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“What? I saw it on TV. It’s supposed to help.”
Black spots danced across my eyes. Well that’s not good.
Suddenly James was kneeling in front of me, cupping my face. “Elizabeth, you need to breathe. Look at me, I need you to breathe with me, okay?” He took my free hand, pressing it to his chest. “Just breathe when I do. Don’t think about anything else.”
One hand pressed mine to his chest, the other cupped my head, keeping my focus on him. He took deep breaths, encouraging me to do the same. Tears slipped down my cheeks but eventually I was able to take in a breath as deep as he could. Well, okay, not that deep. He had the lungs of a horse apparently because he could draw in a breath way deeper than a normal human should be able to. My focus shifted from his breathing to his heartbeat under my hand. It was racing, like he was scared. I lifted my gaze back to his, locking in on his hazel eyes.
Once I was more in control, he stroked my cheek with his thumb, brushing away the tears. I felt like I had been under water and I was drowning. Fresh waves of panic washed over me every time I thought about what Kyle had done and my mind skittered away from it, trying to focus on James.
He leaned in, pressing a kiss to my forehead. When he lingered, I let my eyes slip closed. I missed him more than I was willing to admit and for now I was going to take whatever comfort he could give me.
He pulled away only slightly, keeping his face close to mine. “I need you to tell me what happened. I saw you talking to someone before you ran. What happened?”
Panic slammed into me and threatened to pull me under again but James rested his forehead against mine and tightened his grip on my hand. “I’m right here. It’s okay. I can wait until you’re ready.”
I whimpered, squeezing my eyes shut. “He… he took pictures of me when I was passed out… he’s threatening to post them online if I don’t play in the beginner’s tournament and basically steal all that money,” I choked.
I felt James stiffen. Shame rocked through me and I pulled my hands free, wrapping them around my middle. I shouldn’t have drank that day. I should’ve known better than to go to a party if Kyle was going to be there. I was an idiot and this was my consequence for it.
Out of nowhere, I was scooped off the bed and into James’s arms. He sat on the edge of the bed, holding me tightly against him. He tucked my head under his chin, wrapping himself so far around me that I doubt I could’ve escaped him even if I wanted to.
“Jo…”
“On it. Yuri, work your magic. Jaime, let’s go find this asshole.”
“Hold it. You aren’t coming with me. Liam would kill me.”
“Well, you can’t take Yuri, he’s busy. So you’re stuck with me.”
“Still not happening. I can find one douche weasel on my own.”
James interrupted their arguing, his voice rumbling against my cheek through his chest.
“No one does missions alone. Didn’t you learn that last time?” He took a deep breath. “Jo, you and Gabi will stay here with Elizabeth. Yuri will do what he can while Jaime and I go find this guy. I saw his face, I know who we’re looking for.”
He released me, moving me to sit beside him before he slid off the bed and kneeled in front of me. “I need his name, baby. That’s all you have to do. We’ll handle the rest.”
My chin trembled, more tears threatening to spill over. He only called me that once, right before everything fell apart. His rough hands cupped my cheeks, brushing away the tears that managed to escape.
“Kyle. Kyle Donovan.”
He kissed my forehead. “Good job, baby. Stay here. I won’t be long.” He stood quickly, heading for the door. At the last minute, I reached out and grabbed the back of his jacket. He froze. I wanted his help, I knew who he worked for, but if this went wrong, Kyle would post those pictures without a second thought.
James sat down next to me, lifting my chin. “I know you’re scared. I’m going to take care of this. In the meantime, Jo and Gabi won’t leave your side. It’s going to be okay.”
I was going to protest, I didn’t want him to leave, but my thoughts were interrupted by the cocking of a gun. I whipped my head around. Jo pursed her lips, checking her weapon. Jaime burst out laughing.
“Damn, Jo. You’re ride or die already?”
She snorted. “Liam wouldn’t let me go to this thing unless I was armed. I just wanted to make sure it was loaded.”
My jaw fell open. “You aren’t supposed to have weapons at a convention.”
She just shrugged. Since I was officially distracted, James kissed my hair before following Jaime out the door. He paused, glancing back at me. Jo stood over me, a hand on my shoulder.
“I’ve got her. You go deal with the little shit trying to ruin her life.”
He nodded once, locked eyes with me for a moment and then disappeared. Yuri stood off to the side, his hands in his pockets. “So, anyone got a computer I can borrow?”
