Protector's Claim

by Airicka Phoenix

  Her big eyes blinked. “Just one?” At my nod, she snorted a brittle laugh. “It felt like weeks.” Her expression sobered. “I didn’t think I would ever see you again.”

  I went to her and knelt by her feet. Her fingers were bits of brittle ice clasped between mine.

  “I would never have given up,” I promised her. “I would have found you.”

  A tremor shook her bottom lip, but none of the tears in her eyes slipped.

  I swept aside a lock of hair. “Did anyone hurt you?”

  This time, when she barked a laugh, it came out in a sob that rattled her shoulders and spilled the tears.

  “No.” She rocked her head slowly from side to side. “It could have been so much worse, but I’m okay.”

  “What is it?”

  She sniffled. “I don’t know. I’m just so relieved and angry, and scared. I’m feeling so much...”

  I brought her fingertips to my lips and kissed each one while the water roared in the tub behind me.

  “You just need a hot bath and some rest.”

  She didn’t resist when I rose and pulled her up with me. She stood still while I freed her of her clothes, watchful as every layer of flesh was exposed to the sharp lights of the room. The garments were cast into the corner where I had every intention of tossing them away first chance I got; I wouldn’t let any part of that day touch her again. I would have erased it entirely if possible, but there were things even beyond my control.

  I helped ease her into the streaming pool. She sank beneath the bubbles all the way to her chin with a groan.

  I shut the faucet off and claimed the corner by her shoulder with a face cloth. I dampened it.

  “Kieran?” She captured my wrist before I could touch her. Her chin tipped up and I was caught in her plea filled eyes. “Come in with me?”

  It took no time at all to strip and get into the space behind her. My thighs cradled her hips and I drew her back into my chest. I kept my arms around her.

  She sighed and leaned into me. Her head rested on my shoulder and her hands settled over the ones I folded over her belly.

  “Talk to me,” I whispered into the side of her head. “Tell me what happened.”

  There was a strained amount of silence that strained in the air, tangling with the scent of orchids from the bubble bath and sea breeze from the bath salts. It seemed to hum like a plucked guitar string, tenuous and deep.

  I remained patient, allowing her room to collect her thoughts while I ran the rag through the soapy water and up one of her arms to the curve of her shoulder. It wasn’t the first time we’d been in a bath together, but I always enjoyed the soothing act of washing her. I definitely relished in the feel of her, wet and naked against me.

  Her fingertips slipped up the forearm of my arm still circling her middle and cupped my elbow; she tightened my hold on her.

  “I got a call from Professor Weber’s assistant yesterday,” she began slowly. “She asked us to meet her at his house rather than the library like we’d planned. I didn’t think anything of it until we got there.”

  I listened while she spoke, reliving every horrific moment with her and struggling not to lose my shit and murder someone. I told myself there was time for that later, that I would make time for it, and that it would happen. The beast in me seemed temporarily appeased by the promises of bloodshed, but barely.

  “I walked for hours,” she was murmuring quietly by the time I ran out of places to wash. “It was too dark to stay in the woods so I followed the sound of cars to the highway and flagged someone down. I didn’t want to. I was terrified it would be David, or Rutherford, or someone worse, but my phone was in my backpack and I had no idea where I was or how else to get help.” She paused and I turned my face into the damp locks over her ear. My arms tugged her closer, reassuring her I was there and she was safe, while simultaneously assuring myself the same thing. It must have worked, because she squeezed my hand in response. Just once, but it was enough. “I got lucky,” she continued. “It was an elderly couple on their way home. I told them my car broke down and I was lost. They were so kind. I hated lying to them, but I couldn’t tell them the truth. I didn’t think they would believe me and I just wanted to get home.”

  Neither of us said a word for the next several minutes while the water went tepid around us and goose pimples rose on our skin. Most of the bubbles had long since dissipated and the scent was barely still there, but hints of them lingered like little islands bobbing along the surface. They were washed away when I heaved myself from the water and pulled Gabby along with me. I uncorked the drain before easing her over the edge and onto the padded mat.

