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“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice terse with strain. “That cabrón—”
I dragged in a long breath. “I dealt with him. I’m fine.”
Only as I spoke did it sink in how true those words were. Not the slightest quiver of guilt or regret rose up at the sight of the man I’d murdered.
I raised my chin defiantly. “The world is better off without this prick. I did what I had to do to make sure it wasn’t me lying there in a puddle of blood.”
Rafael hugged me tighter for a moment and pressed a kiss to the top of my head. “You did fucking amazing, Lou. Both out there on the ice and right now. The bastard got everything he deserved. But maybe next time, wait until I’m there for backup.”
I grimaced. “I didn’t really expect to find him. He’s never stuck around before.”
A hint of wryness crept into my bodyguard’s tone. “And he never will again. Let’s get you cleaned up to go back to your celebrating. I can handle the mess back here. Somehow I don’t think this asshole is going to be missed.”
“You’ve got that right.”
I pushed myself upright, standing next to Rafael as he checked over my minor wounds. My nose wrinkled at the metallic scent now lacing the air, but I didn’t let myself look away from the man I’d killed.
Hehaddeserved it. And now the world had one less psycho in it. Mylifehad one less psycho in it.
I might not want to resort to my mother’s bloody methods, but I’d done what was necessary. Come what may, no matter how far I tried to leave my past behind, I had to hold on to a little of what I’d learned.
I could never let myself get so afraid to turn to violence that I’d falter when it was truly the only answer.
TWENTY-SEVEN
Luciana
By the timeRafael and I emerged into the main hallway to meet Niko and Jasper, the full impact of what had just happened hit me.
I’d been ambushed by my lunatic stalker. He’d nearlykilledme.
His blood was still clinging to my skin on the tee I’d covered up with a hoodie from the equipment bag Rafael had surreptitiously retrieved for me.
None of the blood or my minor wounds was showing, but Jasper took one look at me and frowned. “Are you okay, Lou? What happened?”
“I’m fine,” I said, managing a smile that I could feel came out tight. “I just…”
As I trailed off, momentarily lost for words, Rafael stepped in. Ducking his head and lowering his voice, he must have conveyed the gist of what I’d just been through to the other two men.
Niko’s eyes widened with a stiffening of his shoulders, and rage flashed in Jasper’s eyes, but Rafael gripped the younger guy’s shoulder.
“I’m going to take care of everything else. Lou will be okay—it was just a lot.”
I shook myself out of my daze. “Yeah. And it’s over now. So let’s get on with the celebrating!” I aimed a steadier smile at my men. “I want to enjoy what we pulled off here today and forget about the assholes we’ve had to tackle. There’s no one I want to think about other than the three of you.”
A whiff of the bloody odor reached my nose, and I wrinkled it before adding, “And we should definitely go back to the apartment first, because I have some washing up to do.”
Niko patted his phone in his pocket. “I’ve gotten a few calls, media enquiries and a possible new sponsor, but I already put them off until we had a chance to regroup. That can wait until at least tomorrow.”
My bodyguard gave me a quick kiss and disappeared back into the maintenance hallway to take care of the body. Just this once, I was grateful for the connection Rafael and I shared with the criminal underground—it meant that he knew how to make problems like this disappear without a trace.
I let Niko drive and stretched out in the plush backseat. When we got home, I ditched the bloody shirt and dragged my sore and soiled body into the bathroom to start the shower running.
“You sure you don’t need any help, Angel?” Niko asked, concern etched across his handsome features. “I don’t mind if you need to lean on me.”
“I’m good. I’ll let you know if I’m feeling wonky. But I think I’m feeling more like ordering in than going out for dinner now. Why don’t you two figure out something delicious for us to chow down on?”
When I stepped under the hot spray and inhaled a lungful of soothing steam, the last of the adrenaline rush faded away. I let out a relieved sigh.
