Page 12 of Bliss: Part 2
That was it. That was fucking it.
Whoever did this, whoever thought they could lay a hand on her and get away with it, they were already dead in my mind. I’d find them. I didn’t care how long it took, I didn’t care what it cost. They were going to pay for this. Every second she suffered, every tear she cried, every bruise and every scar—they were going to pay for all of it.
“I’m so sorry, baby,” I whispered against her hair, trying to keep my voice steady, even though it cracked halfway through. “I’m so fucking sorry this happened to you. You didn’t deserve any of it. You’re safe now. You hear me? We’re all here. We’re not going anywhere. Nobody’s ever going to hurt you again. I swear it.”
She didn’t say anything. She just cried quietly into my shirt, her small body shaking against mine. I could feel how exhausted she was. Her breathing slowed, and bit by bit, the tension in her limbs gave way to sleep.
She finally drifted off again, her tears still damp against my chest. I didn’t move.
I sat there, holding her like something sacred, my hand gently rubbing her back.
It was another night of no sleep for me.
I fucking couldn’t sleep. Not when I knew what the bastard did to her.
About where she’d been, what she’d gone through. What kind of coward you had to be to hurt someone like her. Someone kind. Someone full of light.
Shit, to hurtanyone.
That man was a monster.
I thought about how I was going to single-handedly find the one who did this. And how I was going to make sure he never got the chance to breathe again.
He was going to wish he’d never been born.
“I will never let anything happen to you. Ever again. I promise you, my sweet girl.”
***
That next day, right as the first visiting hour began, the guys showed up again.
This time, they didn’t come empty-handed. They’d brought an actual breakfast spread, just for Bliss. Cereal, milk, sliced bread, a jar of honey, some of her favorite jams, even a little container of butter. They’d thought of everything. She hadn’t asked for it, but they wanted her to feel taken care of. To feel normal and loved.
Bliss was still quiet. Still far from the version of herself we all remembered. The bruises were still there and looking at them keep the anger inside of me present. Her eyes still carried that cautious, heavy look, like she was still halfway stuck in a place she didn’t want to be. But when the guys started unpacking the food and setting it up on the small table by the window, I saw a small change in her. The smallest flicker of light returned to her eyes, and I could see the gratitude. Knowing that she mattered to every single one of us in that room made her feel better.
She sat upright in the hospital bed with her legs tucked under the blanket, a pillow at her back. She didn’t say much, but she let the guys hover around her, each of them taking turns offering something or asking if she needed anything. Rhys cut the crust off her bread. Dash poured juice into the paper cup. Ashby quietly placed a folded napkin in front of her like it was some five-star service. She didn’t smile much, but she didn’t stop them either. She let herself be looked after, and that was a start.
While they busied themselves around her, Odin and I stood off to the side, speaking in low voices with Officer Holloway and Dr. Hansen, who had returned to check in on Bliss and get an update on her.
I kept my voice low, but I didn’t hold anything back. I told them everything Bliss had told me the night before. About the man who had taken her. About how she fainted. The disorientation. The fear. The confusion. I didn’t dramatize it. I didn’t need to. The facts were enough.
Holloway took notes while I talked. She was focused, her expression set in that neutral, professional way, but I caught something softer in her eyes when she looked past me toward Bliss.
“That’s important information,” she said once I finished. She looked up from her notepad.
“We’ve already tracked their trail out of town. We know where the carnival is headed. But this gives us more to work with. If we’re lucky, it’ll speed things up. We’ll find him.”
She paused, glancing toward the hospital bed where the others were gathered, and then back at me.
“She’s lucky to have a family like this,” Holloway added, a small, tired smile forming at the corners of her mouth.
I nodded, not sure what to say to that. I wanted to feel proud, but I was still too raw to feel anything clearly. I was still too on edge, still too angry.
“Yeah,” I said finally, my voice low. “She is. But we’re lucky to have her too.”
Holloway met my eyes for a beat and then nodded once, her smile fading into something more serious. “Have you talked to her about the examination yet? Dr. Hansen mentioned she hasn’t showered, so there’s still a window to collect the DNA. It’s not pleasant, but it could give us something to work with.”
I knew what she meant. I’d known it from the second Bliss first told me what happened. Forensic exams. Swabs. Samples. It was invasive. It was clinical. And it was probably the last thing Bliss wanted to go through right now. But it might be our only shot at physically linking the bastard to what he did.
