Page 25
Cave points toward her room. “Cry.”
Shit, I don’t know how to handle an upset female. I don’t like tears; they make me want to cry too. I’m an emotional man—I can’t help it.
We ascend the stairs, and Cave pushes open her door. We can now see Valli sitting on the edge of her bed fully dressed, as if she was on her way out.
She looks up at us and wipes her face.
“Hey,” I say quietly.
“Hey,” she replies.
Cipher moves into the room, glancing around for what might have upset her, while Cave stays in the doorway. He is so freaking tall his head barely fits under the doorframe. Cave stares at her for a second, then ducks to step into her room and walks forward to take a seat at the end of her bed.
“You don’t have to explain anything to us. We just wanted to make sure you were okay,” I tell her.
“I want to,” she says, peering down at her hands. “My brother was here when I was getting ready. He shows up whenever he wants. Since the man who . . .” She pauses. “Since what happened, he has come around more often with the excuse that he is checking on me. He’s in trouble—he always is, but this time it’s worse. I’m just so tired of bailing him out, tired of being the one who fixes everything. Tonight, I lost it. And that isn’t the worst part.”
She picks up her phone from beside her and turns the screen toward us. A video starts of Valli walking out of a café in her uniform—she is being filmed without knowing.
“I was sent this video tonight. The man who took me hasn’t shown up, and his boss is not happy. I don’t know what to do.” Her voice breaks on the last sentence. “I have tried so hard, but no matter what I do, Rowan keeps getting himself into trouble, and when he can’t pay, they come after me. I’m just so fucking tired.”
The tears roll down her face, and Cave turns toward her and wipes them away.
“Beautiful,” he says.
She chuckles. “I’m not beautiful right now. I’m a mess.”
Cave reaches out and wipes the tears from her face again, his thumbs dragging across her cheeks. Then, without warning, he scoops her off the bed and cradles her to his chest.
“What are you doing?” she gasps out. “Put me down.” He ignores her as she pushes against his chest. “Cave, seriously, I’m fine, you don’t have to—”
A growl rumbles from him, and he wraps his arms tighter.
“Okay,” she says, losing her fight as he walks out of her room. Cipher nods, and we follow behind him. I guess when the big man grunts, we all just follow.
“Valli . . .” I call, and she turns her head to look at me over Cave’s arm. “You don’t have to have it all sorted tonight. Let us take you back to the island. There you can have something to eat and a sleep.”
She huffs.
“The video and your brother can be dealt with in the morning. But you are not safe here right now. I hate to say it, but if you choose to stay here, Cave will not budge either. People could die if they come here, your brother included. If you haven’t noticed, Cave is not one to use his words.”
“You don’t say. Fine, but I have nothing packed.”
“I’ll grab it,” Cipher offers, and he disappears back into her room before she can protest.
“You’re allowed to let people help you,” I chide gently.
Her shoulders slump in Cave’s hold. “But I barely know you guys. I can’t ask you to fight this battle for me. Rowan is my brother, and I have to figure it out.”
“You didn’t ask; we offered. Cave doesn’t like many people—I thought he didn’t like me until recently. Besides the people in this house, there are only one or two other people he sort of likes, and he strangled one of them tonight because he was worried about you.”
She slaps Cave’s arm, and his amber eyes shoot up to meet hers. I open my mouth, but she beats me to it. “You cannot hurt your friends over me. That’s not nice. Who did you hurt?”
Cave looks at me, and I laugh. “You’re in trouble, big guy. You’re on your own for this one.”
Valli stares up at him and waits. He opens his mouth and tries to form the word. “K-Kayla,” he finally gets out.
Valli gasps. “Absolutely not! You cannot hurt her, Cave. She helped me, so you need to apologize.”
