She’s okay.
Not hurt.
I turn left, then right, and left again, speeding down the street before I slam the brakes, stopping by the curb. I’m out the car in two seconds flat.
There’s a small crowd outsideQ. Most guys are bleeding, and a few try arguing their way inside with the bouncers. Half the college football team watches me shove guys out of my way.
“Clear the fucking club,” I tell the head of security. “Right now. Everyone out!”
“We’re getting it done, boss. Ten minutes tops.”
I break into a sprint the moment I’m inside, my brothers hot on my tail. Every second stretches like bubble gum. I feel like I’ve been running for hours when I push the restroom door open, and stop, taking in the scene.
One guy lies on his side in the middle of the room, unconscious. Blood seeps from a large gash on his skull. His mouth hangs open, eyes shut, his back arched in an unnatural position.
The other guy’s half-sitting, half-laying under the sink, pale like a ghost. What looks like a scrap of t-shirt is tied around his limp, purple, injured dick. His hands and clothes are smeared with blood. There’s more all over the place, including the fucking walls. Red splashes here and there as if someone flicked paint all across the off-white tiles.
The floor is littered with broken pieces of what must’ve been a ceramic cover from a toilet’s water tank.
Images of Mia swinging the heavy cover fill my head. How scared—how pumped up on adrenaline—was she to rip that thing off in the first place?
I’m jolted back into motion when my eyes come across the triplets. Colt and Conor stand by the cubicle, and Cody crouches by Mia, gently stroking her back, his eyes on me, face twisted in disbelief. All three of them look as scared as I feel.
“Move,” I say, elbowing my way to her.
She’s on the floor, her shoulder against the left wall of the cubicle, hair, face, neck, and dress stained by blood. She looks likeCarrie.Pale, tearful, covered in red, scared, and so fucking helpless it makes my heart break clean in two.
I cuff her wrist, lifting her off the tiles and into my arms in two moves, cradling her fragile frame into my chest, one hand under her thighs, the other around her shoulder blades.
“I’m here,” I say, pressing my lips to her temple when she shudders, nuzzling herself as close to me as physically possible. “I’ve got you, baby. You’re safe.”
I’m both relieved she doesn’t flinch at my closeness and on the verge of letting my rage take the scene. She’s so cold, trembling all over.
Knotting her fingers on my nape, she nuzzles her face under my chin. “I’m okay,” she whispers, sounding seconds from bursting into tears, but trying her hardest not to cry. “I’m not hurt. It’s not my blood.”
“I know. You’re okay.” I turn around, looking at Logan and Theo standing in the doorway. “Come on, I need you.”
I carry Mia out of the restroom, her tears trickling down my skin into my t-shirt. She’s not making a sound, though. I hate that she’s so vulnerable, but I also love that she trusts me enough not to pretend or hide how she feels.
“Shh...” I tut quietly and slide to the floor, readjusting my hold on her. “Shh, baby, you’re safe. I’m here. I take care of you, remember? I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
She nestles her face harder into the crook of my neck, inhaling me in short, ragged breaths. “I’m okay,” she utters again.
I pull out the keys to my car, tossing them to Logan. “There’s a hoodie in the boot and a pack of baby wipes in the glove box. Grab that for me.”
A single nod and barely audible,yeah, sure,is all I getbefore he jogs away.
Mia’s motionless, silently choking on her tears. All I can do is whisper in her ear and stroke her back as she processes whatever the fuck went down.
Not even two minutes go by before Shawn arrives, followed by four police officers and Logan.
“She said anything yet?” Shawn asks.
“Not yet. Deal with the motherfuckers first. You can interrogate Mia at home.”
He bobs his head, too smart to argue while I’mthisclose to turning into the goddamn Hulk. On the outside, I’m composed. I’m everything Mia needs: calm, focused, determined.
Everything happening inside is an entirely different matter.
