“Cara?” Ivy prods again.
“I don’t know.”
“Whatever you decide is fine. We can go back to the house,” Ivy offers, and it’s a testament to her kindness that she’s willing to be here for me when I know how much she’s been missing her husband. “You’re shaking.”
I can only nod in response.
“You could close your eyes right now and trust that you’re safe. You’re surrounded by nothing but good men, good people who would risk their lives to keep you safe.”
Tears burn my eyes once again, something I’ve grown used to since arriving on Cerberus property.
“I need to know he isn’t a monster,” I whisper, and she gives me a small smile, knowing exactly who I’m referring to.
“Let’s go.” She clasps my hand, her palm warm and comforting in mine.
I keep my stride even with hers because I don’t want to look weak, as if I’m being dragged behind her. When we circle around the back of one of the SUVs, I see two bikers, ones I haven’t really met yet, standing with their backs to us in the open door of one of the SUVs.
“Goddamn it. Stop. You said you no longer wanted to kill me.” The familiar voice reaches my ears, and I freeze in my tracks.
One of the guys chuckles. “Come on, asshole. Let us fucking help you.”
“I don’t need your help,” Javier grumbles. “Just give me a fucking minute.”
His voice sounds like he’s spent the last week screaming. The gravel of it makes me drop Ivy’s hand and step forward.
“Excuse me,” I say when I approach.
The guys step aside, and I see Javier slouched over in the backseat. His face is bruised and swollen, and he has a cast on his left forearm.
“Let them help you.”
His eyes snap up to mine, his face screwing up in pain from the quick movement.
“Cara?”
He looks like he’s seen a ghost, his mouth falling open on a gasp.
“Let them help you,” I repeat.
Instead of being stubborn or questioning why I’m here, he nods. The guys notice and move in to help him the second I take a step back.
His injuries must be more extensive than I initially thought because they don’t grip him under the arms to help him walk. They reach in and literally carry him out of the vehicle, each man holding him under his legs.
I lose his gaze when he squeezes his eyes closed, but he doesn’t cuss at them or scream in pain even though it’s obvious that’s exactly what he’s feeling.
As if they have a mind of their own, my feet carry me behind them. Mia squeezes my hand when I pass, another offer of solidarity, and I wait in the hall while the guys try to situate him on the bed without hurting him too much. The room he goes into is the same one I used for the few days before going across the street to Ivy’s house.
“They’re going to give him some morphine.” I jolt at the voice near me, feeling a little calmer when I see Kincaid standing there.
Ivy told me I was safe. Hell, every person here has said it over and over, but apparently, my mind hasn’t fully accepted it.
“Sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I should’ve called to you from the hallway. He’s got a broken wrist, damage to his left eardrum, and a concussion. More cuts and stitches than I want to think about, but he’s going to be okay.”
I nod, unsure why he’s telling me all of this without me asking, but I’m grateful to know.
“Lauren has gone back to work, so she’s not returning. Thump—Javier has seen a doctor. Spent two days in a hospital in Mexico City. He doesn’t seem to have any real lasting damage, but he’s got a lot of healing to do.”
“How long does he get to stay?”
“He’s Cerberus,” Kincaid says before he walks away like I know what that even means.
Chapter 28
Thumper
“Fuck,” I grunt, the pain all over my body washing over me like a tsunami, the full swell settling over every inch of me.
I roll my head, wondering if one of the guys left a bottle of pain pills nearby.
My eyes fall on the body curled up in a soft-looking recliner that wasn’t there when I called this room mine before. My fingers tremble as I reach for her, a futile effort considering she’s more than a handful of feet away from me.
I didn’t dream it. Either that or I’m still locked in a dream. If I am, this one is better than the one I dreamed with all the sand. I can actually smell her, a feminine scent of floral shampoo and vanilla soap.
I keep my eyes on her, one barely a slit because of the swelling, until they grow too heavy to keep open. I keep my arm outstretched on the bed, just wanting to be as close to her as I can manage as darkness takes over me once again.