Page 65 of Bloom: Part 2

Joel’s mouth curled into a small smile as if he relished the moment. “Didn’t you hear what Bloom said earlier? I work for the Agostis—your father.”

“I don’t understand. How did this happen?”

“Would you believe it’s pure coincidence?” He folded his arms and ducked his cheeks into the raised collar of his jacket.

“Nothing about my father is a coincidence. Did he send you? What does he want?”

“Not much. He wants you to visit him.”

“You must be crazy. My father’s in prison because I sent him there.”

“He might not hold a grudge.”

“Then you don’t know the man you’re working for.”

“It would be in your best interest to visit him.”

“I’d be insane to do so.”

“So you’re going to run again? It’s too late. He has eyes all over the town watching you—and your pretty little fiancé.”

A surge of heat shot through me, fast and furious, as if a switch had flipped in the back of my mind. My breath came ragged, and my heartbeat roared in my ears, drowning out Joel’s smug expression and every careful word I’d planned to say. Before I fully registered what was happening, my hand was around his throat, fingers digging into the warm skin beneath his jaw. He was pressed against the porch railing, his eyes wide, and the faint hint of surprise in his gaze only fed my anger.

My voice came out low, almost unrecognizable. “Are you threatening me with Bloom?”

Joel opened his mouth, a gasp caught in his throat. He gripped my wrist, trying to pry my fingers loose, but I didn’t relent. All I felt was the tightness in my chest, the desperation to protect Bloom, to shield him from everything I’d run from, and the terrifying thought that this man—this stranger—held the powerto shatter that. The pressure of his pulse throbbed under my fingers, his body tense and helpless in my grip.

“Let… go,” he choked. “I’m just the messenger.”

I gave a final squeeze, then released him. “Does Grimm know what kind of man he has for a son?”

Joel coughed and gently touched his throat. “You mean a defense attorney? My family is the reason I became one.”

“So you protect criminals.”

“Aren’t you about to marry one?”

His words stung, and for a moment, I couldn’t think of anything to say in retort. “You tell my father that if he hurts Bloom—if he comes near him—he won’t be the only one in prison. I’ll bring down the entire Agosti family.”

“Have you no loyalty to your family?”

“What the hell do you know?”

“Enough that I would never betray my biker family regardless of what they did. If anyone here finds out what you did, do you think you’d be welcome? Your father’s waiting to see you, and he wanted me to tell you that it’s a matter of life and death.”

An icy wave of dread washed over me. I clenched my hands into fists and moved closer until I was in his face. “I don’t know who the hell you are to think you can threaten me with my father’s name, but you’d do well to stay the hell out of my way. I owe your father, so I’ll walk away and pretend you didn’t—”

“Logan?” The front door opened, and Bloom walked out, frowning. His jaw clenched when he saw me with Joel. It would be so easy to set him off. To get him to kill the man threatening us. I took a step back. Bloom wasn’t a weapon to be used. He was the man I loved, and I could never use him that way.

“What’s going on here?” he asked. “Why are you two alone and whispering in the dark? Logan—”

“It’s nothing, sweetheart.” Bloom didn’t look convinced, so I went over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist, aprotective gesture as much as an affectionate one. I felt like our time was ending, and I didn’t want it to.

“It didn’t seem like nothing.” His body was tense under my touch, and the anxiety radiated off him. “I saw you looking at him earlier and now this. Do you want to fuck him?”

“I swear I don’t.”

“I don’t know if I believe you.” His eyes were wide, and I felt the panic settling inside him.

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