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“I know.” More tears poured down her face. “I know. I don’t need to hear it, nor do I want to. All I want is you right now. Can you please just… I don’t know… Just be here for me? Help me?”
“Always, Kitten.” I got up and approached her, cradling her face in my hands. I kissed her forehead and pressed mine against hers, breathing in deep.
I wasn’t expecting her to lift her head and trap her lips against mine. I kissed her back and gently, very gently, pulled her naked body close to me, hoping it would show her that regardless of what happened, I still loved her. I still fucking wanted her as long as she wanted me too.
“Help me in the tub?” she asked.
Grabbing her hands, I watched angrily as she shakily lifted each blood-soaked leg up and got in, sinking down and releasing a painful whimper when she got settled.
“Are you okay?”
“I-I’m sore,” she admitted. “I hurt… everywhere.” Then she sucked in a powerful breath before bawling her eyes out all over again. “I… I can’t believe he did this to me.”
“Shhh, baby. Don’t even think about that right now. You’re with me now and you’re safe.”
She continued to cry as I grabbed a bar of soap and the loofah hanging around the shower head.
I delicately washed her body, my jaw ticking. She hadn’t been in the water five minutes and it was already dyed bright red.
“Do you think you can stand?” I asked her. “I’d rather not wash your hair in blood-stained water.”
Kitten squeezed her eyes shut and drew in a few calming breaths. As she reached for my hand, I took it and helped ease her up. I drained the nasty water and then turned on the shower.
“I-I can do it,” she said after a moment. “Do you think you can get me some fresh clothes?”
I nodded. “Yeah, of course.” I reached up to grab the shower curtain, my anger writhing as I watched her slightly bend over to grab my cheap shampoo, hissing sharply under her breath.
“I’m okay,” she promised. “I’ll be out in just a minute.”
I didn’t want to leave the room, but I also didn’t want to upset her by hovering, so I pulled the curtain closed and did like she’d asked, grabbing a set of clothes she’d left here months ago from out my dresser. Once they were in my hands, I walked out the room long enough to grab a fresh towel from the hall closet.
Samara shut off the water and opened the curtain, raising her arms and letting me wrap the towel around her.
“Tell me what to do, Kitten.” My voice shook as I stared helplessly at the bruises scattered up and down her neck. “I-I don’t know what to do.”
“You can help me step out the tub for starters,” she uneasily grumbled.
I did just that and backed away to give her some space.
“I’ll be right outside, okay? Your clothes are right there on the counter.”
“Thank you. And hey,” she started, stopping me as I made to leave. “I-I love you, Jace. You know that, right?”
“I know you do,” I promised. “I love you, too. Nothing and nobody will ever change that.”
“What?” I gasped, the news leaving me breathless. “Finn’s alive!?”
Samara curled up tighter against me, nodding against my chest. We were in bed, under the warm blankets. When Rhett told me what happened, all he’d relayed was that Damien led Samara into a trap and how it ended with his brutal assault. Rhett never mentioned anything about Finn being alive or the note Xavier found next to Finn’s body.
“Mmhmm,” she hummed, keeping her face and eyes downcast. She hadn’t looked at me since she’d gotten dressed and in bed with me. Not once, even while she was catching me up with reality, did her gaze ever attempt to lift and meet mine. I knew why. She didn’t want to force me to look at my father’s disgusting handiwork.
There was nothing I could say. Nothing I could do to make this any easier for her.
FUCK!
This shit was breaking my fucking heart.
“He’s in a coma,” she continued a moment later. “Damien shot him in the head, but thankfully the bullet didn’t puncture his brain. He’s in really bad shape, Jace. But the good news is that he’s safe and seems to be in good hands. I wanted to call you the moment it all went down, but Sharkey was there too, and he said since Damien knew about Finn, then he knew about you too. I...” She paused, gulping loudly, her body shaking as she held me even closer. “I was scared he’d gotten to you too.”
