“Yes,” I hiss.
But it doesn’t make it easier to see him suffer. I’m strong, too, but pain is pain, and it hurts just as much regardless of our resilience.
We still bleed when we’re cut.
And if we’re cut too deep…
Roger puts a hand on my shoulder, but the touch gives me zero comfort. “If I’ve learned nothing else about him in the time I’ve been here, it’s that he’s a stubborn bastard. He’ll live so that he can come back and kill Crane for doing this to him.”
“David has earned his death.”
“Got that right.”
Roger moves to wait for me outside the cell, near the door to give me privacy. I turn back to Wraith and finally release the pain I’ve held in for years. Decades. My silent sobs bring steady tears that slip down flushed cheeks. I lean forward and lay my forehead against Wraith’s shoulder, willing us to be a thousand miles away from here. Somewhere safe. Someplace we can reset time and start over. Where we can make the world disappear and sit beneath our tree and—
“Don’t cry.”
My head snaps up, and I slap away my tears. “For you, Unholy? Never.”
Wraith’s eyes are hooded, glassy, and unfocused. “You’re real?”
His voice is brittle and raw, like winter leaves. I give him a weak smile and smooth his hair away from his swollen face. “Yes, Wraith, I’m real.”
“Thomas gave me morphine.” His eyes slide shut, and his arm drops off the mattress. He reaches for me, and I curl my hand around his, carefully. So very carefully, afraid I’ll further injure him. “Feels like a dream.”
“You’re not dreaming. I’m here with you. Can you feel me holding your hand?”
His tongue darts out and leaves a wet trail over his bottom lip. “Yeah.”
I wipe away the blood that runs from his ear down his neck. “What did they do to you?”
It’s a rhetorical question, one I haven’t realized I said aloud until Wraith rasps out an answer released on a sigh. “Everything.”
His breathing goes shallow, and his body relaxes. I stay as I am until I’m sure he’s asleep before placing a feathery kiss on his damp cheek.
“I’m so sorry,” I whisper.
Sorry for so many things.
“Fight Night’s his last match.” Roger’s remark draws my attention away from Wraith.
I slam my brows together. “I don’t understand.”
“Lyle and Owen said David wants to keep him for only torture purposes after the next fight. If it’s true, we have to get him out or he’s dead for sure.” All the blood drains out of me at the implication of Roger’s announcement.Oh my God. We still have giant obstacles to overcome. Giant, but not impossible. He adds, “Lyle also said David is leaving for Las Vegas right after the last fight.”
And of course, my husband wouldn’t tell me until last minute because that’s how it is between us. Only reason I knew in advance about Miami is because it was a business trip. But one that’s strictly for pleasure? I’m not always privy to that information until he’s practically out the door.
“Perfect.” I pop up onto my feet, my brain kicking into overdrive. I pace the cell. “That’s when we leave.”
Roger fiddles with his keys, and I can almost see the gears moving as he sorts it out. “It can be done, but there’s still that missing piece.”
“The driver.”
“The driver,” he repeats with a cringe.
I glance at Wraith, then back at Roger. The solution is staring at us right in the face. I hold out my hand. “Do you have it?”
He nods and plucks his cell from a pocket of his tactical vest and hands it to me. He glances at his watch. “If they see it, I’m dead, Jamie.”
