AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Standing to my full height, I offer my hand to her; she slips hers into mine, and the coldness of her touch sends a current of electricity through me. “Are you hurt anywhere?”
I ask the question, and my blood turns to ice as I await a response.
Her body shakes, but she straightens her shoulders, then raises her eyes to meet mine. “The back of my head hurts and my face.”
Gently, I trace the dirt mark running along her cheek. “You still look beautiful, beauty.”
Her eyes close on my words, and she swallows hard, causing the hairs on the back of my neck to stand with a new awareness. Did something else happen to her? Is there more to this than we’re aware of?
“What happened?” I coax.
The room is filled with anticipation as Jace and I wait for her response with bated breath.
Her eyes open, and the sadness in them is almost enough to bring me to my knees. “You can tell us, Tia.” My fingers twitch to tug her toward me, to hold her and tell her everything is okay now.
“There was a man.”
“What fucking man?” Jace spits out, and the venom bouncing off him feels like he’s about to combust. I glare at him with a silent warning, and he clamps his lips closed.
Tia takes a deep breath. “A man I know from my childhood.”
Jace rears back, and his face pales. “What man, Thalia? What did he do?”
She doesn’t look at him as she robotically speaks, as if disassociating herself, and zones out. “His name is Viggo. He hit me.” She winces as if she felt the hit all over again, and I clench my jaw with fury. “He pushed me to the floor and humiliated me.” Anger boils my blood. I want to ask her what he did, but Idon’t want to push her. “He fucked my mouth and hit me again and again. He was one of Martin’s friends, one who would go down to the basement.”
All I hear is that some sick fuck assaulted our girl, and I’ve never wanted to rip someone apart as much as I do right now.
Every muscle in Jace’s body is coiled tight, he looks fit to explode, and I’m not sure how he’s reining it all in.
“He do anything else to you?” His voice is devoid of emotion, and I know we’ve lost him to his inner demons, his rage.
Tia shakes her head but grimaces, and I want nothing more than to take away her obvious pain.
“Can I clean you up?” I lift her chin to face me, not caring about the dirt on her face nor the evidence of her assault.
“Pl-please.”
My heart breaks, and I sweep away the tear that flows down her cheek.
“I’m going to find out what’s happening with Bren.” Jace stares toward the door. The dumb shit couldn’t be any more obvious with how he’s struggling to deal with Tia’s bombshell, and part of me wants to punch him in the gut and make him face facts, face her. But the other part thinks his absence will be for the best until he can release his guilt on someone who deserves it.
He needs to get his shit out, preferably aiming his temper toward a punchbag, then he can come back in and be the man Tia needs him to be. Because we’re in the dark, and something tells me there’s more to come.
He heads toward the door, but one word from Tia stops him in his tracks. “Jace?” I know deep inside that if she asked him to stay, he would. But she knows as well as I do he needs to release his demons. “Lucas. He’s going to need someone.”
Her cryptic words have my blood freezing, yet the confusion etched on Jace’s face no doubt mirrors my own, but before I canask anymore, she lifts her top, and my blood is simmering once again.
The door clicks shut, leaving me to tend to our girl, to show her how incredibly strong she is.
Chapter
Eight
LUCAS
Staring out to the yard, there’s a swimming pool, playhouse, basketball court, and manicured lawns, which are littered in kid toys.
My heart pangs at wishing I’d created a home like this for our family before it all goes to shit.
