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SAWYER
Seething.I am so furious I’m seeing spots. I knew she had been beaten and abused by that piece of shit West Coast fucker, but seeing evidence of it all over her body has me almost over the edge. We all decided after she fell asleep on the couch to be careful with her, not to push too hard for answers. I hope I didn’t scare her with the intensity of my anger.
Dr. Lawson walks out of the room and down the hall to me, a stern look on her face. “You.” She points at me. “Have to be gentle with her, emotionally and physically. Do not push that girl.”
“Did she tell you anything about what happened to her?”
“HIPPA laws prevent me from disclosing that information.”
I snort derisively. She breaks laws all the time for us. “As if you care about that.”
“I do when it comes to an abused woman who clearly doesn’t understand that she might have escaped an abusive relationship, but jumped right into the snake pit.” She walks to the front door. “I love you and the rest of the boys. I’ve been your doctor since you were a newborn, but the lives you lead are dangerous. She needs complete honesty from you if you are dragging her into it.”
I nod because she’s right. “What are her orders?”
“I gave her pain meds that she needs to take every four hours. I think she has a few broken ribs. Make sure she’s not lifting anything heavy or running. She needs to gain at least twenty-five pounds but do it slowly, don’t push food. I also recommend therapy as soon as she’s willing.”
“We can do all that.”
“Good. Call me if you think she’s in increasing pain or if anything seems worse.”
“Will do. Thank you.”
Closing the door behind my doctor, I wait patiently for Liv to shuffle into the living room. Her beautiful brown eyes are cast down to the floor, and it's clear she doesn't want to talk about the full extent of her trauma. I want to protect her. We need to know what happened, so we can form a plan, delivering justice in the only way we know how. We will destroy him. Slowly. Painfully. We will ruin him with as much bloodshed as possible if the truth is what I fear it to be.
“Liv,” I call her over quietly but firmly. As soon as she’s standing in front of me, I slowly lift my hands to her waist, tugging on the hoodie she’s wearing. “I’d like you to lift this and show me your stomach.”
After a slight hesitation, she pulls it up to where it just covers her breasts. I see the darkest bruising still coloring her side, right along her rib cage. Parts of the bruise are fading, but I can make out darker spots that I imagine are from knuckles. I try to breathe as quietly as possible because the longer I look at her emaciated, battered body, the more I want to call up the jet and fly to LA right now. I’ve never wanted to hurt another human the way I want to hurt Tripp.
I gently trace her older, yellowed bruises with my fingertips. I hold her hips and urge her to turn around for me, pushing the hoodie all the way up to her shoulders. Her back is just as bad, if not worse. Every ridge of her spine protrudes, and her ribs are clearly visible. I take a quick photo with my phone, but I’m glad I’m the only one here to see this. Nolan honestly might cry. Lake would have trouble keeping a lid on his temper. Grant would... I don’t even know what he’d do. He’s been off since the first text he sent me back yesterday.
“Liv,” I say softly as she turns back around. “I’m so sorry.”
“You didn’t do it,” she replies just as quietly. She lifts her hand to my hair and runs her fingers through it like she used to when we were kids. I forgot how much I love this feeling.
I lean forward and press a light kiss to her shoulder. My intention was to give her a comforting touch, but with the press of my lips to her delicate skin, something stirs within me. A feeling that I shoved deep down the day she came to us and said she was getting married.
All four of us had wanted her. From the first night she hung out with us. There was never any doubt that she fit in so well, her huge heart balancing out the darkness within us that we always shielded her from. That was part of why we decided to let her go. We had thought she’d be better off not being intertwined in our lives and the shady underbelly of the white-collar crime syndicate we are part of.
The amount of corruption, money, power, and greed that we deal with on a daily basis is beyond what anyone outside the organization can imagine. We own politicians. We bankroll judges. We have enough money to buy entire countries if we wanted to, with plenty to spare. The four of us work by our own moral code, one that exists in the murkiest depths of the gray area.
“I’m kind of hungry,” she says, pulling me from my thoughts. “Dr. Lawson also told me to eat with pain meds. Do you have any crackers or something?”
“Yeah, we can find something for you.” I lead her into the kitchen, showing her the pantry and where my housekeeper puts all the snacks.
She grabs a high protein granola bar and walks out to sit on one of the stools at the island. I grab a bottle of water and slide it across the counter to her. While she eats, I shoot a text off to the guys in our group chat.
Sawyer: Liv has a couple broken ribs. She needs to gain weight.
Nolan: I think we all knew that second one.
Sawyer: *sends picture of her back*
Grant: Fuuuuck
Lake: I’m going to fucking kill that cocksucking piece of trash
Nolan: Not if I get to him first
