Page 122 of Control Freak

Wait.What?

How did Jimmie know where I was? I racked my brain, but I couldn’t remember telling him anything on the video message I’d left for him when I checked in on his well-being. I’d only passed along the threat from Brick and Curtis and told him to watch his back.

“H-how?—”

“You wore a school T-shirt when you talked to him, genius,” Brick sneered.

“Once we had the school name and mascot, it was easy to track you here,” Curtis added. “You can’t hide from us. Even ifJimmie hadn’t told us, we got a Google alert about that spelling bee you judged last week. We’ll always find you.”

Fuck. What could I do? I had a couple of thousand dollars saved, but I’d given up camming, and I was still paying for my apartment back in St. Louis, so I had nowhere close to the amount Jimmie stole from them.

Would I have to run again? Leave Holden?

My heart twisted in my chest. I couldn’t do that, could I? But if I didn’t, his whole family could be in danger.

“Hey!” Holden’s voice cut through the white noise in my head.

“Think about what we said,” Curtis said. “We’ll be back.”

They turned and strode off, rounding the corner of the building just as Holden reached me. I hadn’t even noticed his GTO pull up at the curb.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “Who were those guys?”

I started to tremble now that they were gone. “They found me.”

“The assholes from St. Louis?”

I nodded jerkily. “They think I have the money Jimmie stole. And hetoldthem how to find me. Fuck! I never should have wasted my time worrying about him. He’s a snake!”

“Yes, he is,” Holden said quietly. “You deserve better.”

“This is all my fault,” I said, voice quavering, “and now I’ll have to leave just when I?—”

Holden pulled me into a hug. I clung to him, even though I knew I shouldn’t. He’d gotten more comfortable with me touching him, but full-body hugs weren’t in our repertoire.

“Sorry,” I mumbled. “You can let go.”

“Shh.” His arms were strong as they held me against him. “I want to hold you when you need it, Shy. It’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

I took a shaky breath in, then out. In and out. When I’d calmed, I took a step back. Holden was a little tense, but calm. I hadn’t triggered a panic, then, by holding him too tightly.

My chest loosened. “Thank you for that.”

“No problem,” he said, even though I knew it wasn’t as easy as that. “Let’s get in the car. We can figure out how to fix this on the drive home.”

“I don’t think we can,” I said.

“We will,” he said determinedly, “because you’re not running anywhere. We have to put an end to this.”

I followed him to the GTO and slipped inside when he opened the passenger door for me. The thought popped into my head that he was a gentleman, even when I was bringing an ugly mess into his life, and I laughed at the absurdity of it.

Holden cast me a concerned look as he got into the driver’s seat. “You okay over there?”

I tried to stop giggling. I knew it wasn’t normal. “Just glad you’re opening my door for me when my life is about to fall apart.”

“Nothing’s falling apart,” he said sternly. “And you can always count on me to open doors for you. Or anything else you need, okay? I will always find a way to take care of you when you need it.”

I believed him. I really did. But I wasn’t sure Holden’s iron will was a match for the reality of two guys who believed I owed them a debt. He couldn’t just lecture them into leaving.