Chapter 2 #2
Fiona huffs. “I wasn’t planning on camping in your driveway.”
Gavin ignores her. “Rafe.”
Rafe’s attention sharpens. “Yeah.”
Gavin’s voice turns serious. “We need help. Something’s wrong.”
Rafe’s jaw tightens. “Fiona—did someone follow you here?”
Fiona flinches. That’s all the answer I need.
My body goes cold and hot at once. Anger sparks under my skin. “Who,” I ask, voice too quiet, too dangerous, “is after you?”
Fiona forces a laugh, but it’s thin. “No one is after me. I’m just… having a dramatic quarter-life crisis.”
Wyatt mutters, “That’s not a quarter-life crisis. That’s a full-body flinch.”
Fiona shoots him a look. “Excuse you.”
Silas pockets his phone and steps closer, sheriff voice calm but unyielding. “Ma’am, we don’t pressure people here. But we do take threats seriously.”
“Threats,” Fiona repeats, like the word tastes bitter. “Right.”
Eli sets his med kit down and walks over slowly. “Fiona, are you hurt?”
“No,” she says quickly. “I’m fine.”
“Okay,” Eli says, nodding. “But your pulse is racing. You’re pale. And your hands are shaking. So either you’re lying… or you’re about to pass out.”
Fiona’s eyes widen. “I am not about to—” Her knees wobble.
I’m there before she hits the floor. I catch her—one arm around her waist, the other bracing her shoulder. She’s lighter than she looks. Warm from the fire. And she smells like cold air and peppermint chapstick.
She grips my shirt like she’s embarrassed to need me. “I’m fine,” she grits out.
“You’re fainting,” I tell her.
“I’m resting,” she corrects weakly.
I should put her down. But I don’t. Because the second she’s in my arms, something primal in my chest settles like mine, protect, keep.
It pisses me off.
It also feels inevitable.
Gavin steps closer, voice soft now. “Fi… talk to me.”
Fiona closes her eyes for a second. When she opens them, her bravado is still there—but it’s cracked at the edges. “There was a car behind me when I left,” she admits quietly. “Not here—back home. I saw it three times. Same plates. Same dent on the bumper.”
The room goes still.
Rafe’s face turns hard. Thorne shifts closer to the door like he’s already planning angles. Silas’s eyes sharpen.
I tighten my hold on Fiona without thinking.
“And then?” Gavin asks, his anger emanating through his features.
Fiona swallows. “And then I found out my ex—my wonderful ex, Marcus—has been… involved in some things.” She lets out a short laugh that isn’t funny.
“Turns out when you date a charming man with perfect teeth and a ‘motivational entrepreneur’ Instagram, you should maybe ask why he has three burner phones.”
Wyatt mutters, “Yeah, that’ll do it.”
Fiona glares at him. “I didn’t know. Okay? I didn’t know.”
Gavin’s hand finds Fiona’s arm. “What things?”
Fiona’s voice drops. “People. Money. A deal. I overheard him on the phone. And then he saw me.”
Silas’s voice is calm. “Do you think he’s coming for you?”
Fiona’s breath shudders. “I think he wants what I heard. And I think he wants to make sure I don’t talk.”
Rafe nods once like he expected it. “Okay.”
Fiona blinks. “Okay?”
Rafe’s gaze is steady. “Okay. You’re safe here.”
Gavin adds, fiercely, “No one touches you.”
Fiona looks at all of them like she can’t believe this is real. Like she’s waiting for the other shoe to drop. Then her gaze lands on me.
I’m still holding her. I should set her down. But I don’t.
Her voice comes out small. “I didn’t want to be a burden.”
Something in my chest twists. I keep my voice light, because she needs that. “Good news. We’re professional burdens. It’s our brand.”
A laugh escapes her. I can't tell if it’s fake or real. “Is it?”
“Yep.” I shift her slightly in my arms. “And since you’re clearly committed to passing out dramatically in front of everyone, I’m going to take you to a cabin before Eli decides to stick you with an IV.”
Eli lifts a brow. “I absolutely will.”
Fiona’s eyes widen. “No needles.”
“Then drink water,” Eli says.
Gavin looks between us. “Chase—”
“I’ve got her,” I say automatically. The words land heavy.
Rafe’s brows lift. Silas’s gaze sharpens. Wyatt’s mouth curves like he just got front-row tickets to a show.
Fiona’s cheeks flush. “I can walk,” she protests weakly.
“Sure you can,” I say. “After you stop trying to become one with the floor.” I carry her toward the hallway. Behind us, I hear Rafe’s voice go low to the others.
“Double perimeter tonight.”
Thorne answers, “Already on it.”
Silas says, “I’ll run plates if she can remember them.”
Gavin follows us a few steps. “Fi, you’re going to be okay.”
Fiona reaches for Gavin’s hand, and squeezes it. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
Gavin’s eyes soften. “You’re here now. That’s what matters.”
I keep moving, but my mind is already spinning. A car seen three times. Burner phones. A man who saw her overhear something. A woman who ran straight up a mountain with a NutriBullet and sheer spite.
Yeah.
Someone’s after Fiona. And I can tell she’s scared behind all that grumpy, funny defiance.
My grip tightens just a fraction as I step out into the cold and head toward my cabin—because I already know something I shouldn’t.
If anyone comes on this mountain for her… they’re going to have to get through me first.
And I don’t lose what I decide to protect.