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“So that’s part of giving her medical attention?” He gestured to the handcuffs.

I glanced at her wrists, but only to check for the umpteenth time that they weren’t hurting her. Her arms were raised above her head, the cuffs looped through the rails of the headboard, but they weren’t tight enough to chafe. My gaze slid down to the soft, pale skin of her throat as she lay facing me.

The wound was on the side of her head, right above her ear. That fucking piece of shit had smashed her skull into the ground so hard that the impact had formed an enormous knot and she probably had a concussion.

I thought he’d killed her at first.

I’d never been angrier in my life than when I’d watched him hurt her like that. The rage that flooded my system was electrifying, a palpable energy that burned through my entire being. It was two months of pent-up fury that had no outlet—until that moment. I should’ve grabbed her when she’d crawled between my legs, but I was so amused by her that I wasn’t paying enough attention to who else was there.

But Tom would never be able to touch her or anyone else like that again. I’d broken all of his fingers, snapped his wrists, dislocated both shoulders, beaten his face in.

It still wasn’t enough.

Having to helplessly watch that piece of shit fuck with her day after day, I wanted to do much, much worse.

I wanted to kill him, but I couldn’t do that just yet. I couldn’t help blaming myself for what he’d done, though. He never would’ve hurt her if I’d hadn’t been so awestruck. I’d been watching from afar for so long that to finally be that close to her was paralyzing.

I wasn’t expecting anyone to be in the office, but when I opened the door, there she was, a little demon tucked away in the corner of the room. I couldn’t even react when she jumped up from her spot and flew at me like a possessed howler monkey. All I could think was she’s right here. She’s right here in front of me, her eyes are on mine, those blue eyes are looking at me.

Finally.

And god was she beautiful. She had a pert nose above small, rosy lips, and I’d never noticed before, hadn’t ever been close enough, but there was a beauty mark on her left cheek.

And those goddamn eyes. The deepest blue I’d ever seen, sparking with a furious determination that set my blood on fire.

Eyes the same color of the pen she’d stabbed me with.

Her eyes were closed now, long lashes fanning against her pale cheeks. I lifted my gaze to her hand, the one I’d put a small bandage on because she’d cut it on a piece of glass. And, like always, she was wearing long sleeves despite the fact that it was summer. I’d never seen her wear anything else.

The fact that I had her right in front of me and could ask her why—could ask her anything at all—was surreal to me. I couldn’t get my heart to slow down.

Every night for the past month, I’d been walking her home. That’s what I called it. Someone with a different perspective might call it stalking, but I would disagree. That had a malicious, nefarious tone, and I wasn’t here to hurt Margot. Not at all.

I just wanted to make sure she got home safely. Marion was a dangerous city, after all. Someone had to be her guardian angel. It just so happened that I’d appointed myself to the position.

She didn’t need a guardian angel, but I wasn’t going to give up my role for anything.

Last night had been proof of that.

The way she’d handled that drunk piece of shit? I’d wanted to step out of the shadows and kneel at her feet. She was a vicious goddess that I wanted to worship for eternity.

The damage she’d done with a box cutter—a fucking box cutter—was unbelievable. And sure, that guy might’ve stopped following her after that, but I’d decided he needed a little more punishment to balance the scales.

So I’d dragged him into the alley and broken every single one of his fingers for daring to touch her.

Then I followed her back to the motel and positioned myself beneath one of the trees across the parking lot.

A few hours later, I left some flowers I picked from the small patch of greenery that bordered the parking lot, then settled back in my spot under the tree.

I watched her door all night long, and when morning broke, I waited for her to emerge. Then I’d joined the other guys in the van where I’d kept watching her.

It was a variation of what I’d been doing every night these past few months.

I looked at Cade, determined to stand my ground even though I’d fucked up.

“Yes,” I said to my very agitated brother. “She could move around and hurt herself. And she most likely has a concussion⁠—”

“You and your goddamn savior complex. She’s not a fucking rabbit with its leg caught in a trap! No, you know what? I’m out. You deal with this. I said we’d help her, not steal her. And what the fuck were you thinking, doing that to Tom? Now Thorne will be looking for us ten times harder than he already would have! What the fuck, Court?”