“I love you.”
She sighed, her arms squeezing against my sides as she hugged me back with a strength that made me hold her tighter.
“I love you. You’re safe, baby.”
God, give her peace so she can relax. Take away her fear.
As I tried to drift back to sleep my mind wandered back to the last time she had some sort of sleep-walking episode. I remembered the prayer she had been crying out, and a horrible realization crossed my mind. She thought she had been miscarrying that night. When she woke up in my bed with her period, she thought that she was back with that monster, that she was going to get punished for miscarrying their child.
My stomach turned with nausea, and I ran my hand down Shiloh’s back, kissing her head as I breathed in the familiar scent of my soap in her hair. If I had to bet, I’d say that Shiloh wasn’t a willing participant in the making of any of those seven children.
Fuck!Why did she have to suffer so much? No human should have had to suffer through her childhood let alone what she went through just since I’ve known her.
Why hadn’t the FBI prosecuted him when they got her out of WITSEC? Why was that monster still walking around like he deserved to be free?
I kissed Shiloh again, sighing as I held her against my chest.
Fuck. How was I supposed to leave her for a week while my family was here? All I wanted was to stay by her side and keep her safe, keep her smiling and laughing, be there when the nightmares hit to hold her and soothe her.
This wasn’t fucking fair.
I realized maybe for the first time just how fucking unfair things were for her. She didn’t deserve any of it, least of all still being punished by being forced to isolate herself from the people who would take care of her, love her. The injustice of it all brought tears to my eyes, my chest tightened with the urge to scream.
I held her close, the feel of her steady heartbeat against my chest grounding me as I silently cried for her. For the little girl that survived hell, only to be thrown into another level at every turn.
No more.
I meant what I said. I might not be able to prevent every bad day, but I would sure as shit try my damnedest to give her the best days of her life from here on out.
???
I’d been awake for a while, just watching Shiloh sleep. I took pleasure in knowing that she trusted me enough to protect her, even from herself. That she was able to look so peaceful in her sleep, her hair sprawled out across my chest.
She stirred, her head nuzzling my chest and I sighed, running a hand down her back. I could feel the raised scars through my t-shirt she was wearing, and I resisted the urge to ball my hands into fists.
“Morning,” she said, hitching her knee higher on my waist.
“Morning, baby.”
She sighed her finger tracing my chest. I winced away from her touch when she brushed one of the scratches.
She sat up abruptly, eyes scanning my chest, trailing up to my neck. She glared like they were offensive.
I gripped her jaw, making her look at me. “It’s okay.”
“It’s not,” she muttered, glaring at me.
I shook my head, rage swirling in my chest. I wanted to hurt him. I wanted to hurt everyone who had ever hurt her. I wanted to kill him, just like how she had wanted to kill me last night.
That was when it dawned on me. She thought Iwashim. Last night she thought I was the cruel, evil piece of shit that had been abusing her. And she wanted to kill him.
I rolled, pinning her beneath me, hand still squeezing her jaw.
“I want him dead.”
She blinked, brows bunching as she continued to stare at me.
“I want to kill him. I want to kill every single person who has ever put their hands on you. I want them to suffer; I want them to hurt worse than they hurt you.”
