“Shh,” I whisper. “Don’t talk if it hurts, okay?”
Her pupils contract and her honey-colored eyes flash with recognition. And then relief. This has me wanting to murder that motherfucker all over again.
I cup her cheek with as much gentleness as I can, despite the way my hand shakes. Fucking hell. Seeing her like this…
“You’re safe. I promise you.”
“Capo,” Renzo says, coming to stand beside me. “There’s nothing here except a cat, a laptop, and a few clothes.”
Carina’s gaze widens just before she attempts to sit up. I stay her by placing my hand on her shoulder. “Be still,” I say. Then to Renzo, “Take all of it.”
As soon as I give the order, she relaxes under my palm. I return my attention to her and do a thorough assessment of her face and body. She appears bruised in several locations and there doesn’t appear to be any broken bones. The only problem is there are wounds invisible to the eye or they could be in places I haven’t checked. If her attacker was telling the truth, then Carina has been assaulted.
If possible, a part of my soul mourns and then dies.
But I can’t let this get to me because she needs safety and medical attention. And right now, I’m more concerned about her welfare than my own.
When I bring my gaze back to hers, I notice the tears swimming in it. “I’m taking you home,viziata.”
She nods once and then reaches for me.
This gesture is unexpected but not unwelcome, which is why I don’t react to the unspoken request as quickly as I should. Although, that doesn’t mean I won’t or that I don’t want to.
I gather her in my arms and hold her securely to my chest. She buries her face in my shoulder and has a death grip on my neck. In response, I squeeze her all the more tightly. It’s for her benefit because she needs to feel secure right now. ButIneed the feel of her, to know with all certainty she is alive.
Because I could’ve lost Carina.
Not an informant. Not a lover. Not a means to an end.
Her.
The entire time I walk from her apartment to my vehicle I keep my vigilance, even with my men on either side of me. Only when we are on the road, with the miles between us and that death trap, can I think properly.
And when I do, I’m all sorts of fucked up.
There are questions I want to ask her, punishments I want to give her, and ways I want to fuck her. My need for these things is a hunger that grows more ravenous by the minute. It’s fueled by disquiet, anger, and lust.
If she would’ve obeyed me then none of this would’ve happened. My unease strangles me the more I consider that I don’t know what exactly occurred. To avoid this suffering through something like this in the future, I have to make her submit, to yield to me in a way she probably never has.
In the end, Carina will give me everything I want.
Even if I have to take it from her.
Carina
Nightmares are reoccurring, reimagined, and reinstated.
They torture, terrify, and taunt.
How do you fight the darkness?
With more darkness or with a dark knight.
I inhale deeply and slowly, pulling the scent of Rafael into my body. It soothes, secures, and offers serenity to my wounded soul. Because he rescued me.
Rafaelkilledfor me.
Tremors, tiny waves of lingering fear, make their way through my body and I wrap my arms around him tighter. Even with our skin touching and my breaths mingling with his, I’m not close enough. This irrational need to be near him is definitely not something I can control or something I want.
