I want to break down in tears, and my shoulders fall, but I simply nod and pull away.
“Come on,” Mateo says as he wraps his arm around me, but I pull out of his reach and take a step away.
“I need you toswearto me that you weren’t part of this.” My voice cracks, and I clear my throat, struggling to not give into the sobs that want to come.
“I swear to you on my mother’s grave that we did not do this, Violet. My brothers and I came here to help them.” He takes a step toward me, and I don’t back away. He reaches up slowly, like he’s approaching a scared animal, and gently brushes astrand of my hair off my cheek. “Fuck, I hate what they did to you.”
I can’t stop shaking. And when my stomach heaves, I turn to the side to throw up. Mateo’s hand is big and strong as he rubs circles on my back, and then he takes his shirt off so I can use it to wipe my mouth.
“Let’s go,” he says softly, but I can see the agitation in every line of his body. “I need to get you out of here.”
Seventeen
MATEO
I’ll never get the image of Violet, beaten and shaking, holding that gun, out of my head.
I don’t know who Rosie is, and I definitely don’t know why Violet was there tonight, but I’m going to get to the bottom of it once and for all.
My girl is curled up beside me in the back of the SUV, with tremors still racking her body.
“Get Dr. Asgood to my penthousenow,” I say to Diego, working to keep my voice even. She’s scared enough as it is.
“Already on it, boss,” he says. “She’ll be waiting for us.”
“She wasn’t there,” Violet whimpers, and it breaks my heart. But she isn’t crying. She’s been on the verge of tears since I found her, but she hasn’t given into them.
“I’m so sorry, baby.”
“I don’t know where she is.” Her voice is so small.
Finally, we pull into my building parking, and I gingerly help Violet out of the car and hold her in my arms in the elevator on the way up. When we reach the top floor, Asgood is waiting at the door.
“What happened?” she asks, frowning at the woman I’m carrying.
“Got my ass handed to me,” Violet says. “So much for all of those lessons.”
“You kicked their butts too,” I remind her, and get her inside. “They were in rough shape when I found you, and you were about to shoot them, so I’d say you won, sweetheart.”
I was both incredibly proud and fucking terrified, all at once.
“Over here,” Asgood says, directing us to the kitchen counter, where I set Violet down and stay close to her. “I’m Dr. Asgood. I work for this one.”
She points at me.
“I’d like to examine you and make sure nothing is broken.”
“The ribs might be,” Violet replies, and my hands fist at my sides.
I should have takenboththose motherfuckers to my cell so I could burn them alive. Instead, I’ll have to work just one over.
“We have to take your tank top off,” Dr. Asgood says, and Violet cringes as she helps to move the shirt over her head.
Christ.
She’s covered in bruises where they kicked her. Her gorgeous face is swollen and cut, and her knuckles are bloody and bruised from all the hits of her own she got in.
“I’m so fucking proud of you.” I lean in and kiss her cheek. “And you’ll never do anything like this again.”
