“I said stop.”
I choked on all the words that wanted to spill free.
“Okay. Breathe in deep and just listen for a second. Do not tell me any more details right now. Do not tellanyoneany detailsright now. Don’t call anyone else. Just tell me where you are and explain when I get there. Got it?”
I sobbed, nodding even though he couldn’t see me. “Okay.” I sniffed. “Um… Kingston Street. There’s an alley. I think next to a bridal store.”
“Okay. I’ll be there in an hour. Stay put and stay quiet.”
“Hurry.”
“Okay.”
“Please.”
“I’ll see you soon.”
The line went dead, and all I could do was wait, watching the lifeless body in front of me. I’d never been religious, but I prayed to whoever might be listening that no one found us before Coyote could get here.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Tristan.
By the time the alley was lit by the red glow of taillights, I couldn’t move beyond the intense shivering. The cold, and something worse, had seeped into my bones and locked them up.
I was so tired.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Tristan.
Was it Coyote who had come for me? Was it someone else?
I couldn’t move forward enough to see around the dumpster.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Tristan.
The engine stopped. A car door opened.
“Here, snakey, snakey.” Coyote’s smoky voice. “Where are you?”
I should have tried to put my walls back up. My façade. I didn’t want to be seen like this. So weak and pathetic. So small. But I was too tired.
“Oh, there you are.” Dusty combat boots entered the corner of my vision.
I couldn’t take my eyes off Tristan.
“Oh, shit.” He dropped the playful tone. “Look at me.”
Icouldn’ttake my eyes off Tristan.
“Harper.” Warm fingers touched my jaw, and I flinched. He pulled them away, moving to kneel in front of me instead, blocking my view of the body. I blinked, meeting stormy eyes that saw too much. I looked away.
It wouldn’t take a genius to figure out what had happened. My clothing was disheveled and filthy. Tristan’s pants were unfastened and halfway down his ass. Still, I hated the concern and pity I’d seen in his eyes. “Don’t look at me like that,” I said in a voice colder than my skin.
“Okay.” His own tone was softer and warmer than I’d ever heard it. “Okay. Can you stand?”
I was silent long enough that he knew the answer without me having to say it.
“I’m going to need to touch you to help you up.”
Pathetic. I nodded once.
