“He threatened to do that?” Now John looked even angrier, although Molly could tell it wasn’t directed at her this time. “Bastard.” He sent her a glance that had a hint of apology in it. “Maybe I should’ve bonded her out. At least then you wouldn’t have Barney threatening to take your house away.”

His words make her stomach churn with a medley of emotions. As much as she hated that Barney had power over them, the thought of John accepting their house as collateral for Jane’s bond made Molly feel sick. Even if he’d done it to keep Barney’s grubby paws off their home, it still would’ve felt like a betrayal. “No,” she said slowly, trying to work through the hundreds of emotions swamping her. “I don’t want you involved in this mess.” At his wry look, she gave a small, slightly apologetic shrug and amended her statement. “I don’t want you involved any more than you already are, at least.”

He gave a noncommittal grunt as he pulled up to the curb in front of her house, and Molly refocused on finding Jeremy’s number in her phone. Even though she knew she should go inside and then call, a large part of her was reluctant to leave John’s vehicle. It felt safe and peaceful, a small oasis of protection where she could hide from the current insanity of her life.

Shaking off her thoughts, she found Jeremy’s number and moved to tap it, only to be interrupted when John covered the screen with one of his giant hands. Raising her head, she glared at him, but it was tough to hold on to her anger when he wore such a sheepish expression.

“What are you doing?” she asked as frostily as possible.

“Don’t call Tremaine,” he said, and her spine stiffened into a steel rod at the command in his voice. He must’ve noticed, because he grimaced and gave her hand a clumsy pat before withdrawing. “Please. I’ll find out if Barney can take your house before Jane’s next court date.”

“Why don’t you want me to talk to Jeremy?” Her question was more curious than offended, since his insistence that she not call the attorney had sounded sincerely concerned.

He opened his mouth and then shut it again, as if debating internally what to say out loud. “I don’t trust him.”

Tapping her cell phone against her palm, she eyed John as she considered what to do. She already felt like she was depending on him too much. He felt like a rock in the churning sea of chaos that her life had turned into, and while all of her instincts promised that she could trust him, she didn’t really know him that well. Working as a bounty hunter had shown her over and over again that she could only depend on her sisters, and now was definitely not the time for her to forget all the hard lessons she’d learned. “Who are you going to ask?” she finally said. “I’d rather not share this information with anyone else.”