Page 5 of Challenging Her Protector

Even though they were away from the crowd, he kept his arm snug around Vee. She was shivering and her face was too pale for his liking. He wanted to reassure her again. Promise nothing or no one would get close enough to touch her, but the words died in his throat leaving behind a painful wedge of guilt and shame. No, there was no way in hell he could make that promise. She’d be better off going with Branch and Silver. Men who were still on the Teams. Ones who were at their peak physically and mentally. And damn if that shit didn’t hurt, but he wanted this woman safe at all costs, even if he was too weak to do it. They moved down the maze of halls, a blur of white and gray walls, with the thick scent of hot food mingling with bleach.

“This one,” Silver murmured behind them. His friend quickly navigated the crowd in the lobby and joined them just as they approached the patient rooms.

He knocked lightly on the ajar door before entering. Hannah was in the middle of a hospital bed, her top-to-toe freckles and rich red hair a welcome contrast to all the white in the room. He wasn’t surprised to see her smiling. Branch was sitting by her head looking more stressed out than Iron had ever seen him. Collin jumped up from the side of the bed. The teen, who towered over his mom and was nearly his height, bounded across the room and nearly knocked him back. Shit, he’d grown to love this kid.

His business sponsored Collin’s unified baseball team, but over the past couple of days, he’d gotten to spend time with him while Branch and Hannah were occupied with her fucked-up family. He couldn’t ever remember having so much fun, especially using their comm devices around the hotel.

“Jordan Iron Holt,” Collin sang, wrapping his arms tighter. “Archer Silver Ross,” he said moving from Iron to embrace Silver. It was endearing to be called by his full name. The kid was like an encyclopedia when it came to people and pizza. “Aunt Vivienne Aurora Day.” He hugged Vee more gently. “You saved Mom.”

“You saved her, honey,” she whispered in his ear. “My brave and bright nephew with his trail of cards.”

“Do you like UNO?” Collin asked, suddenly sidetracked. “I played UNO with Iron and Silver at the hotel. Then I played UNO with Branch when we were waiting for you and Mom at the rehearsal dinner. Your dress is white. White like marshmallows, clouds, onions. Now you’re wearing Iron’s shirt over the dress. It looks good like that.”

Iron couldn’t agree more.

“Hey bud, why don’t you let our visitors in the room. Okay?” Hannah’s voice always softened for her son.

Collin moved back, letting them in, and started pacing the room, quietly scripting a pizza recipe.

“Hanni, I’m so sorry.” Vee broke away from him and crossed the room toward her sister’s bed and sat down in a nearby chair. “I got you all into this mess. Has the doctor come in and checked your knee? Does it hurt?”

“I feel great now that I’ve got that morphine drip and Regina is locked up. And yes, the doctor and orthopedic surgeon came in. They’re going to need to do a bit of work to repair my leg.”

“Like surgery?” Vee’s voice was high and pained.

Going to her side, putting a hand on her shoulder was as natural as breathing to Iron. She cast those huge, gorgeous eyes on him and held his gaze. He shouldn’t get used to her seeking him out for comfort. That would be reckless on his part.

The women spoke quietly for a moment, discussing what had happened and why. You couldn’t find a crazier scenario in a book. A family forcing an arranged marriage for political and economic gain and then the oldest sister Regina taking the plan to another level by attempting to drown Hannah in a lake and make it look like an accident.

“Vivi, I wanted you to fly back with us, but I might be grounded here for a while. I’d feel so much better if you went with Iron and Silver.”

She bit her full bottom lip. “Go where?”

“Back to Virginia Beach. Even if we’re only delayed by a few days, I’d feel better if you were far away from Texas. You can stay at our place. Branch will give you the key, and you can come and go as you please. If you’re not comfortable staying alone, I know one of our friends would be happy to stay over with you. There’s Brynn, Sam, and Addy. They won’t make it weird or awkward. More like a sleepover.”

“I doubt they’d be happy. They’re going to hate me for what happened to you. Not that I’m blaming them. You wouldn’t have been in Texas to begin with if it weren’t for me.”

Branch took Hannah’s hand. “We don’t feel that way. You are family. We wouldn’t have left you behind. Trust me, Hannah has always felt the loss of the family that rejected her. You are the one good memory she has from her childhood. She told me if it weren’t for your parents being the way they are, you might’ve remained close friends. Now, because of you, the woman I love more than anything has a chance to redefine that connection. She’ll heal a hell of a lot faster if she knows you’re safe,” Branch stated openly before pinning Iron with a pleading look.

Hannah might feel better if Vee was tucked away, but ultimately that was her choice. After seeing what went down that afternoon, he could only imagine the hell that was Vee’s life.

Some people might say she grew up in luxury. He’d say she’d grown up a prisoner. There was no way in hell he was making any decisions for the woman standing next to him. Too many choices had already been taken from her. Maybe he’d only spent the afternoon with her, but he didn’t need to know anything else to understand she could hold her own. She had a brave spirit. Ran toward danger instead of away. Had stood strong, voice unwavering as she’d faced Regina.

Instead of looking at his prosthetic with pity or disgust she just looked curious. Without hesitation, she reached out and touched him, not bothered one bit that she was touching a mechanical device rather than the flesh and bone that should be there. Seeing her fingers curved along the metal and fiberglass frame shifted something inside him.

Vee’s gaze had drifted back to his. While he might like the way she looked to him for comfort, he’d never be the type of man to tell her what she should or shouldn’t do. “Your decision. You want to stay here? I’ll extend our hotel room at The Ritz. You want to drive back to Virginia Beach? That’s what we’ll do.”

Her eyes widened in shock, like she had no clue what to do with the information he’d just given her. She contemplated for one moment, then another. “I think it’s best if I leave Texas.”

Pride swelled in his chest. Yeah, she sure as hell could stand on her own.

Chapter Three

“Vivienne dear, whaton earth are you talking about?”

Vivienne had been basking in Iron’s approval one moment and cast into a haze of fear the next. She didn’t need to turn around to know her mother had somehow bought or pleaded her way into Hannah’s hospital room. Both sound and air had evaporated from the space. She could already smell her mother’s expensive perfume that made her eyes water.

“Texas is where you’ll stay, Vivienne Aurora.” The hospital room door clicked shut.

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