I get in between Geraint and the man who tried to assault me, my back to him and my eyes fastened on Geraint’s. If he’s going to hurt this man, then he’ll have to hurt me first.
“Jesus, fuck, Branwen! Get out of the way.”
I shake my head, standing my ground. I’m not letting anyone else die because of me. Before, I would have run away and hid, but months of hiding and praying never fixed anything. I don’t know what’s lying in wait for me at Avallonis, but I’m going to face it once and for all.
The running stops now.
Geraint’s growl comes from the depths of the underworld. “Babygirl. Are you telling me no?”
Geraint
Branwen takes my hands in hers, closing over the hilt of the knife clenched in my fist. Behind her, I can see the drunk asshole weighing his options, dearly wanting to punch my teeth out but knowing all that’s standing in my way of ending him is Branwen.
“Good job hiding behind a girl, pussy.” He spits blood on the ground and limps off into the darkness, favoring his right side as he goes.
I sheath my knife, my chest heaving. Branwen could have been hurt. She could have been killed. I let her out of my sight for one second and nearly lost her. “You trying to get yourself killed? Why didn’t you call out for me?”
Her eyes swim with tears. The adrenaline’s wearing off her now the danger’s passing and she crumples before my eyes. Without even thinking about it, I pull her into my arms and grip her so tightly, it’s like I’m trying to meld her body with mine.
“There are bad fucking people out there, baby. You gotta speak up when you’re in trouble.”
She shakes her head. Fuck. She won’t even speak to save her life. What’s she so afraid of at Avallonis, and what’s she running from? I need to know more than I need that fucking map. As she sobs in my arms, I want to drown the world in blood for her. Who do I need to kill to release her from this terror?
She may not be able to talk, but I can. And fuck me if I’m going to stand silently by while she puts herself in danger.
I pull back and glare at her, taking her upper arms in my hands and giving her a little shake. “You don’t go around putting yourself in danger for no fucking reason. While you’re with me, I’m responsible for you and I’m not having you dying on me.”
Her eyes are large and unfocused and I don’t think she even hears me. She’s too far gone in her terror. I pick her up in my arms and carry her back to the hotel. I need her close to me, need to know she’s okay. Her arms come around me like they did that first night and she presses her face into my throat.
“It’s all right, baby,” I murmur, over and over. “I’ve got you.”
When I set her on her feet under the bare bulb in the room, I see there’s blood speckling her face and blouse. That fucker’s blood. I regret all over again that I never got her a change of clothes because she’s got nothing else to put on.
“I’m sorry, baby. I’m going to make this up to you.”
Kissing her cheeks, wiping the tears from her face, I undress her. I take my own clothes off too, and we get into the shower. The hot water pummels our bodies and she holds tight to me, her skin against mine. It does something to you, having a girl weak and vulnerable in your arms, crying out her misery. Wiping away her tears and then licking her sweet sex until she comes. I put her into that place where she’s free and safe, and I went with her. I want to take her there again, but it’s dangerous. I have to think of her as nothing more than a tool for my revenge, and there’s no way I should cross that line with her again.
But when I imagine the alternative, letting her cry and feel wretched, I know I can’t do it. I grab a washcloth and wipe that asshole’s blood from her cheeks, and then I take her face in my hands.
“Tell me. What the fuck was that earlier? Why did you stand in my way?” I see the figure of that drunk holding her ag
ainst the wall with his hands on her, and I want to storm right out of the motel room, hunt him down, and finish him off. Of course, Branwen says nothing.
“I don’t know if you figured it out yet, but killing people is what I do. I may not have been hired to snuff that motherfucker but sometimes I work for free. Do you understand?”
She nods.
“And if I wanted to go after that guy now and finish him off, would you let me?”
She shakes her head.
I want to laugh at the idea of Branwen, who probably weighs less than a hundred pounds soaking wet, stopping me from doing anything I set my mind to. But I can see from her eyes she’s determined. I had that tenacity too, when I lived in the institution and my brother told me not to stick up for him. Like hell I wouldn’t. You gotta do what you think is right, no matter what.
“He tried to hurt you. I don’t understand why you wouldn’t want him punished.”
Branwen seems to struggle for a moment, trying to come up with an explanation she can give me without words. After a moment, she takes my hand and touches the inside edge of the finger on my right hand. The place where Trefor had a crucifix tattooed on his finger.
“What’s this got to do with Trefor?” I snarl. “You think he wouldn’t have asked for help? If you’re in danger, you fucking call out for help. I’m right here. Why didn’t you call out for help?”