  “Okay?”

  At her nod, I left her just long enough to start the shower, then pull her in.

  I rinsed her hair while she clung to me, arms fastened tight around my waist and face buried against my chest. I worked shampoo through the strands, undoing tangle with my fingers and tugging free loose threads to wash down the drain.

  She still hadn’t said a word by the time I bundled her up in a thick robe and carried her to the bed. I left her side just long enough to tug on a pair of drawstring sweats.

  “Sweetheart.” I brushed damp locks off her face. “Talk to me. Tell me what I can do.”

  Eyes the heartbreaking blue of the ocean peered up at me through dark fringes. The fear in them wrenched my heart.

  “I’m scared you’ll think differently of me, badly.”

  The confession caught me in the gut. It twisted my insides, filling me with a burst of indignation.

  “Do you think so little of me?” I protested.

  Her big eyes blinked rapidly in surprise. “No, of course not. I just...” She lowered her gaze to the piece of thread poking out from the sleeve on her robes. “I had to do things I’m not proud of and...” She jerked one shoulder up to her with uncertainty. “I wouldn’t blame you if—”

  I knelt at her feet and took her hands in mine; they were cold despite her just getting out of the shower. I gave them a squeeze before bringing them to my lips.

  “Sweetheart,” I murmured gently, peering up at her over the bends in her fingertips. “What have I already told you?” I didn’t wait for an answer. “There is nothing you could have done — ever — to make me think differently of you.”

  “But this is different,” she whispered so low I almost didn’t hear her.

  “Doesn’t matter. I love you, Gabby. There isn’t a power on earth that can change that.”

  A single tear slipped down her cheek. I caught it with the second bend in my finger and wiped it away. I heard her deep, shaky inhale, a bracing sound that tightened my fingers around hers.

  “I don’t know when it started,” she began quietly to our linked hands. “I just remember looking up one day and finding him watching me. I wouldn’t have thought anything of it, except there was something in the look that crawled beneath my skin. Everything about it felt so wrong, so violating.” She bit her bottom hard enough to make blood well. Her chin wobbled and little creases formed between her downcast eyes. “After that, it became more frequent, lasting longer each time. I ignored it for the most part, but that only seemed to make it worse.”

  I didn’t bother clarifying who he was. That whole day had already painted a reasonably clear picture of the life Gabby had to live up until now. Everything she was telling me now made up the lacquer solidifying what I already knew.

  “It didn’t get really bad until I was eighteen.” She sucked in a sharp breath as if that confession was the hardest one she’d ever made. “His beatings became more frequent, but there was always something in the way he’d touch me, something worse than the hitting. He would find reasons to get me alone, or when we were alone, he’d find ways to ... touch me, or brush up against me. At night, I would close my bedroom door, but when I would wake up, it would be open and I could swear, I could smell him everywhere.” She shook her head slowly. “I couldn’t take it anymore. I couldn’t stay.” Her lashes l
ifted and I was met with the plea in her eyes, pleading for me to understand. “I had a four year plan. I would get my diploma, save up enough money, get a fake ID, and run as far away as I could possibly get. The only thing stopping me was him. He wouldn’t let me leave. He kept telling me I belonged to him.”

  “So, you signed that contract,” I finished for her.

  She nodded. “I didn’t think he could actually hold me to it. What court would?” Her voice rose in indignation. “I thought if I could just get out, there would be nothing he could do. I entered the auction for the money. After that, I would be long gone and free of him.”

  “Oh, Gabby.” I kissed her fingers again. “I wish you’d told me.”

  “How could I?”

  I sighed quietly before pushing to my feet. I claimed the spot next to her on the mattress. The spot indented, sending her into me.

  I welcomed her weight by tucking her into my side. My lips found the side of her head and I inhaled her damp, citrus scent.

