I slammed through the front door. “Fern? Fern, it’s me.”
I’d never been inside her house, so it took a minute to find my bearings. I walked along the hall to the living room, which was in darkness. Then I found myself in the kitchen, where Fern was curled up on the floor next to the cabinets which hid her from the rest of the room.
“Hey, Princess,” I whispered as I crouched down in front of her. When she didn’t move or lift her head, I stroked my fingers down her arm, making her jump. “Shit. You’re safe. I’m here.”
“Charlie,” she cried, throwing her arms around me so violently I had to steady myself on the counter.
Pulling her into my lap, I held her, stroking her hair until her sobs subsided. “What happened?”
“James,” she mumbled, making my blood boil.
“James hurt you?”
She sucked in a shaky breath. “Thomas came to my office. He wanted me to poke him, make him mad. He told me he could protect me.”
“Thomas, who?”
“Jarrid’s boss. Neo hired him to protect me.”
“Okay, so what happened?”
“W-when I got home, there was a man in my bedroom. Even though Jarrid checked the house, there was a man in here. He told me if I didn’t drop the charges, then I’d be sorry.”
“You pressed charges?”
“Thomas thought it was for the best.”
My body locked and my fists curled. “Did you tell Jarrid he was in here?”
“No, I called you. I just wanted you. Shit, I’m sorry. It’s dangerous, and I dragged you into it. I don’t even know where he went… the man.” She looked around, terrified, as if realizing he could still be here.
“You did the right thing. You’re safe. I won’t let anyone hurt you. Come on, let’s get up.” I pushed up from the floor, but she didn’t let go of me, wrapping herself around me like a needy monkey.
“Thank you,” she muttered against my neck.
I pressed a kiss to her forehead, hating how red her eyes were and how blotchy her skin appeared.
“Right, Princess, I’m going to lose my shit for a few minutes. You wanna wait in another room?”
She shook her head. “I don’t feel safe without you. Please don’t leave me on my own.”
“Have I left you once? I promise I won’t leave you now. Give me two seconds to drag them in here.”
Lowering her to the ground, I held her hand but kept her behind me as I stormed to the front door, opening it to look around outside. “Jarrid,” I hissed.
“He’s not here,” a disembodied voice replied.
“Then get me your boss.”
“He won’t want to be bothered.”
“What, even when he finds out there was a stranger hiding in Fern’s bedroom?”
“That’s not possible.”
“Yet, that’s what happened. And I have a hysterical woman in there to prove it. Get me your boss now.”
Sounding slightly more panicked, he replied, “I’ll call him. Give me a minute.”
