Nick crossed to her, planted his back against the wall and slid down to the floor, giving in to his own weakness. He fought the urge to drop his head between his knees and breathe until visions of her hurt or dead faded like smoke on the wind.
“She must’ve attacked him when he broke in through the back door. She knew a predator when she saw one,” Sassy went on, stroking Rogue under the chin. The cat clung to her, too, as if she was as afraid to let go as her owner was. “I wasn’t that smart.”
Her voice broke on the last word. He watched her lower lip tremble and gathered her into his arms, against his chest. “You took care of it. You took care of him.” The only one who wouldn’t come out of this unscathed was Ryder.
Christ, she’d nearly staved the guy’s skull in.
“He shouldn’t have come in my house,” she muttered against his sternum, head tucked beneath his chin. “He should’ve thought twice before coming into our town.”
“Damn right he should have,” he breathed into her hair, closing his eyes and absorbing the fact that she was whole. She’d come through. He reached down, cupping her face in his hands. He studied it, giving her a thorough scan. “Are you good?”
Her eyes were still wild, but the glimmer in them was certain. “He didn’t touch me.”
He sighed, dropping his brow to meet hers. There was so much he needed to say to her. He pulled her to him once more and didn’t let go.
* * *
The Coltons arrived in droves. First Ryan, having heard the news from dispatch. Then her parents. Ava and Chay pulled in shortly after. Then Jacob. Detective Finbar proved an unwelcome addition to the party, earning an especially chilly reception from Bly and Richie. While Nick and Jacob tried to prevent him from taking Sassy’s statement before morning, she insisted on giving it anyway. Nick paced outside the door of the guest bedroom where Finbar had closed himself in with her and O’Connell.
When the officers emerged, Finbar was grim-faced. Nick peered into the room, spotted Sassy sitting on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands. He shoved past the detective to see to her. Finbar caught him by the elbow, bringing him to a halt. “She may need a moment.”
Nick shoved off his grip. “If you had any compassion for her, you’d end this investigation into her and Zephyr before tomorrow.”
Finbar lowered his gaze. “I’ll see what I can do,” he stated.
Perez sent updates on Ryder’s condition, but Nick reported none of them to Sassy. Her mother and Ava had already stripped the bed in her room, yet when Sassy caught them taking the sheets to the laundry room, she shook her head. She bundled the heap into her arms, comforter and all, and walked to the front door to toss them in the trash outside. No one stopped her.
Eventually, she wound up on the couch with Riot’s head on her lap and Rogue wrapped around her shoulders like a mink stole. She listlessly petted the dog’s head and began to answer Jacob and Chay’s questions about what had happened. The story came out fast—a stream of consciousness that played through the events from beginning to end and left everyone silent. Richie looked shell-shocked. Bly pressed her hand to her chest, speechless. Ava paled significantly. She hugged Sassy. “I hate that this happened to you,” she murmured. “I hate it so much.”
Bly lowered to the couch beside her daughter and wrapped both her and Ava in her arms.
They all offered to stay, spend the night, anything to prevent Sassy from being alone. She refused each suggestion, promising that she would be fine for the night. When Richie and Bly insisted, she said, “This is my home. If it’s going to continue to be my home, I need to reclaim my space. Please understand.”
They balked, but at last agreed to go home. Nick doubted either of them would sleep. Bly would definitely sit up long past midnight, waiting for the phone to ring so she could rush to Sassy’s side.
As Nick walked them out, he let the front door swing closed at his back and said, “I won’t let her be alone. Not tonight.”
Bly nodded while Richie shoved his hands in his pockets, lowered his head and remained silent. They were both stricken by the events of the evening. She placed her hand on Nick’s shoulder. “If she’s going to let anyone in, it’s you. Please call if she needs us.”
“I’ll bring ice cream,” Richie offered. “Tell her…whatever she needs.”
Nick nodded. “I’ll make sure she knows it.”
“We need her to be okay,” Bly told him. “She’s not okay. Not right now. That’s why I don’t want her to be alone.”
“She won’t be,” he swore.
Bly patted his cheek gently. “Bless you, Nick,” she said before she walked Richie to the car, her arm curved over the slumped line of his shoulders.
Nick entered the house once more, locking the door behind him. Everyone else had already gone. He found Rogue on the couch, half-buried beneath the blanket Ava had draped across Sassy’s lap. She meowed in Nick’s direction. He scratched her between the ears. Relieved when she didn’t take a swipe at him as she usually did, he asked, “Where’s your mama?”
He heard whining from the hallway to the bedrooms and decided to investigate. No sooner had he turned the corner than he danced back to keep from getting hit by the full-length mirror that had been leaning against the wall of Sassy’s room. “What the…”
“Coming through,” Sassy said as she hauled it to the guest room.
Riot was close on her heels, his brow wrinkled in concern. He looked to Nick for clarification. Nick gave him a half shrug. Scratching the hair on the back of his head, he crossed to the door of the guest bedroom. “You need a hand with that or—”
She nearly ran into him in her rush to get through the door and back down the hall to her bedroom. “You can help me haul out this carpet.”
