Page 135 of Shattered Souls
“I haven’t let her out of my sight, Shortcake,” Logan says softly, a relieved smile tugging at the corner of his lips. “Docschecked her out, and she’s perfectly healthy. Not a hair harmed on her head.”
Riley seems to melt into the bed at that confirmation, her throat bobbing as she swallows. Her eyes close, and for a moment, I think she’s fallen back to sleep before she pushes the oxygen mask off her face.
“How—” She stops, licking her lips, and I hurriedly pour her a glass of water and bring it to her lips. She drinks the cool water down greedily before trying again. “How long have I been out?”
“Not long.” Unable to help myself, I smooth my hand over her hair. “A few hours. You passed out from smoke inhalation.” My own voice is thick. “You were unconscious when we found you.”
She gives a small, tired nod, her brows furrowing as she tries to piece together her fragmented memories. “The last thing I remember is breaking the window to escape.”
I take a deep breath, my heart aching at the thought of what she had endured. “When we got there, we saw smoke and flames. The door was locked and burning hot. We heard Aurora scream. Grayson climbed in and got you out.”
At the mention of his name, her eyes scan the room, searching for him.
“He’s still at the house,” Logan says by way of explanation.
She grimaces at the mention of that house, her gaze falling back on Aurora like she can’t bring herself to look away for more than a few seconds at a time.
The questions I’ve been stewing over for the past day that have only become more insistent in the past hours stack on the tip of my tongue. Unable to hold them back any longer, they slip free. “What happened?” I croak. “Did he hurt you?” Fuck, he better not have. “Did he…” I can’t even bring myself to voice that last one aloud.
She gives my fingers another squeeze, those tired eyes fixed on mine. “No.”
A weight I didn’t realize I had been carrying finally lifts from my shoulders, my muscles relaxing for the first time since we found her things in that bathroom.
“He was at the game,” she explains, voice thick and raspy.
“We know,” I interject so she doesn’t have to hurt her throat by talking. “We saw the video footage. You did what you had to to protect Aurora.”
She nods, but her eyes are shiny with tears. “H-he left us alone that first night and all day.” More lines form along her forehead as she frowns. “I think he wanted us to be comfortable. Or perhaps he was trying to get in my head, I don’t know.”
She goes quiet, and I know there’s more. He didsomething.
Leaning forward, I rest my elbows on my knees and brush my thumb across the back of her hand. “You’re safe,” I assure her, holding her bloodshot eyes until her shoulders inch down from her ears.
“Maybe we should wait for Gray,” Logan suggests.
Riley gives a firm shake of her head. “No. He doesn’t need to hear the details…”
I catch Logan’s gaze, his posture deflating as he agrees, and we patiently wait while Riley gathers herself.
“A-after dinner… he… he made me sit in his lap.” Her face scrunches in disgust. “He touched me.” Her voice breaks over the word, and it takes all my self-control to remain seated. To not storm out of here and hunt down the sick, twisted bastard. “He made me kiss him.” Her fingers lift to her cheek, trailing the little red nicks as she gets lost in the memory, shuddering. I’d assumed they were from when she broke the window, though now I’m guessing they aren’t, and yup… Bertram is a fucking dead man. Assuming he isn’t dead already.
My gaze slides to Logan, and despite his comforting hold on Aurora, his eyes spark with the same murderous intent. Jaw clenched, he lifts his gaze to mine, and we’re in agreement.
If Bertram made it out of that fire alive, he will meet his end at our hands for daring to touch Riley. For traumatizing her. For terrorizing her by kidnapping Aurora.
“H-he told me to meet him in his bedroom after I put Aurora to bed,” Riley continues, utterly oblivious to how fucking strong she is at this moment. Sure, her voice is hoarse, her skin pale and coated in soot, but without her having to say anything, Iknowshe fought like hell to get Aurora and herself out of there.
A tear gathers on her lower lid before spilling over, and I reach up to swipe it away. “I-I couldn’t,” she stammers, wide eyes holding mine. “I knew if I did that, he’d break me, and I don’t think I would have recovered this time.”
Squeezing her hand, I state earnestly, “You would have, Ry. You would have because, this time, you wouldn’t have been healing alone. But whatever the hell you did to make sure that didn’t happen, I’m so fucking glad for it.”
“I-I lit the burners on the stove.” She sniffles, wiping at her nose. “B-before I went to his room, I turned on the gas and draped a towel over the stovetop.
“I didn’t know how long it would take. I just kept telling myself to keep him occupied until it ignited. I…” Her eyes go wide with fear. “I didn’t expect the fire to get so big so quickly. I thought I’d have more time to get us out of there.”
Brushing my hand over the back of her head and down the length of her hair, I assure her, “You did. You were so brave.”
Logan clears his throat, and Riley looks his way. “What, uh, what happened to Bertram?”
