I'll handle it.

Chapter 60 - I'll handle it.

Mike stood and set the vibrator on the desk beside the lamp before turning toward the metal filing cabinet in the corner. The bottom drawer held the records of every fighter who had trained in the gym.

He pulled it open and ran his fingers through the tabs until he found the folder he was looking for. Carrying it back to the desk, he opened it beneath the lamp and began turning through the pages, his eyes moving over training notes, sparring results, and medical checks. He kept going until he reached the final sheet, where a single name appeared near the bottom in clear black ink: Danny.

Mike’s hand froze against the paper as the pieces suddenly fell into place. He remembered the way Mia had fought to hide every sound. Even after the device was gone, that same fear had remained beneath her skin. He closed the folder slowly and set it aside, his expression hardening as he finally understood what had been haunting her.

He crossed the room and pulled Mia into his arms, wrapping both of them around her until she was pressed against his chest. She came willingly, burying her face against the front of his shirt as though she had finally found somewhere safe enough to let go. Mike lowered his head until his mouth was close to her ear and spoke in a quiet voice. “Danny,” he whispered. “You do not have to fear him, Mia.”

The moment the name left his lips, Mia broke. A hard sob tore from her as she clutched his shirt with both fists, trying to speak but unable to force the words through the flood of tears. Her body shook against him, and the tears kept coming without pause. Mike tightened his arms around her, one hand moving to the back of her head as he stroked her hair in slow, steady passes. He murmured softly against her hair, offering comfort without asking her to explain anything, letting her cry until she had nothing left to hold inside.

As he held her, his brows drew together, a deep crease forming between them. Cold anger settled heavily behind his eyes, but none of it reached his voice or his hands. He kept himself controlled, refusing to let his fury frighten her further. For now, Mia needed comfort more than answers, so Mike simply held her close, rocking her gently while she cried against his chest.

Outside the office, the sounds of the gym carried on as usual. Gloves thudded against heavy bags, someone called for a water break, and footsteps crossed the concrete floor before fading into the distance.

None of it seemed to reach the locked room. Inside, Mia’s sobs slowly lost their sharpness, fading into quieter, uneven breaths. Mike’s hand never stopped moving through her hair, his fingers passing gently through the strands again and again. He could feel the dampness of her tears soaking into his shirt, but he didn’t care. He simply held her and waited.

After a long silence, Mia tried to speak again. Her voice came out cracked and small against his collarbone. “He said if I ever told anyone…” The sentence disappeared beneath another wave of tears. She pressed her face harder against him and shook her head, unable to force the rest of the words out. Mike didn’t push her. He waited until the worst of the tears passed, keeping his palm warm against the back of her neck as he held her steady.

“You don’t have to say it all at once,” he told her quietly. “Just breathe. I already know enough.”

Mia nodded against his chest. Her fingers finally loosened their death grip on his shirt, though they remained curled into the fabric as if she still needed something solid to hold on to. Mike glanced toward the closed folder on the desk, the name Danny sitting inside it like a brand burned into his thoughts. He pushed the anger aside for later and turned his attention back to the woman in his arms. Right now, she was all that mattered.

He guided her a half step sideways until they could sit together on the edge of the desk, keeping one arm firmly around her shoulders. With his free hand, he reached toward the box of tissues beside the lamp and pulled out several before placing them gently in her palm. Mia wiped her face in slow, shaky motions, staring down at the damp tissues in her hands before crumpling them and drawing in a longer breath.

“I put it in this morning because he told me to,” she finally said, each word scraping painfully from her throat. “He said if I took it out early, he would.”

Mike’s arm tightened slightly around her, but he said nothing and let her continue at her own pace.

“I thought if I could just get through the session, I could turn it off and never speak about it again. Then you stopped me, and everything went wrong.” Fresh tears gathered in her eyes, but she blinked them away before they could fall. “I was so scared you would hate me.”

“I don’t hate you.” Mike’s voice remained quiet but firm. “I’m angry at the man who put you in this position.”

Mia lowered her head against his shoulder again, drawing comfort from the steadiness of his presence. The desk lamp cast their long shadows across the floor while somewhere outside, a timer beeped to signal the end of another round. The sound seemed impossibly distant from the quiet of the office.

Mike’s gaze fell to the pink vibrator still lying on the desk. Without a word, he picked it up, crossed the room, and dropped it into the small trash bin beneath the window. The soft clink of plastic against metal sounded strangely final. He returned to Mia immediately and took both of her hands in his.

“From this second on, he doesn’t touch you,” he said. “He doesn’t message you. He doesn’t set rules for your body. If he tries, you come to me. If he shows up here, I’ll handle it. Do you understand?”

Mia nodded. It was a small movement, but there was no hesitation in it. Her eyes still glistened with tears, yet the raw panic that had consumed her earlier had begun to settle into something quieter. Mike lifted his hands and gently brushed the last wet tracks from her cheeks with his thumbs. His brows remained drawn tightly together, and the anger hadn’t disappeared. It sat in the hard line of his jaw and the tension in his shoulders, but none of it reached his touch. His hands remained careful and gentle against her skin.

“Stay in here as long as you need,” he told her. “I’ll tell Vanessa you’re fine and that training is finished for today. When you’re ready, I’ll take you home in her car.”

Mia’s fingers tightened around his. “Will you stay with me until then?”

“I won’t leave this room until you do.”

A long, shaky breath escaped her, as though it carried the last of the tension from her body. Mike kept his arm around her and felt her slowly settle against his side. Outside, the gym continued with its familiar rhythm of voices, footsteps, gloves, and timers. Inside the office, everything had grown still except for the soft ticking of the cooling pipes and the quiet rhythm of their breathing.

Mike’s eyes drifted once more toward the closed folder on the desk. The name Danny still burned at the back of his mind, but he forced himself to leave it there. He would deal with Danny later. For now, he kept Mia close and let the minutes pass, waiting until her breathing finally evened out and the last traces of tears dried against her skin.

Read up to Chapter 84 with new art every week. Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/KDaddy935?vanity=user