  “Tell me what you want me to do,” I murmured into the strands. “One word from you and I will take his whole world apart.”

  Her head moved side to side against my face. “I don’t think there is anything you can do, short of killing him, that would make this stop.”

  I could kill him. I knew people. I could have it look like an accident and no one would ever be the wiser. I could make him disappear entirely. But those were options I wouldn’t put on the table unless she did.

  “I have ways,” I assured her instead.

  Her face tipped up towards mine. “What do you mean?”

  I decided against telling her about hitmen and deep, concrete holes. She’d already been through enough for one day without putting those images in her head.

  “My dad had files on people,” I opted slowly. “Friends, coworkers, family ... strangers.” I paused with a brittle chuckle. “They contain every dark, twisted secret that person has ever committed.”

  She straightened and shifted to face me better. “You have one on David?”

  I nodded. “I have one on all of you.”

  Her eyes widened. “On me?”

  Rather than answer, I took her hand and tugged her to her feet. I led her down to my office, through the shadow strewn corridors and an endless span of night.

  She followed wordlessly.

  Inside, I shut the door behind us and guided her to my desk. She continued in watchful silence as I opened the bottom drawer and removed David’s folder.

  I set it before her and stepped back.

  Green eyes jumped from me to the offered packet. She seemed to hesitate, and I couldn’t blame her. I wasn’t sure I would jump right in either, knowing what she knew.

  Gingerly, she flipped the folder open.

  Chapter Twenty-Five — Gabrielle

  Silas Townsend.

  A man I had never met, yet he held a substantial influence in my creation. Part of me begged me to google him, just to see his face, to see if I had his nose, his chin, some resemblance to prove he was the father I never had, but I was a realist. Even if the file was correct and Silas Townsend was my father, he probably didn’t even remember some random woman he hooked up with once on a cruise twenty-two years ago. Calling him out of the blue and declaring our shared DNA was just weird, not to mention humiliating if he turned me away. Never mind heartbreaking. Besides, I had enough parental problems without adding a new one.

  I went back to David’s folder. It was thicker than mine, Mom’s, Cordelia’s, or Eric’s combined. Its sheer mass was intimidating enough to make me want to back away, but I knew I wouldn’t.

  The images were on top, grotesque, enlarged snapshots of him with various girls in acts that made my stomach turn. There was blood, so much ... too much, everywhere. There were tears and pain, and girls in the midst of screaming.

  “I can’t.”

  I shoved out of my chair and scrambled back from all of it. My foot caught the leg of my seat and we both nearly went down. But I caught myself and took another step away from the desk, away from the images. My stomach roiled, massive waves threatening to ruin the carpeting. My nerves jangled, sending tremors all through my body.

  I wanted to cry. Not just for myself and the fate that could have been mine, but those girls, those poor, helpless girls. Were they even alive anymore? Had he killed them? I was terrified by the fact that I wouldn’t have put it past him.

  “I can use them.” Kieran stepped around the desk with deliberately slow steps. “I can make him wish he were dead. Just say the words.”

  It took all my willpower to revert my attention away from evil resting comfortably a few feet away to the man I would give my life for and the power he was offering me.

  I’d never had power.

  I never had control.

  With just the offering of a single folder, I had it all. I had the means to destroy my demons. I could watch him beg for mercy as I had every time he’d twisted his hands into my hair and dragged me to the ground, every time his palm left prints across my face, every time he touched me with that look in his eyes. I could drive my wrath into his heart like a blade and watch him hemorrhage.

  “No.”

  To his credit, Kieran never so much as batted an eye at my decision. “Are you sure?”

  I glanced again at the abandoned images, the girls past the point of saving, girls not nearly as important as the reasoning behind my choice.

