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“Can you please keep the light on?”

“No problem, little man.”

* * *

Checking the living room, I see that Tessa did what I asked and went to her room. As soon as I push through her room, I’m assaulted by a soft floral scent. There’s a side lamp on that gives the room a soft glow. My eyes quickly scan the room, seeing it’s sparsely decorated. There’s a low dresser on the opposite wall of the bed, with a few large prints arranged over the wooden structure. She’s already in bed, the covers pulled up close to her chin.

“Tessa?” I ask quietly, making sure to close the door gently.

“Yeah,” she responds as she rolls to her side, facing me. Her face is fresh looking. The redness washed away with the makeup. This is the girl that I remember. The one before she was introduced to makeup. My Tessa.

“Is Sam all right?” she asks.

“Yeah. He’s good. Monsters. You know how that goes.”

She pushes herself to the sitting position as I make my way farther into the room. “More than you know,” she deadpans, and I know that I fucked up by my comment.

Putting one knee on the mattress I give her a smile, hoping that I ease her tension. “Do you trust me?”

Her eyes widen, for only a second, but I know she remembers the first time I asked her that question. She gives me a slight jerk of her head, so I continue on with my plan. I reach out for her hand, the same way I did that night of prom, and she gives it to me without question. I keep hold of her hand as I lie down and make myself comfortable. I take her hand and wrap it around my torso. She instantly wiggles her body closer to mine.

I have so many questions that are swarming around in my mind. The fury from earlier is still a simmer under my skin, and I know one wrong question, and one unbearable answer will set it off into an inferno, and that’s something I can’t let happen.

“How are you doing?” I decide to start with the small stuff. I know I need to ease into the subject at hand. Trust.

“Okay.” Her warm breath dances along my neck and shoots straight to my dick. I adjust my hips while keeping a firm hold of her. That’s not what tonight is about.

“So that’s why you left?”

She nods, not verbalizing the answer. This tells me that if I want to get my answers, then I’m going to have to go the easy route.

“Do your parents know the extent of your injuries, of what happened to you?” I feel her shoulders lift. “Tessa, do you still talk to your family?”

I feel the wetness hit my shirt because she sniffs. “No.”

I pull her up, making it so that she’s looking at me. Her heart is racing. I can see the vein in her neck pulse with every beat. There’s no sparkle in her coffee eyes, and it kills me that it’s no longer there. I could kick myself for not going after her when I found out that she skipped town. I should have gone to her parents and demanded that they tell me where she was.

I swipe my thumb along her cheek, catching her tears as they fall. When she closes her eyes, it takes all my willpower not to haul her closer to me and cover her lips with mine. I need to ease her pain, to bring light back into those eyes.

The next question is one that I don’t want to ask, but it’s crucial for me to know. More for my own sanity than anything. I make sure I own her gaze before I speak the words. I need to be able to read her.

“Is Sam’s dad one of the guys that attacked you?”

She squeezes her eyes closed, biting her bottom lip she chest heaves with a sob. Her shoulders shake as she cries. Small whales of pain escape her throat. I pull her towards me, wrapping both arms around her and kiss the top of her head as she cries away her pain. Seven years of built-up strength crumble with one question. It makes me wonder just how fragile she really is. This woman, living life by choices she didn’t have. Loving a child not brought to this earth out of love, but out of pure evil. He’s a symbol of innocence tainted by the devil’s hand.

As she continues to cry, I hold her. Her weeps turn to whimpers that turn to soft even breaths. This woman will continue to be safe in my arms. No harm will ever come to her or her son, again.

I bet my fucking life on it.

Hawk

“Yo,” Dyke answers with the thump of music in the background.

“I need you to do some recon,” I tell him as I pull the slider to Tessa’s back patio open enough so I can fit my body through and step out into the night air.

“What’s this about?” he grunts, and I can hear his heavy boots walking away from the music, more than likely towards his or Cut’s office. “Is this about your mom and sisters?”

I run my hand over my head. “Fuck me, man. I haven’t even gotten to that yet.”