Page 54 of Bolt's Flame

Horse reached her first, pulling her into his arms as she broke down, her sobs filling the room. “What happened, honey? Where did he find you?”

“I was at the market,” she choked out, clinging to him like a lifeline. “He just... he just appeared out of nowhere. He grabbed me, and he... he said I had to come back to him.”

Rage hotter than hell rose inside me, my hands curling into fists at my sides. That son of a bitch. I should have known he’d try something like this. Should have known he wouldn’t give up so easily. We’d had no luck in finding him, and he hadn’t been living in their house or going to work. Horse had gone back several times looking for him and had been scouting around trying to get leads to find the bastard.

“He threatened you?” Brenda’s voice was sharp, her eyes flashing with anger as she rubbed Fiona’s back in a soothing motion.

Fiona nodded, her voice breaking. “He said... he said the club couldn’t protect me.”

Her words fired me up, my fists curling tighter, and I had to take a deep breath to keep from losing my cool right then and there. I wanted to find James and tear him apart, make him pay for putting that fear in her eyes, for daring to lay a hand on her.

“He’s not gonna touch you,” Horse said, his voice tight with barely restrained fury. “I swear to God, Fiona, he’s not gonna lay a finger on you again.”

“We’ll make sure of it,” Brenda added, her eyes darting to me with a look that said more than words ever could. Brenda had cornered me and grilled the shit out of me about that night and amazingly, she believes me. She’s been keeping her ears and eyes open when it comes to the sweet butts who she supervises.

“How’d he get close to her?” I snapped, looking accusingly at Josie.

“I fucked up,” Josie replied. “And I know it.”

“No... no, it wasn’t,” Fiona said, quick to defend him, pissing me off.

“It’s okay Fiona, you don’t have to defend me,” Josie replied, and she shouldn’t. If he took her out, he should have fucking protected her.

I stepped forward, deciding I wasn’t staying on the sidelines any longer. “Did somethin’ scare him away?”

Fiona glanced at me, her eyes filled with a mixture of fear and something else, something that looked like trust. “I don’t know. He just... he just walked away. Disappeared into the parking lot like he was never there.”

“Did he follow you back?” Horse asked, his eyes scanning the room as if expecting James to jump out of the shadows.

Josie shook his head. “I don’t think so. I drove around for a while, tried to make sure he wasn’t following us. But from what he told Fiona he’s been watching her, and he knows where she’s at.”

“You did good,” Brenda said softly, stroking Fiona’s hair. “You did exactly what you should have.”

I watched them, the way Fiona leaned into them for comfort, and it twisted me to pieces. I wanted to be the one holding her, the one making her feel safe. But right now, I was just the guy who had screwed things up, who had just given her another reason not to trust me since I swore to her that James would never touch her again.

But that didn’t mean I was going to sit back and do nothing.

I turned to Devil, who was standing in the doorway, his face concerned. “We need to take care of this.”

He nodded, his eyes never leaving Fiona. “Damn right we do. He’s been sneaking around here somehow. There’s a breach.”

I looked back at Fiona, my chest tightening at the sight of her so scared, so vulnerable. I wanted to reach out, to tell her that I would fix this, that I would make sure James never came near her again. But I didn’t know if she would even believe me, but I had to try.

“Fiona,” I said, my voice rough as I took a step closer. “We’re going to keep you safe. He’s not going to get to you. I promise.”

She looked at me then, her eyes searching mine, and I could tell she wanted to believe me, but doubt took over. “I don’t know if you can promise that, Bolt,” she said quietly, her voice shaking. “I don’t know if anyone can.”

I just nodded; my jaw clenched tight. “I’ll do whatever it takes.”

She didn’t say anything, just turned back to her dad and Brenda, her body still trembling as they led her to a chair, helping her sit down. I watched them, feeling more helpless than I ever had in my life. I was used to solving problems with my fists, with action, but this was something different. She needed more.

Devil moved to my side; his voice low as he spoke. “We need to have eyes on her at all times.”

I nodded, my mind already racing with possibilities. “I’ll keep an eye on her.”

He gave me a hard look. “You better make damn sure you can handle everything. Her and the war with Dragon Fire.”

He didn’t need to finish the sentence. I knew what was at stake here. “I can handle it. No worries.”