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I don’t let go of Lia as the lift moves in an upward motion. I’m terrified that if I do, she’ll be snatched away somehow. I want to ask her if she’s hurt, what they did to her, but I’m struggling to see straight. My vision is wobbly, and I realise I’m starting to lean on her rather than her leaning on me.
“Ryan?” She says my name in a panic, realising herself that I’m not supporting my own weight entirely.
I don’t answer her. Instead, I watch the numbers climbing until they reach the right floor. The doors open and I pull her out into Luke’s apartment. It’s not entirely dark in the space. There are a few wall lights still on, illuminating the floor. I have no idea if he came here after we left Kane’s mansion, but this is the safest place for Aurelia to be. I order her to sit on the sofa, using the back of it to steady myself.
“You need to sit down before you fall down.”
She’s right, I do feel dizzy. But I’m not doing anything until I know she’s safe. I call Luke’s name. If he’s here, I don’t want him to freak out thinking there are strangers in the living room.
He appears in the doorway moment later, a gun in his hand. He lowers it as soon as he locks eyes with us. He turns and shouts back to the bedroom. “Sariah.”
Aurelia urges me to sit down, and I do so before my legs give out.
“What the fuck happened?” Luke demands as he looks between us.
“Charlotte’s men attacked us.” The tremble in Lia’s voice makes me want to kill someone. She shouldn’t be scared. She shouldn’t have to live her life in fear of what her parents are going to do.
“The blood, is it yours?” Luke asks.
I shake my head. “There’s a dead man in the apartment,” I say. “The others got away, I think. I don’t know. I did enough to put them down and then got the hell out of there.”
Aurelia kisses the side of my face, her hand slipping into mine. She squeezes tight, letting me know she’s here and that she is not going to leave me.
Sariah steps into the room wearing a pair of tiny shorts and a camisole top. She takes us both in, gasping. “What happened?”
Luke doesn’t answer her but instead says, “Can you bring my phone please?”
She heads back into the bedroom and returns a moment later with his mobile. Once she’s given it to him, she rushes off towards the bathroom. When she comes back, she’s holding a couple of wet towels. She hands one to me and puts the other on the coffee table. “He got a lot of blood on you,” she observes.
Aurelia reaches out and takes the towel with a murmur of thanks. Then she starts to clean my face. I watch as Luke steps away to make a call, no doubt to one of his brothers. I don’t focus on him. Instead, I set my attention back on Aurelia.
“Did they hurt you?” I ask, my eyes crawling over her face.
Her fingers go to her cheek, which is starting to redden. “I’m okay. I’m more worried about you. You don’t seem with it.”
I don’t feel with it either. My brain feels rattled. “Took a punch to the head. I guess my brain isn’t that hard.” My joke falls flat.
“Are you dizzy?”
“The room is spinning,” I admit. I squeeze her hand. “I don’t care about that. As long as you’re safe.”
“I care about that.”
My fingers trail over the rip in her T-shirt. “What were they trying to…?” I trail off, not sure I want to know the answer.
She shakes her head, which eases some of the pressure in my chest. “One of them grabbed me. It tore as I was trying to get away. My mother might want me, but she doesn’t want me touched like that. I’m of no value if I’m not a virgin.”
I smirk at her. “It’s a little late for that.”
Her eyes roll. “You had to go there, didn’t you?”
Luke steps over to us. “Kane and Zeke are on their way over, plus a cleaning crew.”
Knowing we’re safe now, I close my eyes and let myself relax.
