Ezra was bound and tossed into the trunk of his car. “Steele.” Declan tossed the leopard’s keys to the other wolf. “Get this piece of trash to the docks. Holden, go with him. We’ll meet you there just as soon as Kylie’s able to travel.”
“You got it, Boss.” Steele slid behind the wheel and once Holden got in the passenger side, they were gone.
“Come on, Kitten, let’s get you home.” Remy kept an arm around her as he guided her to his truck.
“I’ll drive,” Gage said as he headed to the driver’s side of the truck.
“Thanks.” Remy didn’t want to let go of Kylie for even a moment, but he had to in order for them to both get into the truck. He put her in the middle, between him and Gage, and slid in next to her. She still hadn’t said anything and that had him worried. “Talk to me, Kitten,” he murmured next to her ear, and waited for a response.
Kylie
She was stuck in a daze. She’d watched Remy pound on Ezra, and she’d tried to pull herself together enough to saysomething, but it was as if she’d suddenly forgotten how to speak. By the time she was in the truck, tucked close to Remy’s side, she was shaking. Her fingers curled around his shirt and she clung to him. Even if she couldn’t pull herself together enough to reply to his gentle urging, she was lucid enough to cling to him.
Kylie could feel the tension in his body—she was certain it was because he was worried about her—but she didn’t know what to say to help him. She felt…dirty…unworthy of his attention. Why would he want her now? Sure, she’d told him about the things Ezra had done to her in the past, but this was different. “It’s my fault.” Her voice was such a soft whisper, she wasn’t sure even Remy could hear her.
“What’s your fault, cher?”
“I let him take me. I didn’t…didn’t fight. I just…let him take me.”
“Shh. It’s not your fault, Kitten. You were afraid for your friends. You didn’t want him to hurt anyone. It’s over. He’ll never touch you again.”
Kylie fell silent. He didn’t understand. He didn’t know what Ezra did. Once he did, he wouldn’t want her anymore. She stared out the windshield but she wasn’t really seeing anything. She couldn’t focus.
Kylie was pulled from her daze when the truck stopped and Gage turned it off. She blinked several times to try and clear her head. It felt fuzzy, as if she’d been drinking. When Remy reached in to help her out of the truck she flinched. The look that crossed his face had her shoulders slumping.
“It’s all right, Kitten.”
His voice was soft and his grip on her elbow was gentle as he guided her to the boat. Ezra was awake and when their eyes locked she hesitated. There was such rage in them that it made her quake in fear, despite the fact he was bound and both Declan and Holden were gripping his shoulders to keep him still where he knelt at the bottom of the boat.
“I can’t…I can’t…”
“Can’t what, cher?” Remy’s arm wrapped around her when she started shaking.
“Can’t…him…”
“Y’all go on and take dat bastard to da compound and come back for us.”
Remy’s words seeped in through the terror that had gripped her and Kylie lifted her head to look at him. “Thank you.”
Her words were barely a whisper but Remy was close enough to hear them. “No’ting to thank me for, Kitten. You don’t need to be sharin’ da boat wit’ da likes of him.”
“You got it, Remy. I’ll be back right quick,” Gage said before he took the wheel and headed into the bayou.
Remy
Remy was careful as he moved to wrap his arms around Kylie. She was still shaking, despite the fact the boat was out of sight. He didn’t need to ask what happened to her. Her reaction, and the leopard’s scent on her, gave him all the answers he needed. All he wanted to do was hold her and make it all disappear but he knew he couldn’t. The bastard sexually assaulted her. Remy didn’t have to be a genius to know it was going to be an uphill battle helping her to heal from it. When Kylie stiffened, briefly, he paused and leaned his head down close to her ear. “It’s goin’ to be all right, cher. I’ll do anyting you need to help you heal.” As she relaxed, his hold on her tightened and he breathed her in.
Remy wasn’t sure how long they stood there like that before the faint sound of the boat returning reached his ears. He was reluctant to let Kylie go but he loosened his hold on her all the same. “He’ll never touch you again, Kitten. I can promise you, dat. No one will ever touch you like dat, again.”
When the boat came to a stop next to the dock, Remy waited until Gage had it secure before he guided Kylie to it. He helped her in, then followed her. She hadn’t said anything else since the boat left earlier and his worry was beginning to increase. “Don’t shut me out, Kitten. Please. We can get through dis, together, but only if you let me in.”
Still nothing. He saw the look of concern in his brother’s eyes and knew Gage was probably worried for both of them. If Kylie shut down completely, Remy wasn’t sure he’d be able to keep it together. They weren’t even a couple yet and he already felt like his world was going dark due to her silence. “When we get back to da compound, I’ll take you right to Caine and Emelise’s,” he murmured. He didn’t want her to be present when he confronted her ex. She didn’t need to see that side of him.
“Okay.”
That single word wasn’t much, but at least she was talking. He kept his arm around her shoulder as the boat made it’s way through the bayou. By the time they’d reached their destination, she’d stopped shaking. Remy moved so he could look her in the eye. “I meant what I said, cher. We can get through dis together, as long as you don’t shut me out.” He watched as her gaze cleared and she focused on his face.
“You won’t…think that way, when you know…”
