Out the corner of my eye, I see Hero reach for me, but he’s still too far away and his hand grabs thin air.
I fly forward, about to the hit the unforgiving concrete floor when my arms come up by instinct, trying to break my fall. Bad idea. Bad idea, I tell myself, but it’s too late. My right hand touches the ground before anything else, and I hear the crack before I feel the pain.
The cry that leaves my lips is unlike any sound I’ve heard myself make before. It scares me, terrifies me straight to the bone. I curl up on the cold, hard floor into the fetal position, holding my wrist to my chest, hoping my outcome isn’t the same as the man’s back there.
“No…Elyse. Shit, babe…” Hero’s hand lands on my shoulder, pulling me toward him.
I jerk away, like his touch burns my skin. Even through the pain, I don’t want his bloodied hands on me.
All I can see inside my head is the man slumped over in the chair, blood dripping from his face.
Rolling onto my back, I scoot back on my elbows, trying to get away from him. “D-Don’t touch me! Just don’t hurt me, and I won’t tell anyone. I promise.”
The hurt in his eyes is apparent, but it’s nothing compared to the hurt I’m feeling. I feel like I just took a bullet through the heart that left me with a gaping wound in my chest.
I try to push myself up onto my feet, but quickly realize I must have twisted my ankle as well. Crying out in pain, I sink back to the floor with a hard thud.
“Baby, please, let me help you.” Hero doesn’t wait for my answer even as I scurry away from him. Slipping one arm under my legs and the other around my shoulders, he lifts me up and cradles me to his chest.
I try to break free of his hold, but there isn’t any point. With a hurt leg and hurt wrist, even if I did get him to let me go, how would I get away? I try to calm my breathing and erratic heartbeat, but nothing helps.
I want to hate him. How can I feel anything besides disgust and hate after what I just witnessed? I’m conflicted…confused…
Yet, when I’m in his arms, so close to him, I feel safe.
Turning my head, I bury my face into his shirt and start crying. I know it doesn’t make sense for him to be able to calm me down, since he is the one causing the panic in the first place, but he does.
“It’s okay. You’re okay. I’ve got you.” Hero continues to whisper sweet nothings in my ear, and I let him.
I let him comfort me, because despite everything, he is the only one who can give me the comfort I need right now. “What…were you doing?” I manage to get out between the sobs wracking my body. I have to know—was he going to kill again? Did that man ask him to? I need answers, and I need them now.
Hero doesn’t answer or even look at me at first. All I see is his jaw set in a hard line. He’s angry, pissed, but so am I.
“Hero?” I whisper carefully.
“What are you doing here?” he growls, ignoring my question, his arms tightening around my body. “I asked…no, I begged you to stay at home and wait for me.” His words make it sound like he is sad, but he isn’t. Not really. He’s only sad I found out. “Why did you have to come here? Fuck, why, Elyse? I never wanted you to see this.”
His grip on me is almost painful, but I don’t say a word. There’s nothing left for me to say if he won’t give me the answers I need.
Feeling more broken than I’ve ever felt before, I consider the fact that maybe Tasha and my parents were right—maybe Hero isn’t really a hero after all.
Chapter Nine
Hero
I want to throttle myself. Every sob shaking her small body in my arms sends another shard of glass straight through my heart.
This is all my fault. I knew I should’ve told Damon to fuck off and deal with his problems on his own. But he’s like a brother to me and had my back when I needed it, so I figured I could repay him without getting my hands too dirty.
Ha. It’s never that easy, though. I should have known. Why was I so fucking stupid to think otherwise? Now, I will have to live with this mistake for the rest of my life, never being able to forget the way Elyse looked at me. The horror in her gaze made me feel as if I had lost her. She was scared of me, scooting away from me as if I was going to hurt her.