She glanced at me sideways when I held them out to her. “Stop looking at me like that.”
I squatted down beside the tub until we were nearly face to face. She most definitely had a black eye. From Luigi, I would assume. And there was a small cut on her cheekbone. “Like what?”
“Like you feel sorry for me. I’ve had worse.” She took the pills and water from me and swallowed them down. “Thank you.”
My blood began to boil at her casual admission. “I didn’t see marks on you like this when I took you from Mexico.”
A haunted look passed over her perfect face, there and gone within a few beats of my heart as she handed the water back to me. “I’m not talking about that.”
“Then what?”
“Why the hell do you think I wanted to get away from my father so badly?
Slowly, I rose to my feet and set the bottle back on the counter in case she needed it. Through clenched teeth, I asked her, “What exactly has your father done to you, Sera?”
She stared at the wall in front of her. “He’s done a lot of things. None of which I want to go into detail about.”
“He hurt you when I sent you back.” It wasn’t a question. I knew now who had given her the shiner.
She looked at me then, her light eyes darkened with memories. “Yes,” she said simply. “And then he sold me off to Luigi, for a discounted price, I’m sure, since I’m now damaged goods. Which was my own choice,” she was quick to add. “At least the first time. I don’t blame you for that.”
I stared down at this woman that I was foolish enough to think I could live without. “You’re not damaged.”
She didn’t respond, but I could tell by the look on her face she was less than convinced. She sighed heavily. “So what happens now?”
The urge to commit a second murder that night was still strong within me, but I couldn’t leave her. Not right now. “You’re going to need to stay here again for a while.”
“Until you can ship me back to my father again?”
“I’m not going to do that.”
“What are you going to do then? Find me a new husband yourself?”
“No, Sera.”
She looked up at me. “So I’m a prisoner here until when?”
“You’re not a prisoner. But you need to stay here so we can keep you safe. Luigi’s men think you killed him and escaped out the window. And we need to keep it that way. Just for now. Until we can be sure there won’t be any retaliation for his death.”
She looked back at the wall. “I would have. Eventually. He was a bastard.”
I smiled a little for the first time in a long time. My bloodthirsty little warrior. There was no doubt in my mind she was telling the truth.
In the next second, she wiped the smile right off my face. “I need you to leave now. I don’t want to talk to you anymore.”
“That’s just too fucking bad, baby, because I’m staying right here.” I cocked my head, contemplating her profile as a thought occurred to me. “Are you planning to kill me, too?”
She looked away.
“I’m a bastard, too. I’m the son of a bitch who made you promises I didn’t keep. Who sent you back to your abusive father so he could sell you off to an abusive husband.” I squatted next to her again so I could brush her cheek with the backs of my fingers. Just a soft touch. But it was enough to get a reaction from both of us. The light glinted off her silver nose ring as her nostrils flared slightly on a sharp inhale of breath. “What are you going to do tome, baby girl?”
She turned her head, and her eyes clashed with mine. Damp tendrils of pink hair curled around her face, sticking to her temples. Her cheeks, neck, and chest were flushed red from the heat of the bath water, and her eyes were bright and still slightly glazed over with pain.
“Are you going to kill me, too?” I asked her again.
I watched as tears filled her eyes.
“I would understand if you did,” I told her, and I meant it. My only regret would be that I would no longer get to touch her soft skin, or hear the music of her laugh, something I haven’t heard in quite a long time. I’d never again get to watch as her back arched with pleasure. Never hear the sounds she made when she was close to orgasm. Those things, I would miss too much.
