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She laughed sleepily. “Good night, Kaj.”
“Good night.” He held her until her breaths evened out, and then he let himself think about what she’d shared. He had to breathe through the rage once again. Men had put their hands on her. They’d hurt her.
They’d raped her.
They’d made her afraid, yet she’d held them accountable. She’d clawed her way out of her fear, forming her own safe place. Reclaiming her life.
Kaj was so proud of her. He was devastated for her, too. But she’d told him what she needed from him—to not yank her hair at the scalp or put his hands on her throat. Other than that, she wanted to have a normal life.
Hopefully with me, for as long as this lasts. He wanted it to last for a very long time.
There was strength in this woman. Strength he craved as much as he craved her body.
She was fierce. Protective. And yet capable of softness and friendship and joy. And that was the miracle. That after what she’d been through, she could still embrace joy.
He wanted to share her joy.
He wanted to give her a safe place. He wanted to be her safe place.
But he wouldn’t push. He’d let her make the moves. And he’d be patient, because she was worth it.
Mid-City, New Orleans, Louisiana
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 27, 6:00 A.M.
“Are you hungry, boy?” Val asked Czar as she stepped through Kaj’s back door after her run. She’d woken to find herself alone in his guest room bed, but he hadn’t been gone long. His pillow had still been warm, which left her feeling warm as well. He’d stayed with her nearly all night. That he’d left before dawn had been wise, even though she would have loved to wake up beside him. If Elijah had woken early, looking for his father, they would have had a lot of awkward explaining to do.
Going to sleep in his arms had been enough. She hadn’t slept so well in a very long time.
She could get used to that. Maybe in the future.
For now, she had to feed her very good dog. He’d guarded Elijah all night long. He’d also elicited startled gasps from a few early-rising neighbors during her run. Seeing a Black Russian Terrier in a full run wasn’t a usual sight. At least he hadn’t been chasing the stunned neighbors. She hoped he’d scared the shit out of Corey Gates.
“I wish you’d bitten Corey,” she muttered as she bent over to fill his food and water bowls.
“I wish he had, too,” Jace said.
Val straightened to find Jace uncuffed and standing a few feet away, next to Molly Sutton. “Good morning. Did you sleep?”
Jace’s smile was wan. “Not much.”
“Not any,” Molly confirmed. “We were about to make breakfast when you came in. I told Jace that you sometimes talk to Czar after your run, and we should be very quiet to hear what you had to say.”
Val tried to glare at Molly but laughed instead. “It’s fair. I rarely wish Czar had bitten anyone, though. Usually, I’m just grumbling about the newspaper being all wet or Mr.Boots, the next-door neighbor’s cat, because he teases Czar unmercifully. Did you say breakfast?”
Molly chuckled. “I did. Sit down and we’ll make it, then I’m going home to sleep.”
“Coffee first?” Jace asked hopefully.
“Absolutely,” Molly promised.
Val sat down with her laptop, listening to Molly and Jace talking about her horses while they cooked. Jace was telling her that he had always wanted to learn to ride.
Val wanted to promise him that she’d make sure he did, but that wasn’t hers to promise. He wasn’t her responsibility. Not after all this was over. But maybe the foster system would allow her visitation privileges. She’d make sure it did.
She let their chatter wash over her as she resumed reviewing Antoine’s police report data for the dates Corey had left Rick and Jace alone. It had been overwhelming at first sight the night before, but now that she knew Corey was planning to kill Bella Butler and her entire family, she viewed the information through a new lens. Antoine had been focusing on drug deals because of Sixth Day, but Val was thinking murder might be a better direction.
Corey might want to kill Bella because he was a true believer in Trevor Doyle and considered Bella a liar like the online assholes, or he might want to kill her to keep her from testifying. If he hadn’t had all those unexplained absences, she’d give more credence to Corey being a true believer in Doyle, but he’d started going AWOL long before Bella had accused the director of rape. It made more sense that Corey wanted to keep her from testifying, and if so, Doyle would be the person who’d benefit the most from Corey’s success.
