Page 46 of Butch

“What happened?” Doc asked when he met him at Butch’s room door.

“She passed out from fear, I think. There was an incident. We think the person who had her before has found her, and she completely freaked out,” Butch explained when he walked into the room and placed her on the bed. “Please, look over her and make sure everything is okay.”

“Do you still not know who her captor was?” Doc asked, looking over Raelynn.

Butch shook his head. “She’s too afraid to tell us. Apparently, he has connections and is very powerful. She doesn’t want anything to happen to us. But I asked Deccan if he could get somebody else to look into it.”

“Everything looks okay. I think she just passed out because she was scared. She probably hyperventilated, but her heart sounds good,” Doc explained. “I don’t want her to faint again. From now on, try to keep her calm. Don’t let her get worked up. It might be best if she spends some time in a relaxed space.”

“And if she doesn’t?” Butch asked. “Deccan will definitely want answers, and to get those, he’s going to have to ask her questions.”

Butch was worried about that. He didn’t want to subject Raelynn to anything that made her uncomfortable. They needed to know who was after her so they could protect her.

“If you do ask her anything, you need to keep her comfortable. I know she won’t be comfortable, but try not to increase her heart rate too much. Watch her breathing. And if she starts to panic, then take a break and calm her down. Give her something warm to drink. But I advise you not to put her under too much stress. It’s not good for her health,” Doc said.

A knock on the door stopped their conversation.

“The delivery man was a regular person. It was dropped off at the post office several days ago with instructions to deliver it today, but the person was a local,” Deccan explained as he walked into the room, Echo trailing behind him. “I have someone trying to get more answers. I have two others trying to find some of the men who were asking around. If we get them, we can interrogate them.”

“And what about Neil?” Butch asked.

“I sent him a text with her information and your hometown. Hopefully, he’ll get back to me in a while, but he said he’s pretty busy with another job,” Deccan explained.

Butch growled and shook his head. “Not good enough. I need him to look it over now. There’s no trace of Raelynn after she graduated from high school. Ace has already looked into it and couldn’t find anything. He’s looked into all the men with names starting with Ed. They all look good, and he hasn’t been able to find out any other information. We’re still at square one, and I don’t like it.”

Raelynn groaned, and his eyes snapped over to her. Her hand was searching for something on the bed. Butch quickly grabbed it and brought it to his lips.

“Everything’s okay, Little Fairy,” he gently said. “Daddy’s here. I’m not going anywhere. I just need you to wake up. Everything is going to be all right.”

Her eyes fluttered open, and she looked right at him. “I need to leave.”

He shook his head. “You’re not leaving me. I just found you again, and I’m not letting you go. I’m going to protect you. You’re mine.”

“Everyone here is going to protect you. We just need to know who this guy is,” Deccan said. “Tell us, and we’ll be able to keep everyone safe. But we can’t do that if we don’t know who we’re up against.”

Raelynn whimpered. “Just let me leave. He’ll leave you alone if I’m gone.”

“Over my dead body will we let you go anywhere,” Butch growled. “I need you to understand that you’re not going anywhere. If I have to tie you to my bed, I will. You’re staying right next to me, where I can keep an eye on you. No way in hell am I allowing him to have a chance at getting you.”

“But I don’t want you to die,” she choked out.

Butch wrapped his arms around her and held on to her tightly. “I’m not going to die. I promise you.”

“You don’t know what he’s capable of,” she whispered.

He needed to get it through to her that she was the most precious thing to him, but he was at a loss about how to do that with her.

“I don’t need your protection. Do you know what I need?” he asked.

She shook her head.

“I need you to stay with me, so I know you’re safe. I need you to be here, where you are surrounded by people who care about” Butch explained. “I need you here because, if you leave me, I’m going to search for you for the rest of my life.”

“But I want you safe,” she mumbled.

His arms tightened around her. “And Daddy can take care of himself. Daddy wants to take care of you. Can you do that for me? Can you stay here with me for the rest of your life? I’ll make sure you’re safe.”

Realynn pulled away from Butch and nodded. “O-okay.”