“She’ll help,” I replied stubbornly.
He sighed but fell quiet. I took that as a good sign I’d get my way and allowed my eyelids to win the battle they’d been waging since the SUV started up.
Chapter 10
Iwoke up when the motor cut. I looked out the window with bleary eyes, relieved to see we were at Axel’s.
“Is Mad here?” I asked as Axel came to my side and lifted me out, moving to carry me inside.
“No, babe, he’s with Scarlet. Cal’s there, too. Someone will either bring him home or we’ll get him in the morning, okay?”
I bit my lip against the disappointment. “Okay,” I answered. After a night like this, I wanted nothing else but to hold my boy.
“Tonight, I need to take care of you,” he added quietly, stepping into the quiet house.
“What time is it?” I thought to ask, wondering how long I’d been in that godforsaken motel room.
“Just after two,” he replied. “Seven hours,” he added grimly, recognizing the direction of my thoughts.
He moved us to the bathroom, sitting me carefully on the counter. I couldn’t get a handle on his expression as he looked me over. He looked haunted.
“What is it?” I asked quietly.
He swallowed audibly. “I’m gonna have to take the glass out,” he explained in a deep, troubled voice. “Your perfect fucking skin.” He looked dangerously close to losing it again like he had back at the motel.
“Hey,” I put a hand on his arm, the muscle flexing with tension under my touch. “I’m tougher than I look,” I assured him with a small smile.
He looked me in the eye, his eyes a lighter grey than I’d ever seen as tension knitted his brow. “I can take on five men,” he rasped as I wondered where he was going with this. “I’ve been stabbed. Shot once,” he added, his hand moving to the puckered scar I noticed before on his shoulder. “I grew up with a violent father whose acts against me, my brother and my mother were unconscionable.”
My eyes pooled with tears as he shared this piece of himself with me. I knew his childhood hadn’t been a happy one. I knew he had a darkness in him that when freed could envelop any light. I’d always wanted to know where it came from. He’d never spoke about his father and I wanted desperately to understand what he’d been through. But this wasn’t the time.
He moved a hand through my hair as his eyes locked on the movement of his fingers gliding through my chestnut strands. “I’d sooner go through all that again. Hell, I’d do it all at the same fucking time if it meant I didn’t have to cause you more pain right now.” He swallowed.
I took his huge hand in mine, squeezing tightly, giving him what little comfort I could. “I know it might be selfish,” I explained quietly. “But I need it to be you. Everything’s all screwed up and your hands are the only ones I want on me.” His grey eyes snapped to mine. “It won’t hurt as bad if it’s you,” I added.
He nodded, straightening to his full height. “All right, baby,” he rasped.
It took thirty horrible minutes to pull out every shard of glass from my skin. The hardest part was hiding my reaction. I knew it would make it so much harder on him if I showed my pain. So I bit it back with everything I had, even as the tweezers dove in deep.
“Goddammit, Sophie, I know this has to be fucking agony!” he swore when we were nearly done. “Don’t hide your pain from me! Give it to me so I can take it from you.”
I nodded, letting the tears fall freely as I sucked in a ragged breath. It did feel better not to have to hide it. “How did you find me?” I asked, wincing as he pulled another shard out.
“I can’t talk about tonight right now, baby. I’ll lose my shit. Later, okay? I’ll tell you everything I know,” he assured me.
I appreciated that he knew I’d want to know the details.
“Okay,” I agreed.
“Jill wants to come out,” he told me, sensing I needed to talk about something, anything.
“Really?” I asked. “When did you talk to her?”
“On the drive home, you were out,” he murmured. “She’s worried about you but I also got the sense things may not be so great in Dallas.”
I felt my brow crease. “But Tim just got home.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know the details but she seemed eager to come out,” he continued, his brow furrowed in concentration as he pulled the last shard out of my upper arm. “Okay, baby, let’s get you in the shower,” he sighed, seeming as relieved as I was that it was over.
