14
Colton
“Whoa, whoa!”
I growl, catching her in my arms as she comes exploding through the backdoor I’ve just opened at her knock. She hugs me fiercely, and when the sobbing comes against my chest, I growl as I hug her fiercely and protectively.
“Tell me, baby girl,” I growl gently, holding her tight.
“My dad!” she sobs, crying into my chest. “He’s… he’s a monster.”
My scowl deepens as I hold her tight and carry her back through the house. I brush past the dinner I’ve been making us, through the house, up the staircase, and right down the hallway to my bedroom. I pull back the covers and slip her under them, pulling the bankers up tight around her and holding her close as she shakes and sobs. And I just hold her like that, neither of us saying a word until finally, her crying slows.
“Colton,” she whispers hoarsely.
“What happened, Brynn?”
And then, she tells me.
Holy fuck does she tell me. She tells me about Olivia, and of all the hidden shit in her dad’s business operations. The chemical leaks, the sex trafficking, the blood money, the sick kids, all of it. My bile rises and my jaw clenches, and I just hold her to me as she lets it all out in a rush. And when she’s done, I just keep on holding her tight until her breathing comes back to normal.
I lean down, kissing the top of her head before I start to slide out of bed.
“I’ll be right back, beautiful. Okay?”
She nods, her face white like she’s in shock. I kiss her forehead and then head downstairs, putting on some water for tea and then making a call to a number I haven’t called in forever to a voice I haven’t heard in close to ten years. I speak for about ten minutes, telling him everything, and then thanking him before I hang up. I get the tea and bring it up to her, sliding into bed next to her as she whispers a thanks and brings it to her lips.
“We’re going to figure this out, Brynn,” I say quietly, leaning in to kiss her head again. “And I just spoke to someone who might be able to help.”
She freezes, her eyes darting up to mine. “Who?”
“A lawyer friend of mine.”
She frowns. “Colton, I don’t know who I can trust—”
“You can trust him,” I growl quietly. “I do. With my life. Literally.”
She looks at me curiously, and I slide an arm around her. “Baby, I have to tell you something.”
“Anything,” she whispers, nodding slowly.
“Before teaching, and before I was a principal, I had another life.”
She smiles quietly. “I didn’t think most high school principals knew how to fight like you fought those guys in the club.”
I shake my head grimly. “I was in the service, Brynn. Special Forces.”
Her eyes go wide, and I close mine as I pull her tight.
“It was my whole life—or at least I thought it was, until I got tired of the death, and the bloodshed. I got tired of…” I’m about to say “killing,” but I hold back on that for now.
“I got tired of being a weapon,” I say softly. “There’s enough destruction in the world, and when I knew I was done, I decided I was going to build and make things better, not help tear the world apart.”
“So, you went into teaching?”
I nod, smiling thinly. “It was that or heading off into the country to be a farmer.”
She giggles. “I think I might like you in denim overalls and a straw hat.”