With a sigh, I glance up to the doorway.
And the two men filling it stare back at me.
Kit takes a slow step forward, his hands raised. His eyes are fixed on my mouth. “Stasi.”
His voice is rough, guttural. His finger brushes against my mouth, just barely.
I swallow. Search for an explanation. “I… I was just…,”
“We heard,” Rafe says behind him. His tone is frigid. “We heard all of it. You don’t need to make up an excuse.”
His tone is ice cold as he steps inside, flanking Kit so they’re both surrounding me.
“All of it?” I ask weakly.
Rafe’s nod is slow. He reaches out and turns my head to the side, examining it. “This wasn’t the first time she’s hurt you.”
There’s no question in his words, and I shrink back, away from the judgment in his tone. “I didn’t do anything, I swear—,”
And I let out a muffled grunt, as Rafe’s arms wrap around me. “Jesus Christ,” he snaps into my hair. “Do you really think we’re blamingyou?”
Tension lines every one of my muscles, stopping me from sinking into him, from drawing on the warmth of his body to chase away the ice in my own. “That is normally what happens.”
“Stasi,” Kit breathes. His face is drawn. “I didn’t know she was hurting you.”
I shake my head as best I can, even with Rafe wrapped around me. Slowly, I step away from him. His hands drop to his side, balling into fists. “It’s not… it wasn’t all the time.”
“One fucking time,” Kit snaps. “One time is too damn much.”
“Kit was right.” Rafe’s words make us all fall silent.
And his face… there’s so much pain there. Realization, grief, understanding. “It wasn’t you, was it? It was always her.”
My laugh feels like sandpaper. “And all it took was seeing her slap me across the face to realize it.”
Rafe closes his eyes. “I knew.”
His voice is gravel, low and pained. “I already knew. I just… I just needed to be sure.”
The words send a prickle of foreboding along my spine. “What do you mean? You needed to be sure?”
When he doesn’t answer, the suspicion hardens. Solidifies. “You invited her here. Because you… what? You wanted to prove something?”
His face twists. “No. It wasn’t like that.”
I take a step back from him. I can’t even look at him. “Every time I think you cannot possibly hurt me anymore, you go ahead and prove me wrong, Rafe.”
His head snaps back like he’s the one who’s been hit.
But I’m the one taking all the fucking punches. Over and over again.
“And you.” I turn to Kit. “You… knew about this?”
His violet eyes are dark. Almost black in the low light. “It wasn’t like that. They needed to understand, Stasi. We need to fix this.”
“And now we can,” Rafe adds in a low tone. “She’s not going to get away with this, Stasi.”
He looks so determined. “Why didn’t you just tell me? Why let me go through all of that – tonight – and not say anything?”
