me and pulls me into his embrace.
    “It’s okay, Kitten. My family’s here for you.” He holds me close as my tears soak through his shirt.
    “Bitch!” Drew yells at Trish.
    “Trish, go to your room and do whatever it is that you do. We need to talk privately, now.” Bruce turns his back to Trish, who obeys his order.
    Cole leads me back to the loveseat, and when he pulls me down beside him, he wraps his arms in a protective cocoon around me. When I’m with Cole, I feel safe enough to let go and give him a chance to be in charge.
    As we settle down from my confrontation with Trish, Bruce talks about how it will work with me living in his home. “You’re eighteen, and technically an adult. Since I don’t figure Cole will ever be too far from where you are, I’m not placing any restrictions on you.”
    “Fuck no! She won’t go anywhere without protection” Cole replies.
    My head whips to him. “Excuse me?” This news is not what I want to hear.
    “Once people, namely the Martins, find out you’re my girl, you’ll be a target. Justin and the boys will watch out for you at school. Outside of there, it’ll depend on who you’re with and what you’re doing,” Cole states.
    “Are you kidding me? I have to have a bodyguard? I knew dating you was a bad idea.” I slump back on the couch, frustrated at the way things are turning out. Chuckles come from around the room. Everyone is smiling, but Cole is looking at me as if I’m crazy. I’m not happy about being reminded of the criminal element. I know the Martin’s are the Knight’s rival family. I’m really beginning to question my own sanity.
    “What? First, you insist I be your girl, and now I have to have a bodyguard. Fuck my life.” Sarcasm laces my voice.
    “Kitten, it’s for your safety.”
    “Blah, blah, yeah, whatever, asshat.”
    Cole and I engage in a scowling, staring contest until Bruce laughs at us. We turn to look, and Bruce quiets down when he notices us watching him.
    “Don’t mind me. I just enjoy that you talk back to Cole. I don’t think anyone other than me dares talk to him the way you do.”
    “Um, yeah, okay. I mean, he’s not God. Cole gets my respect when he earns it.”
    This draws more chuckles from Bruce.
    “Kat,” Drew exclaims.
    “What?!”
    “Do you have any manners?”
    “What the fuck, dude? I’m not his slave or employee. I’m his girl. Remember? I get special treatment.”
    “You think being his girl gives you the right to be rude?” Drew asks me with disbelief.
    “Well, I won’t be treated like a child by my boyfriend.”
    “You’re acting like one”
    “Fuck you, Drew!”
    “She is free to be her own person, but she will have a guard at all times,” Cole says.
    When I look in his eyes, all I see is concern, and it makes me realize that he truly wants to keep me safe. “I’ll allow the guard as long as you aren’t doing this just to keep tabs on me or to keep me from enjoying myself.”
    “Not my intention at all.” His arms tighten around me. “My only fear is the Martin family coming after you. Things with them have been getting tense lately, and I don’t want you to be a casualty of that.”
    His words seem sincere, and he has already established how protective he is when it comes to me. I will just have to trust him.
    When it’s time for dinner, Seth decides that I need to be beside him, so I do as asked, and Seth