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Luke
IwatchLiv’sfaceasshesleeps,tuckedintome,herheadonmybicep.She’sbeenasleepforhours.Imemorizeeverycurveofherface;thetinylinesbyhereyesbecauseshelaughssomuch,theadorablefrecklesthatherlashesrestagainst.Herfulllipsthatdrivemecrazy.Istareandmemorize,becauseIwon’tgettolookatherlikethisforever,asmuchasIwantto.
I should have known better. And now, my sweet, brave Liv has paid the price for my selfishness. Anger replaces my sadness when I see the faint bruising on her jaw and neck. I can’t stomach looking at the others on her body. Knowing those bastards had their hands on her sends me into a murderous rage. I want to lash out and kill the man who did this to her. Only I know deep down, that man is me.
I kiss her nose, and her eyes flutter open. “I didn’t mean to wake you. Go back to sleep.”
She regards me for a moment. “He...touched me,” she whispers, and it takes every ounce of my control to stay in bed with her and not destroy everything around me in a fit of rage.
I close my eyes and take in a deep breath, then cup her face, running my thumb over her cheek to wipe away her silent tears. She stares into my eyes like she’s looking for answers. Answers I can’t give her.
My throat tightens. “I’m so sorry baby, I’m so sorry I failed you." My own tears fall after being held back for so long.
She reaches up and wipes them away like I’ve done for her. “It’s not your fault.”
I just hold her to me. She’s so wrong. It is my fault, and I’ll never forgive myself.
She falls back asleep and I give in to my exhaustion and fall into the abyss.
When I wake, I glance over at the clock and see that it’s almost sunrise. Liv is curled up against me as the little spoon. Even in sleep, she grabs my arm like a lifeline. I kiss her temple and carefully extract myself.
She doesn’t move, which I’m grateful for. She needs her rest. I don’t want to leave her right now, but I need answers. That someone could hack into Nova has me paranoid. I had Mark give Maddox the access codes to figure out how it happened.
I shake my arm as the blood flows through it again, sending stabbing pin pricks all the way to my fingertips. When I can move it again, I grab a t-shirt and a pair of sweats and toss them on. I head to the bathroom. When I leave the bedroom, Liv is in the same position.
The sun is just coming up, but I smell coffee. When I get to the kitchen, I find Mark, Brando, John, and his dad. They look up when I walk in.
“How is she?” John asks.
“Sleeping.” He nods and sips his coffee.
Henry stands and regards me. We haven’t talked yet. “Sir, I’m sorry-”
He cuts me off with an intense glare. “Save it.”
I nod and his nostrils flare as he points down the hall where Liv sleeps. “That girl in there is my entire world. I won’t let you hurt her again,” he growls.
“Dad-” John starts but cuts off when his dad shoots him a hard look. He returns his fiery gaze to me.
“You know what you need to do. Be a man and do it.” He storms down the hall and disappears into our room. I let him go.
I swallow and let out a sigh.
“He’s just scared for her. Give him some time to cool down,” John says.
I shake my head. “He’s right.”
John sighs and runs a hand over his short hair. “Look, I know what I said before, but I wasn’t thinking it through. She needs you to help her get through this.”
Mark looks between us with a frown but doesn’t speak.
“You were right, John."
He sighs. “Just hold off for now.”
I nod and he settles into his chair.
“What do we know?” I ask Mark.
