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Sam jumped as she heard Nick’s voice call out. She turned and saw him standing in the doorway of the kitchen, leaning against the frame with his arms crossed. Knowing she’d been caught, she tried to think of something to say so that Nick would help her leave.

“I…”

Nick held up one hand. “Stop, Lauren already told us everything.”

Sam’s jaw dropped. “But…”

“She’s my wife Sam, she’s not going to keep secrets like that from me. She’s also not going to let you walk into a dangerous situation without a fight.”

Sam hung her head; she knew that she shouldn’t have asked Lauren to lie to them and keep her secret. Nick made his way over to her, took her upper arm in his hand and gently steered her towards the living room. He plopped down on the couch and motioned for her to sit down as well. She hesitated but finally gave in and dropped down onto the sofa. Both sat there for a few minutes before Nick broke the silence.

“Why on Earth are you leaving?” he asked. “And I don’t want Lauren’s version, I want the whole story from you.”

Sam sighed and leaned her head back onto the couch. “I don’t want to leave Nick but I have to. The longer I stay here, the worse it will be for all of you. Don’t forget, you’re technically harboring a fugitive.”

“That’s the least of our problems. We all know your crazy ex is alive and kicking and if you leave, you’re running the risk of leading him straight to you. It’s safer that you stay here.”

“No it’s not.” Sam said and stood up. “He’s going to find out I’m here if he doesn’t already know by now and he’ll make your lives hell for helping me. If I leave now, he’ll be concentrating on keeping an eye on me and where I go instead of all of you.”

Sam was pacing back and forth across the living room as Nick caught a glimpse of who she really was. He could tell she was scared as hell of leaving and finding Ryan on the other side of the door but Sarah was right, she’d do anything to protect other people. He needed to find a way to convince her to let them do the right thing for her.

“You know AJ’s not going to let you leave. None of us are.”

“You don’t have a choice Nick.” Sam said and stared him in the eye. He could see the fear just below the surface and he stood up, walked over to her and gave her a huge hug.

“We’re here for you Sam. Stop worrying about us and start worrying about you.”

Nick’s hug caught her off-guard and she started to cry. He held her for a minute then led her back to the sofa. Once she was settled, he pulled an afghan over her and took a seat by her feet.

“How much do you know about me Sam?”

She gave him a funny look and Nick laughed. He thought back to all the times he ignored her and how they were hardly ever on friendly terms.

“Forget I asked.” he replied to his own question. “I’ve been through a lot of shitty relationships in my life and no matter what, whether I screwed up or not, the guys have always been here for me. I can turn to any of them and whatever I need, they’ll do.”

“I know how close you guys are.” Sam said quietly. “I could always tell that you weren’t just friends but were a solid family.”

“These guys have been my family.” Nick took a deep breath. “I was in an abusive relationship. Hell, I kind of still am.”

“Lauren?”

“No, my family.”

“What?”

Nick leaned back and faced her. “My parents are two people who should have never married or met for that matter. They weren’t designed to have kids and for most of my life, I’ve been parenting myself.”

“That’s awful.”

“It has been but I don’t want to focus on that part. My family has been cruel with things they’ve said about me and how they’ve treated me but I have never had to doubt I had another family I could turn to. These guys are my brothers and have been such a better family than the one I was born into.”

“How does that apply to me?”

Nick looked her in the eyes and held his gaze. “You’re family now and we’re going to do whatever we can to protect you. No matter what, we’ll keep you safe.”

Sam shook her head. “It’s not the same thing Nick. You guys have been together for more than twenty years, you really are a family.” She played with the afghan and turned her head away from him; her next words were just a whisper. “Besides, your family may be bad but at least they don’t want you dead.”

Her words shocked Nick; they all knew how bad her husband was but to hear her actually say those words was like a body blow. He couldn’t imagine what it was like to be her and on the run from someone who literally wanted to end her life.

“This is exactly the reason why you need to let us help you.” Nick stood up and stretched. Placing a gentle hand under her arm, he helped her up. “You’re going back to bed, no arguments and no sneaking out. I’ll sleep outside your bedroom door if I have to.”

Sam stood up and followed him; she didn’t want to admit it but she was exhausted and as much as she wanted to leave, she knew she wouldn’t make it far without some rest.

“I’ll stay tonight.” she said as they made it to her door. “After that, I can’t promise anything.”

“I’ll take that,” Nick said, “for now.” He leaned down and kissed her on the head. “Go get some rest.”

He watched Sam climb into bed and then he quietly closed the door. Rubbing his eyes, he made his way into the guest room he and Lauren were staying in. He climbed into bed and she stirred.

“Is it my turn to watch for her?” she whispered half asleep.

“No.” Nick said and pulled her into his side tightly. “I don’t think she’s going anywhere tonight.”
Chapter End Notes:
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