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SAWYER
Cut a Dick
“GET BACK. MAKE some room.” I cradle Hayley’s bloody and bruised body against me as I relocate her from Aris’s hidden office. That shit wasn’t on the map, nor were there any video feeds leading up to it. If I wasn’t scared for Hayley and her condition, I would hunt the bastard down and murder him. I will murder him the second I get a chance. Screw La Vega. I need a war. I need blood to spill.
But I also need to get it together. I wish someone would beat the shit out of me, too. I failed to protect Hayley like I promised. We had managed to intervene with the show, but Opal grabbed Hayley too fast for me to follow and then security came. We weren’t expecting to set a damn fire, and it’s a shame that more of the place didn’t burn along with the fucker who thought he could sink his fangs into my girl.
“What the fuck. Where was she? How did this happen?” Monroe throws a pile of clothes off the unmade bed.
“Don’t be stupid. You know how. I fucked up.” I flare my nostrils, wishing I could beat my own ass. “Knox! Knox, get your ass in here now!” I don’t know where he is, but I know he’ll hear me. The fucker has better hearing than anyone. “I couldn’t get past the security network fast enough.”
And I’m fucking pissed. I was five minutes too slow to figure out how to change the shock alarm to a pitch that would drop Aris to the ground. Five fucking minutes. It should’ve given me the time I needed to find Hayley, but that damn hidden office was nearly impossible to find. I could hear her screams through the com device I planted on her to monitor her safety. I could hear every damn thing the bastard did to her. And seeing her like this? Aris will pay.
“Oh, fuck. Fuck! Hayley, Jesus.” Knox flies across the small hotel room we’ve taken over as part of our agreement to remain civil here as long as we get free use of the amenities. “What happened?”
Damn it. These assholes need to stop asking. They have eyes. They can fucking see our girl was attacked.
I ignore him with a groan. “Monroe, bring up the feeds. Look through every last one until you get a visual on Aris. He’s a dead man.” I carefully set Hayley on her side, ensuring she doesn’t put pressure on her bloody and bruised ass. The fucker beat her well beyond submission with a studded paddle. He gave her a black eye and cut her long hair. I growl as I search over her small frame, trying to assess what else he did during what felt like the longest minutes of my life.
“I’ll get some towels,” Knox says, disappearing into the bathroom. “Hurry and try to give her blood.”
“She wouldn’t open her mouth on the way here. Something’s wrong.” I bite my wrist and hold it in front of Hayley’s mouth, trying for the second time. “Hey, let me give you some blood. Can you drink? Please, I need you to open up.”
Hayley doesn’t respond, staring blankly like she doesn’t hear me. It twists my insides, and I fear Aris might’ve hurt her far beyond the point of healing with my blood. I don’t actually know how much a donor can be hurt and then healed. I’ve never tried and there is no way I’d test it out.
“How hard did he fucking hit her?” Knox reappears beside me and lays a towel in front of Hayley and eases her onto it. He pulls out his com device and uses the light to shine it in her eyes. I watch as her pupils shrink, reacting. It’s better than nothing. Her heartbeat is all over the place and she’s sweating despite it being cool.
“I don’t know. Sounded like a slap to her face. I couldn’t get a visual. He was gone before I found her.” I offer my arm once again, spilling blood on the towel as I try to get her to react to the bite on my wrist. Her jaw remains clenched so hard that I worry about her teeth. “She was hysterical and reactive when I got there, but the second I picked her up, she shut down. It was like a switch had flipped.”
“Okay, I don’t think he fucked her head up. I think she’s in shock.” Knox grabs a pillow and gently adjusts her clammy, cool body by elevating her feet. “Our blood will heal her physically, but she’s traumatized. I don’t have that kind of experience to help her.” Knox rubs his fingers through her hair. We each have our skills, and Knox knows donor medicine to an extent. I’m the tech junkie, and Monroe specializes in combat, weaponry, and torture.
I clench my hands into fists, trying not to think about what this trauma Hayley experienced means for her. She was already struggling before. We’ve been extra cautious with how we treat her, but this? What if she can never recover? I snap my attention away from her before I lose my shit. “Monroe, do you have a damn visual yet?”
“I’m working on it as fast as I can,” he mutters, tapping the screen of his com device. He groans under his breath, his finger blurring as he tackles checking through over a hundred different feeds. There are cameras everywhere.
“Yo, Sawyer. Get on her level. Don’t tower over her.” Knox keeps himself hunched over and carefully rolls Hayley onto her back despite my growling protest to keep her off her ass. Biting his arm, he dribbles blood over her mouth, using his finger to try to part her clenched jaw.
“I don’t want to force her,” he murmurs, stroking his fingers through her jaggedly cut hair. It shouldn’t make me feel better that she doesn’t react to his blood either, but it does. It’s not just me. “Try to talk to her. See if you can connect with her mentally. But be gentle. Do not force your way into her mind.”
A part of me fears looking into her glassy, blank eyes. What if I’m not gentle enough? What if I hurt her? I keep my growl in check and drop to my knees, resting my chin on the bed. I graze my fingers over her jaw and tilt her head in my direction, finally meeting her gaze.
“Hayley, can you hear me?” I ask, lowering my voice to a whisper. “If you can hear me, just listen to my voice. I want you to try to use your senses. Start with things you see. Think about five things. Could be anything.” I touch my nose. “Even if it’s just the features of my face.”
Her mouth twitches with a tremble, and the most amazing and terrifying thing happens. Her mind opens to me and she floods me with a hurricane of emotions that leave me breathless. I almost lose my concentration and break her eye contact under the intensity and pain that rattles me to my core. The last few times I’ve connected with her mentally, it was pure bliss, just feeling her trust in me. But now? All I feel is the damage and destruction Aris inflicted on her. She drowns in her fear.
“There you go. That’s perfect,” I whisper, my voice turning hoarse. I’ve never felt anything like this. Not with her or anyone. The suffering she experiences shouldn’t be able to keep me on my knees. How she even manages to force a small smirk on her face is beyond me.
“Keep going, Sawyer. It’s working.” Knox rubs his hand over her cheek, whispering in her ear as I work on sending her my strength.
“Now I want you to try to feel four things around you. I don’t care what. The bed. Your palms. Knox’s fingers. My thumb. Whatever. Just focus on the sensation. I know you’re in pain and scared as fuck, but please try.”
Her eyes remain glued on mine, caught in my stare, and she groans as her hand reaches up and touches my cheek. I cover her clammy fingers, letting her press the weight of her hand into my skin. I savor it. Crave more. Her touch does something wild to my insides, and I project how her touch lights me up in the best way.
Again, she intakes another deep breath, her heartbeat still fast but no longer erratic.
“Good girl,” Knox murmurs, letting her rub her head to his hand.
“You’re doing great, Hayley. I want you to focus on three things you can hear. Anything. The sound of my voice. Of Knox’s. The hum of the heater. Your own breath. Just listen and notice them.”
