Page 53 of Trapped By the Blood Ruby

“I brought you something to eat.” His voice came out rougher than intended, desperation leaking through despite his efforts to remain calm. “You must be hungry?” His head tilted toward the soup and bread, sitting under its silver cover.

Her lips pressed tight. She made a squeaking noise, shaking her head repetitively.

“Fuck,” he breathed. As softly as he could, he called for Zola. It took only a handful of seconds for her to arrive.

“What’s—?” Zola’s words cut off sharply, then she swore.

Laurent stood, keeping his movements unhurried so as not to frighten her further.

“Get out,” Zola snapped.

He swallowed. Only Zola. Only she could say something like that to him.

Without another thought, he fled the room, but he didn’t go far. He pressed himself against the wall just outside Lily’s door. His chest rose and fell unnecessarily. The sight of his vulnerability only furthered his agitation. This wasn’t like him, to react this way.

“There you are, darling,” came Zola’s soft words through the open door. “It’s all right. You’re safe.”

“Zola,” Lily whimpered. “You… You… They… You gave me away.” Her words were choked.

“Not me, darling. Never me. Laurent.”

Laurent’s eyes closed, a breath exploding from his chest. Zola had no fucking problem throwing him under the bus. Then again, she’d always been brutally honest. Her words were true. He deserved every bit of Lily’s terror.

“I don’t want to go back. Please, they… They did things to me. They…” There was a rustling of covers, like Lily was checking herself over. “But it was here. My fingers…”

His stomach dropped like a stone. He could picture her cradling her beloved hands. A low growl built in his throat.

“Was it… Was it all a dream?”

“No, darling, but it’s over. It’s all right. No one will hurt you ever again.”

“Laurent will.” Lily’s words were low, frightened. The thing lurking in his chest quivered.

“I promise you this,” Zola said. “Laurent will never hurt you again, or I will kill him.” Lily’s sharp intake of breath was followed by a shiver as it raced down his spine.

It was a warning.

“I want to go home,” Lily breathed.

“All right, darling. I’ll take you home. But… Are you sure? There are creatures out there, bad, wicked creatures. They will do exactly what the witches did.”

“No. No, no, no.” A sob followed those words. “No.”

“You know it’s true, don’t you? How about you stay here where it’s safe? Where I can protect you?”

“But, Ania.”

“Will you feel better if she’s here? If you can talk to her?”

“Yes,” she gasped. “Yes.”

Laurent scrubbed a hand over his face. She had asked him for exactly that. He’d denied her.

“If you talk to her, will you agree to stay here for now, where it’s safe? At least until you are well?”

“You’ll really… You’ll let me talk to her?” The amount of hope in Lily’s voice made him curse under his breath. “All I wanted, all I wanted was to just…to just let her know that I was okay. I… I had to try to leave, to tell her. To tell her I wasn’t… I didn’t kill Daniel. That I’m not hurt.”

“I’ll make a deal with you, darling.”