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"I'll make this brief," Paxton said. "You were held prisoner by an asshole. That is not something you get over straightaway. You can ask Harmony. She knows all about it."
"Paxton kept me locked in a room for five months," she said lightly. "It really does fuck with your head. Well, it was Zeta, but he worked for them. Orwiththem. It’s complicated."
Paxton shrugged. "I was trying to keep her safe."
I looked at them both in surprise. "If a man did that to me, I would cut off his balls."
Paxton responded to that with a wry smile. "What makes you think I have any balls left?"
I wasn't sure if he was joking or not, but Harmony grinned.
"So that's not yours then," I stated and waved at Harmony's belly.
She pressed her hands to her bump. "She's Jordan's. He's the guy who was with me when I asked for the siphon stone. He wanted to be here, but he is looking after our other baby. We're still in hiding from Zeta."
I nodded. "I appreciate you taking the chance to help me." Not that they had a choice.
"Yeah." Paxton nodded. "I wanted to finish the healing I started up north. And give you a chance to talk about what happened with someone who is not going to get emotional and start beating their chest."
I wanted to deny that the guys would do that, but he was right. If I wanted to talk about things, it would be better to do that with someone impartial.
He put a hand on my arm. I felt the tingle of magic again. "He broke a cheekbone? The witch didn't heal it properly either."
"Dagen told her to leave the bruises." I stood still, trying not to show how disconcerting his touch was.
"She left more than that."
I felt movement under the skin, then Paxton nodded.
"That's better. Leg too? Anywhere else? Apart from your abdomen? You know you’ll never have children?"
I nodded and tried to ignore Harmony’s look of sympathy. She was much sweeter than I was.
Before I could respond verbally, Paxton added, "Vaginal tearing?"
I winced at how blunt the question was.
Even Harmony looked surprised.
"No," I said. "He didn't touch me there. Not my ass either," I added before he could ask.
"Is there any chance he drugged you and did things you can't remember?" he asked. He lowered his hands and crossed his arms over his chest. "I know these questions are invasive, but they're important. You don't have to tell me, but tell someone. Get therapy. Whatever."
"Is that what you did?" I asked Harmony. I saw the fond looks she gave Paxton and wondered how the hells she ever forgave him. I mean, there's room in the world for all sorts of relationships, but if someone like Jake locked me up, I couldn't imagine forgiving him. I would probably let Cooper kill him. On the other hand, Jake would never do that.
I sighed. "No, I don't think he drugged me and did anything. Not unless he drugged Ben as well. It's not really his style though. He’s a bully. He likes people to know what he's done. He likes an audience."
"Paxton," Harmony said softly. "Can you wait outside with the others?"
He hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "Take your time." He backed out the door and closed it behind him.
"I don't know about you, but I need to sit." Harmony lowered herself down to the bed in the middle of the room.
I took the hint and sat beside her. "Why don't you hate him?"
She glanced towards the door. "Paxton and I are complicated. Fucked up, absolutely. But we work. He understands me and I understand him. And yes, I have a very nice psychologist who helps me work through all this. And three other guys who help keep Paxton in check. Do you want to talk about what happened to you?"
I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath. "Not really. I'd like to just put it behind me. You're going to tell me I can't, aren't you?"
