Page 44 of Poisoned Promise
How dare someone put their hands on my girl? I’ll kill him. I’ll fucking kill him. I’ll?—
“Boss?” The bloody mess beneath me croaks suddenly and I halt, my fist poised for another blow.
Through the red mist of fury, I gaze down at a bleeding face I recognize. “Aaron?”
“Boss!”
“What the… what the fuck are you doing?!”
“Me?” Aaron chokes out, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. “What are you doing?”
“I—.” Beside me, Toph helps Dove to her feet and quickly cups her face as she struggles to maintain her balance. She immediately slaps his hands away and stumbles backward.
I kick Aaron away from me and rush forward, catching Dove around the waist before she can fall.
“Ow,” she croaks while blinking slowly. Blood leaks down the side of her face from a gash at her temple, as well as a split above her brow, and from her nose and lip where Aaron's fist landed.
“Dove.”
“Felix?” She shakes her head and tries to push me away the same way she did to Toph but I refuse to let her.
“Easy,” I soothe softly. “How are you feeling?”
“I’m fine.” She places both hands on my chest and my heart skips a beat. “I’m—.” She winces, screwing up her face, then turns in my arms and spits up a large mouthful of blood onto the ground.
“Aaron, what the fuck are you playing at?” comes Toph’s voice from behind me. He helps Aaron to his feet. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”
“No, I’m doing my fucking job,” Aaron hisses. “What the fuck?”
“Look at me,” I say softly to Dove, ignoring their argument. She tries to turn her head away but I cup her jaw and force her head upward and to the side. “That doesn’t look deep. Was that from the crash?”
“I dunno,” Dove murmurs, leaning into me slightly. “Bit of a blur. Fucker ran me off the road.”
“I know.”
“I’m gonna kill him.”
“I know.”
“Are you serious?!” Aaron’s voice rises above the distant chirrup of crickets and buzz of insects, cutting through my immediate concern for Dove.
“Aaron,” Toph warns. “Relax.”
“Relax? There’s a kidnap or kill order out on her and he’s treating her like she’s the victim?” Aaron snaps. “That’s insane. Do you know how big the bounty is?”
“Bounty?” The fog of pain clouding Dove’s eyes vanishes immediately and her stance grows stronger as she forces herself away from me. Her glare locks onto Aaron past my arm. “What bounty?”
“You’re Alex James’ mother,” Aaron spits. “There’s a huge fucking bounty out on you.”
“What?!” Her eyes widen and she glances from Aaron to me. “What is he talking about?”
“Aaron, not now,” I scold. “Let Toph take care of you and we’ll talk about this.”
“What is there to talk about?” Aaron snaps, jerking his arm out of Toph’s grip when Toph reaches for him. “Get off me. There’s nothing to talk about, Boss. I found her fair and square. This is my bounty. You ain’t taking this from me.”
“Toph,” I warn sharply with one look.
Toph nods and starts dragging Aaron back toward the car while I turn back to Dove. She’s taken several steps away from me and is wiping her bloodstained hands on her t-shirt.
