“I’m on the shot,” I offer.
Silence falls over the room again and I look up at Colt. His green eyes are already on mine. A mask placed over his face, hiding how he feels for me right now, and my heart races at what he could be thinking.
I will not bow my head. I will not be ashamed of what Nate did to me. He tried to make me a victim. I turned myself into a survivor. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
COLTON
SHE WOKE UP just like Gavin said she would—terrified. She was screaming that she couldn’t breathe and to take the tape off her face. I don’t even think she knew she was talking. In her mind, she was suffocating. He wanted to sedate her again, and I wasn’t going to let that happen. What says she won’t wake up the same way next time? I could calm her down and bring her back to here and now. Gavin had already removed her IV, and I wasn’t going to help hold her down while he started another one.
When he asked us to clear the room, I was ready to body-slam him. Over my dead body will I leave her. I never thought it would be to talk about the possibility of Nate raping her.
I knew he did. The way her clothes were on the floor was all I needed to see. I tried to convince myself that it didn’t happen, but deep down, I knew. He wanted revenge on my friends and me, and she was the easiest target. Or so he thought.
But the way she admitted it? In a room full of men with some she doesn’t even know. It broke my heart while making me also see red that he did that to her. That he thought he could break her. But I know my girl. And she’s a fighter.
She stares up at me, head held high, but there are tears in her pretty eyes. She’s refusing to let them fall. Trying to be strong.
Stepping into her, I wrap my arms around her shoulders and hear her sniff. Her body shakes against mine, and I cup the back of her head, whispering in her ear, “I’m so sorry, princess.”
“I’m—sorry,” she whimpers.
I pull back, my hands on either side of her bruised face. The doctor stitched up the cuts, but the bruises will be there as a reminder for a while. “Don’t. You have nothing to be sorry for. Do you understand me?”
Her pretty, crystal-blue eyes just stare up at me through watery lashes. Nothing that happened was her fault. It’s mine, and there’s nothing I can do to change that or make it better. Nate took something from her that can’t be given back. And I wish he was still alive so I could kill him myself.
“Colt—”
The door opening behind me cuts her off, and I let go of her to turn and see Finn enter with Mike behind him. They’re both covered in blood and dirt from digging Nate’s grave.
“It’s done.” Finn slaps his hands together, knocking off some dirt. He looks at Raylee. “A nail gun?” He arches a brow with a smirk on his face, not knowing what she just confessed to all of us.
“It was the closest thing I could reach.” She wipes the tears from her face, trying to calm herself.
He laughs. “God, I never want to piss you off.”
Mike comes to a stop when his eyes meet hers. He hasn’t said shit about what went down, and I haven’t questioned him. I wanted her awake and coherent. She’s the only one who can tell us what he’s lying about and why. His eyes drop to the floor while silence lingers in the room. Running his hand through his hair, he shuffles from foot to foot. “I better get going.” Mike turns to head to the door.
Alex steps in front of it and leans his back on it. “Not yet. There’re still some things to iron out.”
Mike raises his hands in surrender. “I promise I won’t say anything.”
I look over at Tyson, and he shrugs. It’s up to me if I let Mike walk away from this. What he’s seen. What he knows. I know he won’t run his mouth about what Raylee did to Nate. Finn had Mike help him dispose of the body for a reason. Mike would never tell on himself. No. He’s smarter than that. His fate will depend on what Raylee has to tell us.
“We’re not worried about that,” Alex tells him.
“Guys, come on.” Mike gives a nervous laugh. “I—”
“What’s a Lord?” Raylee asks, interrupting him.
I spin around to face her as the room falls silent. She looks up at me expectantly.
“What did you say?” Jenks asks her, pushing away from the wall.
“A Lord? What is it?”