Page 128 of Falcon

“I’m in here.”

I hear her small voice call from behind the bathroom door.

“Can I come in?” I ask. I don’t want to barge in on her.

“Of course. It’s open.”

I push the door and a billow of steam rolls out. I am expecting to smell the sweet scent of her bodywash, but I don’t. All I smell is the warm steam and whatever they used to clean the bathroom before we checked in.

She’s completely naked in the tub with hot water lapping right at her breasts and her hair piled in a bun on top of her head. She has her legs bent so her feet are flat on the bottom of the tub and her knees and thighs are exposed on the surface. I can see the water droplets making a home on the orchid tattoo I’ve explored many times with my hands and mouth.

She has her arm resting on the ledge with an ice pack propped on her knuckles.

There are black mascara streaks down her face.

“You’ve been crying.”

She sniffs once then nods. “Yeah.”

I step closer and sink to my knees at the tub’s side, brushing the slightly damp tendrils of hair from her forehead. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine. I’m okay.”

“You don’t have to lie to me, you know?”

“I’m not lying. I’m okay. He deserved it.”

“Tell me what happened. Joe filled me in on what he knew, but I know that’s not everything.”

I remove the ice pack from her hand to peek at the damage. It’s really red and swollen, and she did break the skin, but Joe was right, it’s not broken.

She tells me everything from beginning to end.

From going to the bathroom, to seeing the drunk girl, to the things Braxton was saying to the girl, all the way to Joe showing up.

And with each word that leaves her lips, the harder it is for me to stay here and listen. All I want to do is rip this city apart until I find him for putting his hands on her.

“What did he say to finally make you hit him?”

She looks down at her knees. I can see her chest rising and falling with each breath.

“He said he was going to make sure he hurt you. That he wasn’t going to stop punching you until they pulled him off. He said he would make sure you never walked again.”

Tears begin to pool in her eyes.

“Then he said he would find me afterward and make me lick your blood off his knuckles while he fucks me.”

I yank away from the tub and push to my feet.

“I’ll kill him.”

“Wait!” She scrambles up out of the tub. “Marco, stop!” The ice pack drops to the floor and I feel her standing completely flush with my back, not caring that she’s completely naked nor that she’s dripping wet. “Don’t. Don’t give him what he wants.”

She grips my arm with her good hand and squeezes, trying to get me to turn around, to look at her, and I do.

I spin around with my back toward the door and look at her beautiful, flushed, tear-stained face.

“Faith...” I cup each of her cheeks in my hands. “I would do anything to protect you. You know that, right? I’d slay any demon for you. Any dragon. Any monster.”

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