His to Protect

Chapter 15

[Hugh’s POV]

The drive back is the longest twenty minutes of my life.

Claire sits in the passenger seat wrapped in my jacket, still trembling. I keep one hand on her knee because I physically cannot stop touching her—my wolf demands confirmation that she's real, that she's here, that I didn't fail her completely.

My mind keeps flashing back in fragments I can't control. The alert from the tracking app on Claire's phone. Her phone going to voicemail once, twice, five times while my heart climbed into my throat.

Watching the GPS dot move away from the coffee shop at highway speeds, knowing exactly what that meant. Following the signal to that warehouse, the blind rage that took over when I crashed through the car and saw her bound and crying, a bag over her head like cargo to be disposed of.

I don't remember killing them. Not really. Just the aftermath—blood on my hands, bodies on the ground, Claire staring at me with wide eyes that held no fear. My wolf is still snarling beneath my skin, barely contained. Protect. Claim. Keep.

I called my pack to handle the cleanup before getting her out. Theo's voice was steady when he answered. He didn't ask questions. Just told me the mess would disappear.

"Hugh." Her voice is small, cracked. "You're going to break the steering wheel."

I look down. My knuckles are white, tendons standing out like cables. I force myself to ease my grip, though my hand on her knee doesn't move. Can't move. "Sorry. I'm just…" I don't finish the sentence because there's no word for what I am right now. Terrified. Furious. Grateful. Homicidal. All of the above.

"I know," she says quietly, and somehow that's worse. She shouldn't be comforting me. She's the one who was kidnapped.

Richard is waiting outside when we pull up, his face gray with terror. The moment Claire steps out, he crushes her in his arms with a sound that's half sob, half prayer. I hang back, watching, my hands still shaking.

"Inside," Richard manages. "We need to get inside." He settles Claire in the study with tea she doesn't touch, hovering over her like he can protect her through sheer proximity. I lean against the doorframe, feeling the mate bond thrumming through my chest like a second heartbeat.

"They mentioned someone," Claire says suddenly. "When they were driving. Something about 'the boss' wanting me secured."

Richard's eyes meet mine. The look that passes between us requires no translation.

"Claire, sweetheart, why don't you rest here a moment." Richard's voice is carefully controlled. "Hugh and I need to discuss some logistics."

She doesn't argue, which tells me how exhausted she is. I follow Richard into the corridor, and the moment we're out of earshot, his composure cracks.

"You understand who they are." His hands shake as he grips my arm. "What they want. They've been circling for at least a year, Hugh. I thought if I was careful enough, if I kept her hidden enough…"

I understand. It's the worst part—knowing about the threat and failing to prevent it.

"You have to take over her protection," Richard says. "Move her somewhere they can't find her. Keep her safe in ways I can't."

"Richard, that is..." I run a hand through my hair, searching for words that don't exist. Living under the same roof as Claire—having her in my space, sleeping down the hall while the mate bond claws at my restraint—my wolf howls with anticipation while my rational mind recoils.

She's his daughter. His nineteen-year-old daughter. And every time I look at her, I want things that would end our friendship permanently if he ever found out. "That is complicated. I can't just be her bodyguard twenty-four-seven. It wouldn't be appropriate—"

"You're the only one I trust with this." Richard's grip tightens on my arm. "She's safe with you, Hugh. Completely safe. I know no one would dare touch her under your protection. No one would even want to."

The assumption burns like acid in my throat. No one would want to. If only he knew how desperately I want to touch her. How I've already touched her, tasted her, felt her come apart under my hands while she gasped my name.

"I know, but it's not that easy, Richard—" I try to intercept. I fail.

"You know how much she means to me, Hugh." Richard's voice breaks. "She's my daughter—and I will not lose her too. But you can protect her. I know you can."

The image surfaces: Claire bound and crying, trembling in that SUV while men discussed her disposal like an inconvenient package. My wolf snarls with renewed fury, and something hardens into resolve. The complications, the inappropriate feelings, the torture of proximity—none of it matters if she's dead.

"She moves to my penthouse," I hear myself say. "She doesn't go anywhere without protection. I'll go tonight to prepare the space. Theo can drive her tomorrow."

Richard's relief is palpable. "Thank you, Hugh—"

"Don't thank me yet. We still have to tell her."

Claire looks up when we enter, her eyes sharp despite the exhaustion. "You've made a decision about my life without asking. Again," she says flatly. "I can tell by the way you're both not looking at me."

"Claire, it's for your safety. These people are my business rivals. They would do anything to bring me down, including harming you. You will stay with Hugh until everything's secure—"

She cuts him off. "I'm not a child. If there's danger, tell me what it is. Explain why I can't stay here with more security."

"Because it's not safe here anymore. They knew your schedule, your route, exactly where you'd be. Staying here paints a target on your back."

Claire's gaze shifts to me, and I see the moment the full implication lands. Her cheeks flush slightly. "Stay with Hugh," she repeats slowly. "At his place. Living there. With him."

"His penthouse has state-of-the-art security," Richard says, oblivious to the undercurrent crackling between us. "He can protect you in ways hired guards can't."

Her eyes haven't left mine. I watch her process it—the memory of everything that's already happened between us. Living together. Sleeping under the same roof. "And you agreed to this?" she asks me directly, something complicated in her voice.

"I did."

She looks between us, those hazel eyes missing nothing. "What aren't you telling me? Both of you. There's something bigger here, something you've been hiding since before my birthday." Neither of us answers. The silence stretches, damning. "What do they think I am?" Claire's voice rises. "What makes me so special?"

Richard flinches. I see the truth he's been hiding press against his teeth. "They're using you to get to me," he says instead. "They want my business to fail and they will use any means to achieve that."

Claire stares at him, something hardening in her expression. Then she turns to me. "Will you tell me the truth? If I come with you?"

"I'll tell you what I can. When I can."

Finally, Claire sets down the untouched tea. "Fine. I'll go to your place, Hugh. I'll accept the protection and restrictions." Her chin lifts, that stubborn fire blazing through the exhaustion. "But I'm only agreeing because I want answers. And I intend to get them, whether you volunteer them or not."

She walks past us without looking back, and my wolf howls with something that feels dangerously like pride.