Page 37 of Dying in Flames (Reborn 4)
“Good,” Croy spit out, his jaw clenching as he struggled with his wolf, who clearly was trying to break to the surface.
“We need to get the security camera footage from that hallway,” I said quietly. “We need to know how the hell this happened, who he was working with, and anything fucking else. I don’t believe he pulled this off alone, but it also doesn’t seem like Malcolm’s M.O.”
Ledger’s voice practically caused me to jolt. “How long?”
“How longwhat?” Anani clarified.
“How long did he have her in that fucking room?”
I knew exactly what he was asking. I blinked away the feeling associated with that concept and what I would do if I found out he’d hurt my angel like that. I exhaled slowly before trying to figure out what to tell Ledger to appease his fears…because the truth was, I didn’t know.
We hadn’t been there for her. We hadn’t kept her safe. We’d failed Maya.
“It can’t have been long. I heard her phoenix call out to us and immediately went to find her. That was only a few minutes after the first explosion.”
“Should we take her to the hospital?” Sai asked quietly, his voice almost shaky.
Henry looked up, his eyes black as he seemed to resist the urge of what he wanted to say in exchange for, “I will call in someone to come see her. I could handle most of it…” He swallowed and shook his head. “I don’t know if I will be able to focus like I should. We need someone more level-headed than I am right now.”
At least he recognized that.
“Let’s just get home.”
The drive was long, but when we reached our property, we went through the main gate and pulled up to the house. Luckily for us, it seemed the new security precautions we’d put in place with teams surrounding the perimeter were working. It helped, of course, that most of the reporters from the big stations were probably still downtown, assuming we hadn’t left the club.
I shook my head, knowing that this weird fixation humans and supernatural creatures alike had on Maya could only result in the worst situation. Not that I blamed them—she was perfect. That wouldn’t stop me from killing them though.
As I lifted her out of the car and walked into the house, I made my way immediately upstairs. I brought her into the bathroom and turned on the shower with one hand before bringing her towards the counter and sitting her on top of it. I pulled back, and she opened her nearly black eyes, staring at me with this emotionless expression that scared the hell out of me. I moved slowly to unwrap her from the blanket before carrying her over to the now steaming shower, sitting her on the bench inside. Almost immediately, she pulled her legs up to her chest and let the water rinse over every inch of her skin.
“Atlas,” she whispered after a few minutes.
“Yeah, angel?”
She swallowed. “I killed him.”
“He deserved it.”
She turned her head, resting her cheek on her knee before saying, “I know.”
That surprised me. I agreed, but it surprised me that she said it.
Then she surprised me even more. “Join me?”
“Are you sure? I don’t know…I don’t want to scare you or move too fast. I can stay outside the shower, angel. I just want to take care of you.“
“I want your hands on me,” she murmured. “Please?”
“Of course.” I pulled off my shirt and then my pants, leaving on my boxers, before stepping into the shower with her. She plastered herself against me as I pulled us further under the multiple shower jets and began to rinse the ashes off every inch of her.
Rinse Lorn off her.
Literally and figuratively, I washed away every trace of him, my lips trailing over her skin in a soft and what I hoped to be soothing manor. Considering her eyes were closed and she seemed almost sleepy, I had a feeling it was working. It wasn’t until she was completely cleaned up and back against my chest that I asked the question I’d been avoiding.
“Angel.” I brushed my fingers over the bruises at her neck, hating the ones I’d seen on her ribs, back, and legs as well. “We are going to have a doctor come to the house. Is that okay? Would you rather go to the hospital? I’m not sure…” I hesitated. “I just want to make sure that we do anything we can to make you feel better.”
“It’s just bruising,” she whispered. “I think I’m fine.”
“I meant for anything else that could have happened as well,” I hedged quietly.
