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I tilted my head slightly, studying his face, his posture, finding it all unreadable. “When did we start playing the game with each other?”
“You started it when you used my need to see Buck dead in order to take off without me.” His tone held a hint of anger. “But you and I are playing two different games.”
“Is that so?”
He stepped closer, bringing us chest to chest. “Manipulation is the number one tool of the game. That’s what Stefan has taught us. You used it to get what you wanted. I’m using it to help you.”
“That’s a shitty way of helping someone,” I snapped.
“I did offer nicely,” he snapped back. “Your stubbornness is blocking your rational thinking. You need help.”
I reeled back a little. “So, what, you thought you’d try manipulation as a different approach?”
He smirked down at me. “Did it work?”
Strangely, I found him very attractive at that moment. It was probably due to exhaustion. On another, more rational note—and as much as I hated to admit it—he was right. I did need help. I’d prefer Brenna’s over his, but that protective feeling inside of me kept me from choosing her. As fucked-up as it was, Jamie had just made it easier to accept his help. I sighed. There were other ways to handle my predicament, but I was too tired to think of them. “Fine.”
He didn’t show triumph in any way or look smug. He simply nodded and carefully began helping me pull my arms through my sleeves before pulling the shirt off of me completely. His jaw clenched as his eyes roamed over the bruises that marred my skin over my ribs and stomach. Without saying anything, he helped me out of the rest of my clothes. He didn’t even attempt to remove his as he proceeded to help me wash my hair.
“You haven’t asked about Louie,” he said as he gently kneaded my scalp.
Hearing his name was like a punch to the gut. “I’m not ready to hear that he’s dead.”
“He’s alive.”
All the air left me as if someone had squeezed both of my lungs. Afraid my legs would give out, I grabbed onto Jamie’s arm. “What?”
CHAPTERSEVEN
Maura stared up at me with such haunted eyes.
“He’s alive,” I repeated. “He’s resting in the room across from mine in the main house.”
She released a shuddering breath and looked down to hide the tears she thought the water had been masking. The soap in her hair began to slide down her forehead. I helped her turn toward the water to wash it away before it could get in her eyes.
With her facing away from me, I was given an unobscured view of her bare back. It was black, blue, and red. Not all, but a handful of lashes were split open and bleeding. Some were short and deep. The others were long and shallow. Her back was a canvas of brutality.
I grabbed her by her upper arms. “Was Buck the one who did this?”
She tensed up.
“Maura,” I gritted out.
Her body relaxed a little. “Yes.”
I rested my head on top of hers as I tried to rein in my rage. I was beyond relieved that she was alive and finally home, but I wished Buck was still alive so I could kill him myself.
“I’d like to be alone now.”
The exhaustion in her voice matched what I felt down to my bones. Between Louie being shot and doing everything I could to find her in the past forty-eight hours, I was running on pure will alone.
I didn’t want to let her go. If I was holding her, I knew she was safe. I knew it was my fear urging me not to let her go. I couldn’t succumb to it. If I was going to repair what I’d broken between us, I had to prove I wouldn’t make that mistake again.
I pressed my lips to her head before pulling away. “I’ll make sure someone is nearby if you need anything,” I said as I climbed out of the shower.
I grabbed a towel on my way out of the bathroom. In the bedroom I found Dr. Ben and Stefan waiting.
Stefan eyed my wet clothes with an unreadable expression. “How is she?”
