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Fuck. I tighten my arms around her, rocking her, hoping and fucking praying that she'll calm down. But fuck, I don't think she will. I slide my hand into my pocket and reach for my cell. I hit dial on Prez's number.
"Reap, you good?" he asks the second he answers.
"Need you and Seri to come to Esme's," I say through clenched teeth.
"What's goin' on?"
"I have no idea, but she's sobbin' and she's been hurt. I need Seri to help me calm her the fuck down." Right now, the way that I'm feeling, I'm about ready to go find whoever the fuck hurt her and gut them. I don't give a fuck who they are.
"We're on our way. You thinkin' those fuckin' assholes got to her?" he asks.
I shake my head, my jaw ticking. "They had better not," I snarl.
"We'll be there soon, brother. Hang tight." He ends the call, and I know he'll be here within the hour. I'm just fucking praying that I can get Esme to calm down so I can get answers. Right now, I need her to stop crying. The sound is breaking my fucking heart. I feel useless. There's nothing I can do, and I hate it.
"Honey, you've got to talk to me. Tell me what happened. I'm about ready to lose my mind."
She presses further into me, her arms tightening around my neck. "He was there," she whispers. "He must have been waiting for me after I finished work."
Everything in me goes solid. Ice runs through my veins. The fuck?
"He told me that you visited him today. He's crazy, Gray. He's so damn crazy. He told me that we were getting married," she cries, her sobs starting up again and wracking through her body. "I tried to get him off me," she weeps. "He wouldn't let go."
I palm the back of her head and hold her to me. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. That motherfucker. He hurt her. I'm going to enjoy killing him. I'm going to take my fucking time and ensure that he knows what it means to fuck with us. No one touches Esme. No one fucking lays a hand on her head.
"Es," I breathe. The anger I feel is palpable. I want to go find that cunt right now. The only reason I'm not is because Esme needs me. I'd be gone otherwise.
"I'm okay," she whispers. "I promise, Grayson, I'm okay." She lifts her head and looks at me. Her beautiful face is red and splotchy from where she's been crying, damp with tears and snot. She's still so fucking gorgeous. Still the most beautiful woman I've ever seen.
I reach for the bruise on her temple and watch as she winces as I gingerly run my finger over it. "Tell me what happened," I ask, needing to know everything that cunt did and said to her.
She does. She recounts everything that motherfucker said to her, everything he did. It takes a while for her to get everything out as she sobs through it, but I continue to hold her, letting her know that I'm here, giving her support and comfort. All the while my anger continues to grow with each word she says. He shouldn't have touched her. He shouldn't have been anywhere fucking near her. The warning he got at the restaurant didn't sink in. That's fine. I'll make sure that it does. He's not going to get away with what he's done to her. No fucking way.
"My head isn't the worst," she says softly. "I'll be okay. Everything will heal."
Her words have my heart restricting. It's as though she knows from experience. "He hit you before, didn't he?"
She bites her lip, her eyes widening in horror, like she's just realized she's said too much. "Gray."
I shake my head. "Please don't lie to me, Es. Has that cunt hit you before?"
She glances away and nods. "Twice," she says low. "He always apologized and told me he never meant it."
"He's a piece of shit. You know that, right?"
"I know," she whispers. "I was so stupid when I was with him. I felt lost, like I had nowhere to run. I was broken, Gray, so damn broken that I didn't think I could leave, and he knew it."
"He's an abusive manipulator, honey. He knew exactly what he was doin'. He knew what to do to you to ensure that you never left. I'm proud as fuck that you found the strength to do so. So fuckin' proud that you stood up to that cunt."
"But I was weak for so long," she says, dropping her head in defeat. "You know, when all that drama went down with Octavia, when River was hurting her, when he almost killed her, I swore to myself that I'd never let a man do that to me, and that's exactly what happened."
"You are not to blame for what that asshole did to you. Men like him and River aren't men at all. They're boys who are lacking, and the only way to make up for it is to hurt women and children. There's no other reason. You aren't to blame for what that bastard did."
"I'm so sorry," she says.
"The fuck are you apologizing for?" I ask, wondering why she's doing it.
"You don't deserve this drama. You're going through so much already. I'm so sorry. I completely understand if my shit is too much for you. You don't need it?—"
