7. Blaze
BLAZE
She looked like she was about two seconds away from falling apart.
And somehow that pissed me off more than the cartel.
Felicity stood near the edge of the bar area with her arms wrapped around herself so tightly it looked painful. The stubbornness in her expression might’ve fooled somebody else.
Not me.
I knew her too well.
Even after sixteen years.
Maybe especially after sixteen years.
Because pain recognized pain.
And the woman standing in our tavern looked worn thin by it.
Michael checked his phone near the end of the counter before muttering, “Local officers are sweeping the property again.”
“Meaning the first sweep missed something,” I said flatly.
He didn’t argue.
That told me enough.
Trigger returned from the kitchen carrying a plate of fries and set it in front of Felicity without a word.
She blinked down at them in surprise. “I didn’t order these.”
“You also look like you haven’t eaten since the Obama administration.”
A tiny huff of laughter escaped her before she could stop it.
Good.
Trigger pointed at the plate. “Eat.”
“I’m not hungry.”
“Didn’t ask.”
Definitely Ranger.
Felicity looked down at the fries for a second before quietly taking one.
Something about watching that nearly wrecked me.
Because it was such a small thing.
Just fries.
But she looked like someone who’d forgotten people could take care of her.
Michael noticed too.
His expression tightened briefly before he looked at me. “Can I talk to you outside?”
“No.”
Felicity’s eyes lifted immediately.
Michael sighed heavily. “Blaze?—”
“She stays where I can see her.”
“I’m not a threat.”
“Wasn’t talking about you.”
Silence.
Trigger slowly moved toward the front windows again, giving us privacy while still keeping watch outside.
Felicity set the fry down carefully. “You don’t have to do this.”
I looked at her. “Yeah. I do.”
Her eyes searched mine like she was trying to understand something.
Or maybe remember something.
Hell if I knew anymore.
Michael rubbed his forehead. “The safest option is relocating her tonight.”
“No.”
Felicity’s voice came out sharper this time.
Stronger.
Good.
“I’m not leaving again.”
“Felicity—”
“No.” She stood fully now, exhaustion and anger finally mixing together. “I can’t keep living like this. I didn’t know this was going to happen when you all talked me into testifying against those killers. If I knew, I would have run the other way.”
Michael’s jaw tightened. “You think I enjoy watching this happen?”
“I think you’re asking me to disappear over and over again while the people hunting me keep getting closer.”
Nobody spoke.
Because she wasn’t wrong.
Her breathing had gone uneven now, emotion creeping into every word whether she wanted it to or not.
“I’m tired,” she whispered. “I’m so tired.”
Something inside me twisted hard enough to hurt.
Because I believed her.
Every second of it.
I stepped closer before I even realized I’d moved.
Felicity looked up at me immediately.
And there it was again.
That pull.
That history.
That ache sitting between us like sixteen years had never happened.
“You’re safe here,” I told her quietly.
Her eyes burned instantly.
Not because she fully believed me yet.
Because she wanted to.
That was the dangerous part.
Michael glanced between us slowly.
Then toward me.
“You got room upstairs?”
“Yeah.”
Felicity immediately shook her head. “No.”
I frowned. “No?”
“I can get a hotel.”
“Absolutely not,” both Trigger and I said together.
She blinked at us.
Trigger pointed toward me. “He’s already in full protective psycho mode. Don’t make it worse.”
I ignored him.
Mostly.
Felicity looked overwhelmed again. “I don’t want to invade your life.”
That sentence landed harder than it should have.
Because she still didn’t understand something.
She already had.
Sixteen years ago.
She just never realized it.
“You’re not invading anything,” I said carefully.
Her throat moved slightly when she swallowed.
Michael finally slipped his phone back into his pocket. “I’ll have agents rotating through town until morning.”
“Quietly,” I said.
He nodded once.
Good.
Last thing Felicity needed was panic spreading through Eagle River.
The town protected its own.
Violently.
And if people started realizing she was in danger?
Every Army Ranger in Texas would end up parked outside this tavern by sunrise.
Felicity looked between all of us slowly.
Confused.
Overwhelmed.
Probably wondering how the hell her life ended up here.
Truthfully?
So was I.
Trigger moved closer to me while Felicity quietly picked at another fry.
Low enough only I could hear, he murmured:
“She trusts you already.”
I kept my eyes on her. “No she doesn’t.”
Trigger glanced toward her.
“She walked into a room full of armed strangers and relaxed the second she saw you standing here.”
That hit harder than expected.
Because deep down?
I knew he was right.
Felicity still looked nervous.
Still exhausted.
Still scared.
But every time I stepped closer?
She breathed easier.
And that realization was dangerous as hell.
Because I was already starting to remember what it felt like to belong to somebody.
Then Felicity looked up suddenly and caught me watching her.
For one long second, neither of us looked away.
And I realized something that should’ve scared me more than it did.
No matter what happened sixteen years ago…
Some part of me never stopped being hers.