Chapter 39 Kick Him
Kick Him
Max
Fiona walks away from me straight into Canyon’s arms. Nothing about the two of them makes sense.
The way he hesitated putting his arm around her shoulder and the way she cringed a little when he touched her…that doesn’t happen. It shouldn’t happen.
Women flinch when they’re uncomfortable or afraid. Is Fiona afraid of Canyon? Is he forcing her into a relationship? Could he be hurting her?
Why wouldn’t Fiona have said something? This whole neighborhood was founded on protecting kids. Surely, Fiona knows I would protect her…The Adders would protect her.
Fiona barely acknowledges me.
She barely looks at me.
Is she embarrassed?
None of this makes sense.
What I should be doing is reading the reports my vice presidents sent me or working on code for the next update, but Fiona has infiltrated every part of my brain.
Yesterday, in her apartment, I almost kissed her.
And she wouldn’t have stopped me. Fiona might have initiated it if we had had a few more moments uninterrupted. What am I missing?
Why did she do that?
Canyon didn’t move when I put my arms around her. He didn’t even blink twice. There are easygoing men in this world, but that makes no sense.
“Dad,” Hope whispers with Dash in her arms.
“You aren’t supposed to be out here.” I turn my gaze to the stupid addict kids in the corner.
They avert their gazes like I’m a firing squad that they don’t want to see, which is what will happen if they look at my daughter.
“Fiona’s in trouble.”
“What?”
“She handed me Dash and ran out the door. Whatever it is, it’s bad.”
I’m up and out of my seat before she finishes speaking. “You call someone to come watch you.” My feet start running. As I pass Maddox. I say, “Watch her.”
Then I’m out the door searching for Fiona.
“She went that way,” Canyon says from a lamppost. “If you run, you can catch her.”
What?
“For a smart man, you’re awfully stupid.” He turns and walks back into the bakery, leaving me to dash off in the direction he said she went.
I run for a full five minutes until I catch sight of her. She’s almost jogging down the street.
What could have caused Fiona to make a mad dash down the street like this…The crying kid who walked into the restaurant. I pull out my phone and call Maddox.
“What?” Maddox snaps.
“Who was that girl?”
“I need a bit more than that. And why are you breathing hard?”
“Because Fiona is currently running down the streets of Urbium and I have no idea why.” I’m not breathing that heavily, but maybe I should up my cardio a bit. “So who was the girl that came into the bakery crying?”
“You mean Izzy?”
How would I know? “Go find out why she was crying.”
“I’m a little busy at the moment, if you will recall.”
Those addicts shouldn’t be anywhere near the kids on that street…except half of them probably were those kids at one time. “There’s something off with that group.”
“Don’t I know it.”
“Make the time anyway. I don’t want to be running into something blind.” Quite literally running into it. Whatever made this woman mad has got all the adrenaline going.
“Fine.”
The phone clicks off.
It would probably be easier just to catch up with Fiona. But there isn’t anything stupider than getting between a momma bear and her cub. Whatever this is…it’s giving me that kind of vibe.
Fifteen minutes later, Fiona opens the door of a massive corporation.
I follow behind her but don’t approach the desk.
My company handles all of their cybersecurity. I was just here a month ago for a meeting.
The receptionist looks up and makes eye contact with me. Her smile says she remembers me. I nod towards Fiona. For a second, she gives a questioning look and then nods.
My phone rings. “Well?”
Maddox didn’t really expect a greeting. “Joseph Angel. He sexually harassed one of our kids who interns there. She’s fifteen.”
Well, that man just signed his own death certificate. “Thanks.”
“Maximus Rage—”
The friendly or not-so-friendly nickname reminder to control my temper doesn’t go unnoticed. “What?”
“The man is mine. That was one of my kids.”
We’ll see. I click off the phone and follow behind her. Taking the elevator after her, I pull up a picture of the soon-to-be-dead man. He’s so average-looking he couldn’t be more average. A person would have a hard time picking him out of a lineup.
If he touches Fiona while she gives him a piece of her mind…My fist clenches, which should hurt, but the adrenaline coursing through my own body takes care of that.
I’m about ten feet behind her when Fiona steps into Joseph Angel’s office.
The perv has the nerve to leer at her.
Hold your temper long enough for Fiona to do what she needs. Then you can smash his face.
“Are you Joseph Angel?” Fiona’s voice is surprisingly calm and steady.
A smart man would back away.
Joseph really isn’t a smart man. He walks right up to her.
She reaches up, puts her hands on his shoulders, and knees him hard enough for me to wince.
He screams like a girl at a concert.
Before he can drop to the ground, her knee comes up again.
This cry is more pathetic.
Note to self: Don’t make Fiona mad.
He drops to the ground.
“You like hurting little girls.” Her boot makes contact with his ribs. “You think you’re a powerful man because you threaten little girls.” And it slams back again, pushing him across the carpeted floor.
Security arrives, and I step in. “Call your boss, but don’t set a foot in that room.”
They look at me and then back at her.
“Little girls weren’t put on this earth for you to hurt.”
She kicks him again, and they step back.
“We aren’t your playthings. You can’t just hurt us whenever you want.”
Oh no. Fiona isn’t seeing Angel anymore. She’s seeing the men who hurt her. Though I’m not opposed to her beating Angel up. Now isn’t the time for her to lose it.
I walk over and wrap my arms around her, holding tight for a moment.
She never startles nor cringes away. “Max, don’t get in my way. You don’t know what he did.”
I pitch my voice low enough that only she can hear. “Oh, I know. And he deserves every one of those blows and more. But now isn’t the time. And this isn’t the place. If you need it, I can make alternate arrangements.”
She takes a deep breath, leaning her body fully into mine. “Maddox can take care of him.”
“Good choice. Are you ready to leave, or do you want to kick him again?”
She laughs. “I really want to kick him again, but we can go.”
“That’s my good girl.” Slowly, I release her. Then bend over and pick Angel up by his hair. My fist connects with his ribs, and several of them make a nice cracking noise. “You’ll be seeing me again soon.”
“Max, your hand.” Fiona reaches over and takes it in both of hers.
“It’s fine.”
“No, it isn’t. You should have just let me hit him again. Now you’re in even more pain, and your grandmother is going to be mad at me.”
“Emilia will be just fine.”
“You'd better come home with me so that I can get you re-bandaged.”
That’s the best invitation I’ve had in a long time.
We walk out of the office together. Only stopping because the owner arrived.
“What happened here?” He gapes at Angel on the ground in a bloody heap behind us.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing happened here. And it better not happen again. Because if I hear that you employ any more child molesters, I’ll be back for a conversation with you.”
He nods. “I see. You’re right. Nothing happened here. It was nice of you and your friend to visit the office. Have a nice day.”
That’s what I’m hoping for. A very nice afternoon. Followed by a nice evening filled with kissing and cuddling.
A man can dream, right? “Let’s go home.”