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“Is your journal on your desk?” Drake asked. I nodded and he stood up. “I’ll grab it. I’m going to grab her some real food, too. She needs to eat.”
“Thanks,” I said as I kicked off my shoes and crawled onto the second bed, pulling her close so she was cradled in my arms. The way she melted into me with a sigh helped to soothe some of the jagged edges this day had brought out.
The more I relaxed, the more Hiro pushed at me. I couldn’t usually feel a change coming, but this time things were different.
Then again, last he knew Harlow was still missing. Resisting it wasn’t easy, but somehow keeping my focus on her and the demon who could pop in at any moment, I kept him at bay.
For now.
“Hiro?” Her tired, broken voice nearly killed me, but I put on a soft smile. Or my attempt at one.
“Roman,” I corrected. “You’re safe now, Harlow. We finally found you.”
She blinked a few times before that same broken face took over. “No, I don’t want to hear anymore. I know that I’m disposable, that I’m useless.”
I growled at what she was insinuating. Had the demons just berated her for days on end?!
“Look at me,” I commanded. She blinked up at me before her eyes focused on something behind me and another soft whimper escaped. “Smell my scent. I’m real, Harlow. Here. You’re safe. Whatever happened in that room was either a hallucination or demon-induced. It wasn’t real.”
“Maybe to you,” she countered. “It was very real to me.”
My heart broke for the girl who’d already endured enough abuse in her life. If Drake wasn’t going to take care of Vane, I would. I should have already.
“I’m so sorry, Harlow. But you’re safe now. Drake and Ivar tracked you down. We got you cleaned up and now you’re hidden away in Drake’s room.”
“Is it real?” she asked as she tried to look around. The dark circles under her eyes were so bad she looked bruised.
“It is. Drake’s grabbing you food. We need you to eat.”
“I’ve got her medicine,” Ivar said as he appeared, nearly giving me a fucking heart attack.
“Vane wouldn’t give it to me. He said there’d be nothing left when he was done. He was right,” she said in a whisper that had both Ivar and I tensing.
“Drake handled him,” Ivar promised. “From what I saw as they took him out on a stretcher, he was broken to the point it will take months to recover.”
“Why is he alive?” I growled. The man deserved so much worse than whatever Drake did to him.
Our girl perked up at that, turning to look at him, eyes less vacant.
“Will Drake get in trouble?” Harlow asked. She shifted in my arms so her back was pressed into me and she could face her demon protector better.
“No, Vane isn’t stupid enough to tell them what happened,” he promised. “He’s alive because Drake and I both answer to someone more powerful than we are.”
“I answer to no one,” I countered. That earned a small chuckle from Ivar who nodded approvingly.
“So, now that you have a whole group of misfits at your side, what next?” Ivar asked Harlow.
She gave a weak chuckle that quickly shifted to a sob.
“Nothing because I’m fucking useless. Hel didn’t need me, she’s wrong,” she said around her tears. Every offer of protest we had was met with more tears so we stopped. I pulled her closer and held her through it.
By the time Drake returned, she was quiet and, I knew from her lack of talking, numb. He looked relieved to see her awake until he took in my grim face.
“She’s having a hard time. Whatever they convinced her of in there, she believes it,” I explained.
Drake handed me the tray before picking her up far too easily and settling back down with her in his lap.
“Vane was trying to break you, Harlow. But you’re fucking strong. So, snap out of this. You’re going to get him back for this, right? Don’t let him win,” he ground out. I was going to protest at his brash delivery, but she let out a sniffle and sat up a bit straighter.
