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“Don’t rip the door off. Where’s Garrett? Or Ms. Jimmie?” Gage asked.
I didn’t fucking know. Garrett had left me in his office to look over some footage from a security camera. I had no clue where he’d gone after. I pounded on the door again, calling her name.
“Lord, what a racket,” Ms. Jimmie, the Hugheses’ cook and house manager, was walking toward us with a key ring in her hand. “Step aside, boy. I’ll open it up. Don’t know why it’s locked.”
She rattled the keys while she found the correct one, then slid it inside. When the door swung open, she stepped back. “Leave it unlocked when you leave, boys,” she said. I pushed by her, and my eyes scanned the dark room until they landed on Trinity.
FUCK!
I rushed over to the corner where she was rocking on the floor. Her knees tucked under her chin and her eyes closed tightly. She was muttering something, but I couldn’t understand what she was saying.
“Jesus Christ,” Gage said behind me.
“Trinity, look at me, baby,” I said as gently as I could.
She kept rocking. I battled with what to do. What was happening? She clearly hadn’t heard me. This was what Maddy had seen. This shit was not okay. What horrific trauma would cause this?
I cupped her face with my hand. “Trinity, please, baby. Open your eyes and look at me.”
She paused her rocking a moment, and the muttering stopped, but her eyes stayed tightly closed.
I brushed my thumb over her cheek. “It’s me. Open your eyes. You’re okay. I’m here.”
She sucked in air as if she was struggling to breathe. What the fuck was happening now? I’d never felt so helpless in my life.
“She’s choking.” Gage sounded panicked. “Why the fuck is she choking?”
I didn’t know!
“Trinity, you’re okay. You can breathe, baby. Please take a deep breath.” It was all I could do to keep my voice calm.
She gasped loudly and let out a cry. That was it. I couldn’t handle any more of this. I pulled her into my arms and carried her to the leather sofa. I sat down, cradling her, and she started breathing normally again. Her hands had released her knees, and I watched as her eyelashes fluttered open. When her eyes met mine, she froze for a moment, then threw her arms around my neck, clinging to me as if her life depended on it. A loud, heart-wrenching sob shook her body. It was followed by another. I’d never heard anyone cry like this. Knowing something had hurt her so badly that it caused this kind of reaction was fucking unbearable.
Someone was going to die a very brutal death. I didn’t know who yet, but I would. I held her tightly, whispering in her ear. Promising her that she was okay. I had her. No one could get to her. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her. She continued to sob, ripping me to fucking shreds with each pitiful wail.
I ran my hand down her hair and pressed kisses to the side of her head. I wasn’t just consoling her, I realized. I was consoling me too. This shit wasn’t happening again. Whatever the fuck I had to do to fix this, I would do it.
Gage was standing in front of the door, which he’d closed behind us, with his arms crossed over his chest, looking ready to murder the entire guest list. His jaw ticced as he stood there. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t have to. If he felt even half of what I did right now, I understood.
My mind was reeling over who at this party could have caused this. I’d never even seen her tear up before. Not once, and women fucking cried. But not Trinity. She was sobbing now, and her hold on me was a death grip. I didn’t loosen my hold on her. For the moment, I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to ever let go of her. I wanted to fix this. Make sure this never happened again. I couldn’t stand the thought of it.
Her sobs began to ease, and they became small hiccups. I wasn’t letting go of her. I couldn’t and keep my sanity. I kissed her cheek, then leaned back to look at her face. Her eyes were swollen and red-rimmed. She looked so damn broken.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
If she’d taken a sword and shoved it through my heart, it would have hurt less than hearing her say those two words.
I rested my forehead against hers. “Please, Trinity. Don’t say that. Ever. I don’t want to ever hear you apologize for anything the rest of my life. I don’t think I can handle it.”
She sniffled. “I made a scene. I broke a glass,” she said softly.
“I don’t fucking care. All I care about is that you’re okay,” I told her.
I reached up and held her face in my hands. “Who was he? I don’t need why. I don’t need an explanation. I need a name. That’s all. Nothing more.”
The fear in her eyes was only going to make his death more violent. Had my brother known about this? Had he seen her like this? If he’d known, wouldn’t he have contacted me? He might not have taken lives, but I fucking did.
“He’s here,” she whispered. “I don’t know why.”
