I reached out, cupping her face, and Bell let her head fall to my chest. “I wish I knew, baby. I wish I fucking knew.” My back molars ground together. The creep wasn’t slowing down, and his anger was escalating, I knew that much from what my friends Austin and Carter had gone through back in LA. The twisting in my gut deepened. What if this guy hurt Bell again? Tried to kill her? The vise around my chest was back. No more easy breathing just because Bell was with me. I could lose her. And if I did, I knew I’d never recover. I pulled her tighter against me. “Maybe we should get out of town for a little while. Just until they find this guy.”

Bell jerked back. “We can’t do that. The bar is just starting to pick up business. We’ll lose all of the progress we’ve made.”

I felt a muscle in my jaw tic. “I don’t give a flying fuck about the bar. I care about your safety.”

Bell’s expression hardened, her hands fisting in my tee. “I’m not letting someone scare me away from my home. And what happens if we leave? They stop doing this, and we’re no closer to finding out who they are.” She paused for a moment, studying my face. “Would you be okay with staying away forever? With never coming back?”

Bell seemed to hold her breath, waiting for my answer. I swept her hair back from her face. “No. I’m not looking for reasons to run. I just want you safe.”

Her shoulders eased a fraction. Shit. She was still worried that I was going to take off on her. I needed to tell her I was going to stay. It was the worst possible timing for sharing the decision, but I couldn’t handle the doubt in her eyes a second longer. I pressed my lips to her forehead. “I’m moving back to Anchor.”

She pulled back, gaze boring into mine. “What? How?”

“I’ll either have my manager take over the day-to-day of the bars permanently, or I’ll sell.” I’d do whatever it took so I didn’t lose Bell.

“You can’t do that. You worked so hard to build those bars into what they’ve become.”

I had. There’d been blood, sweat, and probably some tears along the way. But Bell was more important. She always had been. It had just taken me way too long to see it. “They’re businesses, Bell. You…you’re everything to me.” It was on the tip of my tongue to tell Bell that I loved her, but the words seemed to get stuck in my throat, anxiety gripping me.

Her expression softened, and she pushed a lock of hair away from my face. “I love you, Ford.”