Page 29 of Clover

Leaving it for now, I reach down to take her hands in mine and feel a warm sticky substance on them. Looking down, I realize its blood. The brief calm is gone again, and my heart rate jacks up three times its normal pace.

“What the hell, Clover?” I bite out. What the hell else did he do to her? Her sweet face, that fucking collar, and now her hand. She’s an artist. If her hands are damaged permanently, she won’t be able to draw anymore. That would kill her.

“It’s ok, it’s my fault. I was using a broken piece of glass as a weapon and held it too tight.” She’s not even looking at her hand. Doesn’t even care. It’s bleeding. All she cares about is me, staring at me like she doesn’t believe it. Like I’m a mirage about to disappear at any moment.

Don’t worry, sweet cheeks. I’m not going anywhere.

Beau appears at my side with strips of fabric in his hands. “Here. Let me wrap it for now. We can clean you up properly at home.”

Clover notices Beau and her eyes soften. Releasing my hands, she wraps them around Beau’s neck, ignoring the makeshift bandages in his hands. He returns her hug, squeezing her tightly but tentatively. Unsure what else might be bruised or bleeding. I can hear his exhale as he holds her. Pressing a soft kiss to her uninjured cheek before he softly presses her away so he can tie the material around her palm.

“We should really get going,” Zander says from a few feet away, where he’s been keeping guard over our reunion. Clover notices him and Magnus not far from him and smiles as more tears fall from her beautiful blue eyes. But she’s smiling, so they must be happy tears. Or tears of relief? Either way, they’re not sad tears.

“Come on, sweet cheeks.” I don’t even wait to ask her if she can walk and scoop her up into my arms and cradle her close to my chest. She doesn’t argue and wraps her arms around my neck, bringing herself once again against my neck and chest. Needing the nearness as much as I do. I give her a quick kiss to the temple before striding out the trashed condo and up the stairs where we meet up with Arrow, who nods and visibly relaxes when he sees Clover curled in my arms.

It only takes us five minutes to get out of the penthouse and down to the garage, and into the truck. Arrow climbs into the third row allowing Beau, Clover, and myself to sit in the second row. Magnus is driving, and Zander is in the front passenger seat. There’s nothing for any of us to say now that it’s done. So, we drive in silence with the radio playing quietly to break the awkward quiet when Clover raises her head from my chest. Staring warily at me, she speaks softly.

“I’m sorry, Nix.”

“What the hell do you have to be sorry for? None of this is your fault.” I assure her.

“Yes, it is. If I had just listened to you and made sure I was with someone, Braxton wouldn’t have gotten the jump on me. If I’d just waited for Rosie, none of this would have happened.” Her words are broken with small sobs. When she mentions Rosie, her eyes widen, and her speech speeds up. “Please don’t blame her. It’s not her fault I convinced her to let me drive alone.”

“Shhh. It’s ok I don’t blame anyone but myself. I should have known he was going to do something and not left you.” I rub my hand in calming circles on her back, easing her to rest against my chest. She’s wearing some sort of pink silk blouse, and it’s speckled with blood droplets but is soft under my hand. It’s not the shirt she was wearing when she was taken, so he must have given it to her. Knowing that the soft material burns my fingertips every time I touch her. I need to get her home and in her own clothes and bed. She looks like she’s slept about as much as I have. Her hands are still shaking with small tremors, and her eyes are jittery, looking from place to place and back to me. Like she’s tweaking on something.

“It’s not your fault either, I—”

“No, I will not let you blame yourself for this. For fucks sake, Clover, he kidnapped you.” I pin her with a look that saysIf you try one more time to blame yourself, I’m going to kiss you till you shut up.I might do that anyway. I’ve missed her lips and the warm softness that melts my heart every time I kiss her. Glancing down at said lips, I run the pad of my thumb over them, stilling the nibbling she’s been doing to her bottom lip. She stills and lets out a soft breath.

“Thank you.”

“Don’t thank me just yet. I still need to make Braxton pay for what he’s done.” Again, she curls into my side and rests her head on my chest, her breathing slowing as she calms. My heart aches to see her like this. Frail and weak. My girl is not weak. She demolished that condo and was using a piece of broken glass as a weapon. She will recover from this. She will be strong and happy once again.

I will see her smile and laugh and call me names while taunting me with her tempting body and smart mouth. This will only bring us closer together. I won’t let it ruin her or me or us. We’re stronger than anything—together.

Chapter 16

Clover

Ashriek breaks free from my lips as I shoot up in bed. The nightmare coming to an abrupt end as I blink back the darkness and realize I’m back in my own room in Nix’s house. My savior himself lying next to me, now propping himself up on one elbow-rubbing at his eyes. My yelling having woken him.

“What it is, baby? Are you okay?” This giant of a man is so soft and sweet with me it makes my heart swell when I see his golden eyes glowing in the moonlight. I rub at my neck where the collar was. Nix cut it off as soon as we got home. It’s now in the trash outside, far from me. A faint red mark from the leather rubbing against my skin the only evidence it was ever there.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just a bad dream.” My heart rate is dropping back to normal, and the panic is ebbing.

“It’s ok, you’re home now. You’re safe.” He sits up and cups my unbruised cheek. I can’t help but lean into him. His warmth soothing the ache and anxiety the dream brought on. I feel safe in his touch, but am I really? Braxton is still alive out there. Granted, he’s probably still icing his family jewels and won’t be able to use them for a long time. But he’s still there.

I wonder if he knows I’m gone yet.I wouldn’t mind seeing the look on his face when he enters the condo and finds me gone. Plus, all his security team is dead on his living room floor. Nix probably thought I wasn’t paying attention, but I was. I saw the massacre they laid down to get to me. I’ll never be able to repay them for what they did. Any of them.

“I just need some water.” I don’t want to pull away from him, but I feel a little lost at the moment. Wanting to return to my life and what it was before but unable to shake Braxton’s touch completely just yet.

“I’ll get it for you.” He starts to roll off the bed pushing the white comforter to the side. Before he gets very far, I reach out and grab his forearm.

“No, it’s ok. I’ll get it. I need to use the restroom anyway.” I lie. I don’t really need to, but I need a moment to clear my head. Before he can argue, I slip out of bed, walk briskly to my attached bathroom, and click the door shut behind me. Not giving one look back to Nix in my bed.

Flipping on the light, I make my way to the sink and splash cold water over my face. Being careful not to smack the bruise and my fading black eye. Taking in a few slow, deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth, I’m able to steady my heart rate and suppress the anxiety. In my nightmare, I woke back in Braxton’s condo, and it wasn’t the threat of violence or unwanted sex that ate at my insides. It was being alone, forgotten. Left to rot by those I thought cared about me. Nix never came to rescue me, Rosie didn’t care that I was gone, Faust was disappointed in me for leaving without telling them, and Beau didn’t bandage my hand, which isn’t as bad as they thought it just bled a lot.

Looking down at the gauze around my left palm, where the glass I wielded as a weapon left a two to three-inch slice in my skin. The white medical fabric is slightly damp from the water. What would I have become if they’d never come for me? What would I have done to escape? I’ve never been suicidal before but being trapped there knowing no one cared. No one was coming with only Braxton to interact with. I may have sunk to that level after a time. There’s only so much a person can take before they break. Braxton would have won. He would have broken me. But not with his sexcapades and leather restraints. Instead, with his ability to separate me from everyone else and kill the spirit in my heart.

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