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I frowned, and glanced at the body lying at my feet for the last time. Empty eyes stared back at me. “Yes.”
“Come on.” Nick stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me. “Let’s get you home.”
Home…
I didn’t know where that was anymore. Still, I let him lead me out the front door and along the walkway.
“Watch your step,” Nick urged.
I’d almost kicked the body lying in the dark. Black on black shifted And I jerked my gaze up, flinching at the movement.
“It’s okay…it’s one of ours.”
One of ours…one of ours…the bodyguards that protected us stepped out of the gloom. One of them met my stare and gave a slow nod. I remembered him from the house, the house we stayed at. “He knew my dad.”
“That’s right, princess. He knows your dad.”
My feet moved, Nick’s hold around my shoulders the only thing driving me forward. We made it to the four-wheel drive and the door opened for me to climb in. Then I realized. “My knife.”
“It’s right here, my lioness.” Tobias neared, grasped my hand gently, and pressed the hilt into my palm. The metal was warm, and now, sickeningly familiar. “Keep it on you, just until you can work through the thoughts in your head.”
Work through the thoughts in my head?
How was I ever going to do that?
I climbed in, then locked my seatbelt down as my brothers followed, and before I knew it, we were pulling away. Leaving it all behind, every last…sickening image.
I just killed a man…
The words resounded, along with the memory of the spray of blood. I looked down, and saw the smears still on my arms and felt the wetness on my jeans. The cloying, meaty scent surged into my throat. “I’m going to be sick.”
“Fuck,” Nick snapped, then jerked the wheel.
Hands gripped me as I was thrown sideways. Tobias dove across me, yanked the door handle, and shoved it open. Acid spilled in the back of my throat as I clawed the clasp of my seatbelt and threw myself out of the car. Heat burned, carving all the way up as liquid shot from my mouth. I stumbled and threw my hand out to brace against the car, but Tobias grabbed my arm, steadying me, and murmured. “That’s it, let it all out.”
The asphalt blurred in front of me as Tobias held me gently. His other hand went to the middle of my back, caressing, stroking. “You did so well, princess. So goddamn well. I’m so fucking proud of you. Look how strong you are.”
“I don’t feel strong,” I spluttered as my belly clenched and I heaved.
“Oh, but you are. How many women do you think could do what you just did?” His words praised. “How many women go through their entire lives feeling powerless and afraid? You did it for them. You did it for you.”
I shook my head as real tears began to fall.
“You are so fucking strong. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone as strong as you. You make me proud. Even if you hadn’t done a goddamn thing tonight, you are breath-taking.”
The vise-like grip on my belly eased, so I swiped my mouth with the back of my hand and turned my gaze to his. Even with my vomit glistening on the tops of my boots and strands of my hair stuck in the corners of my mouth, even with smears of blood on my arms and more sticking my jeans to my thighs, he still looked at me with the kind of hunger that made my cheeks burn.
The car’s engine throbbed. Nick and Caleb were waiting.
“So, we move on,” Tobias murmured. “We move on and we grow stronger, okay?”
I nodded.
Tobias dropped his hand from my arm and held it out instead. “The first step is getting back in the car.”
I swallowed, hating the taste. Still, I took his hand and climbed in. Rocks kicked up as Nick pulled away the moment the doors were closed. I gripped Tobias’s hand, holding on tight as we sped through the backstreets and made our way back to the Rossi house.
My legs weren’t shaking anymore when we pulled up and I climbed out without help. In fact, I felt steadier, surer. Still a little like a toddler finding my feet, but that strength stayed with me, as did Tobias’s words. The guards stayed at the gate and I saw more of them now, probably ready in case there’d be a problem and retaliation from Killion’s men.