  “I can’t let our children bear this.” I lifted my gaze to his. “It would haunt them. They would forever have to live with the knowledge of what their grandfather has done. You would have to live with it, with people knowing, people judging. It would cost you—”

  “I don’t care—”

  “I do.” I went to him, taking the long way around to avoid the snake on the desk. “He’s already taken enough from me. I won’t let his evil touch you or our kids.” I stepped into arms already open to me and nuzzled the front of his naked chest. “Let it die. Burn the folder. I don’t want anyone to ever know.”

  I felt his chin brush the top of my head with his single nod.

  “If that’s what you want.”

  I CAME AWAKE WITH A violent jolt, mind already expecting the cold concrete and itchy blanket. I expected the stench of urine and dampness. My entire body was already braced for a fight when a firm arm snaked around my middle. Warmth enveloped me, contrasting with the cold sweat chilling my skin. My strangled gasp was muffled by the possessive tug pulling me back into a lean, naked frame.

  “Shh,” my companion whispered into my ear. “It’s just me. I got you. You’re safe.”

  Relief drowned me. I went limp in his embrace.

  “Kieran.”

  He kissed my shoulder. “That’s right.”

  I turned until our fronts touched, our noses bumped, and I could see the love in his eyes. I touched the side of his face.

  “I missed you.”

  He smoothed a piece of hair off my cheek. “Missed you, too, baby.”

  My fingertips traced the rugged lines of his face and dipped into the hollow of his cheek. The overnight shadow prickled my skin, a familiar and comforting texture.

  “I knew you would find me,” I murmured. “I knew you would bring me home.”

  He tugged me closer. “Always.”

  I closed my eyes and lowered my brow to rest on his chin. “Can we go somewhere?”

  “Anywhere you want.”

  I lifted my face back up and met his gaze. “No, I mean can we leave this place completely? Go somewhere far away?”

  His touch grazed the side of my cheek and down my jaw to my chin. “Like I said, anywhere you want.”

  I would need to think about it. Even with my escape plan, I never had an actual destination. My whole goal had been to get the money, drive to the airport, and buy the first available plane ticket to anywhere in the world and never come back.

  But that had been just me. Could I make Kieran drop his entire life and go with me? He had
a business, a home ... a mother. This was his city. Why did he have to uproot everything and run because I was too scared to stay? It wasn’t fair.

  “Hey.” He lightly nudged my chin with his knuckles. “Stop. Whatever you’re thinking, whatever you’re planning, whatever is rolling around in that pretty head of yours, stop.”

  “You can’t leave,” I murmured quietly. “I can’t ask you to.”

  “You’re not asking. I never planned to stay here once we got married. You’re not suggesting anything I haven’t already decided myself.”

  That surprised me.

  “You would leave your company? Your house? What about your mom?”

  He shrugged. “I can fly back if I need to for work, or if Mom needs me, and this house was never mine. I honestly wouldn’t care if we never came back.”

  I didn’t know what to say, but there were no words to properly express how deeply I was in love with him, or how profoundly lucky I was to have him. So, I did the next best thing; I kissed him.

  I locked my lips with his and poured everything I didn’t know how to say into the melding. I threaded my fingers into his hair and gripped him close as I worked one leg over his hip. The weight sent him onto his back and I took advantage of his position to climb over him. My fingers fumbled with the strings keeping his sweats in place around his tapered hips. My rushed efforts were met with a tangled knot that only seemed to grow tighter with each tug.

  “I need scissors!” I muttered against his mouth.

  His chuckle warmed my lips a split second before I was snatched up and twisted under him. His weight settled on top of me, pinning me to the mattress. His hands had a much easier time freeing the sash on my robe. The downy material fell apart as if on command, leaving me bare and exposed to the hand he slipped over the curve of my ribs, just beneath my breast. His lips detached from mine and started down my neck, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. He reached my pulse when his phone shrilled from the nightstand.

  “Don’t answer it,” I panted, gripping his hair with both hands to keep him where he was.

  “It’s my mom’s ring tune.” He tugged back just enough to raise his head. “She doesn’t usually call.”