It’s time to pull myself together, or at least try to. I can’t stay cooped up in Knox’s apartment.With them.
I can’t live with their touch on my skin and yet, I need it as much as I need air to breathe. I dab the damp beauty blender on my face, trying to hide the remainder of the bruises under the color corrector and foundation. I can’t even remember the last time I wore this much makeup, but I’ll scare the shit out of Carpenter if he sees me like this. The guys already told him I was in an accident, so he knows I’m hurt. But there are boundaries. This isn’t the “fell down the stairs” or “drove into a tree” kind of hurt. I can see the dents of my dad’s knuckles, his fingers bruised into my neck.
If I don’t hide it, he’ll know someone did this and I don’t want to answer that question. Never.
I need to keep my mouth shut about it all, because I can’t be naïve in thinking that his body will never be found. I have to be ready for it; I have to create a story to tell. If I just could think of one.
“Are you ready to go?” Knox startles me with his question and tension builds in my chest.
“Almost,” I whisper.
“Take as long as you need,” he says and turns away from me.
Is it weird that I struggle with their compassion? I know them, they’re assholes. And somehow, I fear the assholes less than their fake kindness.
As if he heard the turmoil in my mind, he stands tall in the doorway. My brow rises in defiance and he tilts his head.
“We’re leaving, now,” he says, his tone harsher than before, but I see the doubt in his dark gaze. The wonder if he’s doing the right thing by daring me.
“I’m leaving when I’m done and I’m not done,” I tell him and the tension I had in my chest fades as strength accompanies the defiance.
His jaw ticks but the doubt remains. “Don’t make me pick you up, Hope. We’re leaving, come on.”
“You wouldn’t,” I snap too fast for my own good. I don’t want him to lift me up, I don’t want his touch.
I stammer with those thoughts as none leave. He takes two strides towards me, the doubt faded from his eyes.
“Knox, don’t,” I say and edge back, but his hands grip my waist and he tosses me over his shoulder. A scream rips from my throat and he grasps the back of my thighs.
Jaxon is with us before Knox can even leave the bathroom.
“Leave it,” Knox barks and Jaxon steps aside.
“Jaxon, tell him to put me down, please,” I beg but as we pass him, he just stares at me with a filthy grin on his lips.
“Oh sweetheart, you know how we like it when you fight,” he teases and my body slumps over Knox’s shoulder in defeat.
I wait for the panic to expand, but it simmers in the background. It doesn’t consume me like I expect it to.
“Jaxon, can you bring my little bag and that small sponge-looking thing?” I mumble in defeat as Dimitri snickers in the background.
Jaxon collects my stuff and I hear him humming under his breath. I groan as Knox keeps me on his shoulder, moving through the door, my raven-black hair swinging over his back.
“I can walk, you know,” I note and Knox grunts in return.
“Dimitri,” I call out, hoping he might save me from this.
“Nope, sweetheart, not today.” He looks down at his phone quicker than I would like and I whisper to Knox, “What’s up with him?”
The elevator door dings open and Knox puts me down inside. His hands glide over my body, and he tucks my hair behind my ears as if he’s trying to fix the mess he created by carrying me.
“Dimitri, he’s… just forget it.” He musters a smile and I narrow my eyes at him.
Jaxon steps inside and presses the button to head down. “You look gorgeous, babe.”
Dimitri snorts. “She looks like she got hit by a bus. No offense.” He flashes a smile over his phone.
“Well, let’s see how you look after being kidnapped, beaten, and…” God, I can’t even say it.
