“Come here.” When she’s close I kiss her, hands fisted in the back of her shirt. She makes a small sound and breaks away to bury her face in my chest. “You’re okay now.” I don’t want to ask, but I force the question past my lips anyway. “Did he…did he touch you anywhere else?”
“No.” Maisy pulls back far enough to wipe beneath her eyes and shakes her head. “He tried to scare me, but I don’t think he was allowed to get away with too much on the off chance my mom was going to pay the ransom.”
A relieved breath gusts out of me. “I subdued the others, but one got away before I snuck in. Eventually Stalenko Corp’s higher ups are going to find out when he comes back. Let’s tie him up like the rest and get the fuck out of here.”
Maisy nods resolutely and picks up the discarded length of auto electrical wire. “I knew you’d find me.”
“Always. I knew as soon as your text came through all autocorrected.”
She curls her fingers around the wire, knuckles white. “Thank you.”
Something in my chest shifts and expands. “You don’t have to thank me, Maisy. I love you and I’ll protect you.”
She turns those beautiful hazel eyes on me, shining with a fresh bout of tears. “I love you, too.”
Together we drag the thug across the room to a pipe running along the floor. She rifles through his pockets, retrieving her phone while I take out the zip ties I picked up and secure him to the pipe. I still want to kill him. More than that, I want to rip his skin off piece by piece and grind his bones to dust, but I need to get Maisy out of here.
Thirty-Eight
Maisy
When we make it to Fox’s hidden motorcycle outside, I turn to him with my heart sitting in my throat. “I had everything under control.”
He chuckles and scrubs a hand over his face, then tugs me into his arms and speaks against the top of my head. “I love you.”
I breathe him in for a moment, letting his strength soothe away the last couple hours of horror. He holds onto me tightly as if he never wants to let me go. A lump forms in my throat. I don’t realize how much I’m shaking until he buffs his hands up and down my upper arms.
“Come on. I need to get you back before the adrenaline crash hits and you’re not able to hold on.” Framing my face, he tilts it up and gives me a smile tinged in darkness. “Before today I would’ve tied you up to make sure you’d have to hold on, but I think we can save that for another day.”
A snort jerks my head. I have to laugh, because if I don’t I’m on the brink of breaking down under the weight of it all. “You think?” My wrists still throb. The skin on my thighs is tender, putting off heat from rope burn. “Let’s go.”
The drive back is a challenge. Riding a motorcycle after being banged up highlights every ache in my body with each small bump in the road. I press my cheek into Fox’s back and seek out the sensation of freedom that I love when we’re on the bike to keep my mind off everything else. Thankfully it’s not too far to his place.
Once we’re at his converted warehouse, he sits me down on the same stool he used when I cleaned up his cuts after we were shot at. Those stormy blue eyes watch my expressions carefully as he checks me over. Physically, I’ll be fine. Some minor bruises, skin abrasions, and the rest of the sedative dose will fade with time. The lasting damage is all psychological.
“I want to shower,” I say.
No amount of strength of character or confidence in my body spares me from the mental horror I endured today. I can still feel his breath and disgusting hands on my skin, his rough grip lifting my shirt up to expose me, the sadistic way he laughed and got off on the power he held over me as I was tied up and unable to fight back.
My skin feels dirty and I want to scrub at it until I wash it all away. It won’t take away the memory, but I won’t feel better until I can do something to wipe away the lingering sensations of the violation of my body.
I never should have faced what I did today. Kidnapped. Held for ransom. Assaulted.
Dad swore yesterday that everything they did was to protect us. Bullshit. If they wanted to protect us, they wouldn’t have welcomed that kind of danger into this town. Mom wouldn’t have waited so long to save me from the criminals she works with. For all I know she saw the photo of me unconscious and bound then went about her day, not caring what happened to her daughter. The read receipt is burned into my brain and there’s no coming back from that.
“Come on,” Fox murmurs, taking my hand and leading me to the bathroom.
He starts the water, testing the temperature on his wrist before turning to me. I strip out of my tank top and fling it on the floor. A fierce rumble makes my gaze dart to him. His attention is on my breast, on the fingerprint shaped red marks. He holds a hand out, but curls his fingers into a tight fist, his skin stretched so the scar on
his knuckles stands out.
Breathe, I coach myself, drawing on a meditative headspace to keep myself from shaking apart at the seams. In a hurry, I shuck off my shorts and step under the hot spray of water.
Fox turns to go. He promised he wouldn’t leave me alone. A broken, panicked noise escapes me and he’s back, jumping into the shower with me, still fully clothed.
“Shh.” His arms hold me close while I cling to him, taking ragged breaths that make my chest heave. “I’m not going anywhere. I thought—I was going to give you privacy, but I’m here.”
“Don’t,” I choke out.