Deep shudders of relief rolled through me, and I buried my face in his chest to hide the tears streaming down my cheeks. Reality was smashing my state of numb fear to pieces.
I’d almost been raped.
Gang raped. By boys at myschool.
And for what? Money? One of them mentioned a pay off, so I could only imagine Katelyn—or whoever had set this up—had offered a serious monetary reward for defiling me. Given how rich the students of Ducis Academy already were, it had to have been an astronomical amount too.
“Hey,” Evan called out as Beck carried me out of the school in long, purposeful strides, “This is going to require Delta intervention, Beck. I’ve called our paramedics but…” I could hear the pained groan in his voice that suggested some of Beck’s victims—my attackers—weren’t faring too well.
Beck’s grip tightened around me, and his chest rumbled with a sort of growling, angry sound. “I’m not leaving Riley alone,” he snapped back. “Go grab Dylan, he can deal with Delta.”
Evan muttered something I didn’t quite catch, and Beck stopped abruptly, spinning us around—I presumed to face Evan. “I saidno. Get Dylan. I’m taking Riley to my house.”
“No,” I protested, pushing back slightly from his chest to frown up at him. “No, take me home. I want to be in my own room.”
Beck’s jaw clenched, and I could see how badly he wanted to argue with me, but clearly thought better of it when he nodded sharply and continued across the grass to where his car was parked in its usual spot.
He placed me gently in the passenger seat and buckled my seatbelt when my hands shook too much to grasp the clicker. When he was seated behind the wheel, he leaned over and clasped my face between his hands gently, and I noticed the slightest tremble in his arms as he met my gaze. “I won’t let them touch you again, Butterfly,” he said softly. “Never again.”
Tears ran unchecked down my cheeks, and I didn’t care. Beck had seen me at my worst anyway. “Please take me home,” I managed to get out, my body shaking. “I need to burn these clothes, and shower.”
Beck’s jaw tightened, but he just nodded and released me, starting the car up and leaving the parking lot. He drove slower than I expected, but he should have known better than to baby me like that.
“Faster,” I said, and that one word had his head snapping to the side, eyes running over me. He must have seen it in my expression, the desperate clawing need.
The Bugatti surged forward and Beck ignored all the road rules, running red lights and through intersections, so that he never had to ease up on the accelerator. He pushed the car to her limits, and as the familiar, throaty roar of the engine filled me, the screaming void of pain inside my head started to ease. Just a little. Enough that I was no longer digging my nails into my thighs, desperate to tear these clothes off.
When we pulled up at my place, Beck was out and at my door before I could even get my seatbelt unclicked. He helped me out, and I knew he was about to carry me again, so I shook my head. “I can walk,” I said.
Those bastards did not break me.
Beck’s dark gaze never left mine, and I would have been worried about the simmering fury still buried deep in those storm cloud eyes, but I knew it was not directed at me for a change.
“Did you kill them?” I asked while we waited for the elevator.
“I hope so,” he said without inflection.
When I was finally inside, I ran for my bathroom, unable to stand the clothes touching my body any longer. I wasn’t gentle as I tore off the uniform and my underwear, nails scraping along my skin at the same time.
Gentle hands stopped me. “Butterfly! Riles!” Beck said, getting my attention. “Let me help you,” he pleaded.
Memories were pressing in on me again. Their fucked up faces filled with anger and desire. The laughter. The helplessness I’d felt when they’d pinned me.
A keening sound fell from my mouth, and I gulped to try and stop it. To try and fill my lungs with air. But I couldn’t. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t stop the memories.
Hot water splashed over me, jolting me back to the present, and I realized that Beck had stepped into the shower with me, holding me, while the water beat down on us. I was naked. He was fully clothed. Both of us fucked up messes.
I screamed, beating my hands on his chest as my tears mixed with the falling water, stealing them down the drain. Beck let me hit him, never moving or flinching. He took the punishment, even though in this second, I was not angry with him.
Sure, I could have blamed Beck for this—the actions of Delta put me in this situation—but that wouldn’t be fair. It wasn’t his fault.
He’d saved me.
Some of the thoughts scratching in my head eased, and I was finally able to allow rationality to enter. I let my hands fall and slumped forward. As I stared down, I finally noticed the red streaked water, and it took me a moment to realize that was from Beck. He had been covered in blood. Blood that he’d earned protecting me.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered against his chest. “You saved me. I’m sorry.”
“Never fucking apologize to me,” Beck growled, and wanting to see his face, I tilted my head back. “I don’t deserve it.”
