Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
CARTER
Knox is worried about her, I see it in his eyes and hear it in his voice.
“Tesoro, don’t do anything you can’t come back from.”
She spins around to him, her gaze furious.
“Like what, Knox? Do you think he doesn’t deserve this?”
He’s quick to respond, attempting to diffuse her anger.
“No. He deserves worse than you could ever do to him. I’m just concerned for you. If you won’t regret it or it won’t further traumatize you, do what you need to do. I just want you to be okay. That’s all I care about.”
Tears stream down her cheeks and she shakes her head as if Knox doesn’t get it.
“Do you even know how many times he raped me? How many times he ordered other men to do the same to me? How many times he beat me black and blue? How about the time he fucked me with a curling iron? Or the number of times I was forced to watch him do the same thing to my younger sisters for punishment? My punishment.”
The torch slips from her hands to the ground as she hits her knees with an anguished cry.
I go to her knowing the pain she’s experiencing because I’ve been there too.
You’d think once you’re away from your abuser that you’ll feel better but that’s not the case.
The torment continues and follows you through your life.
It’s etched into your memory. You can run and hide but it’ll always find you. There’s no escape.
Kneeling in front of her, I take her into my arms. She sobs into my chest. My broken girl.
“You should do what you think is fitting. Knox isn’t judging you, he loves you and wants you to be okay, we all do. Only you know how far is too far.”
Tilting her head back, her blue eyes stare into mine, there’s so much pain and it guts me that I can’t fix it for her. I’m not sure if she has decided what she’s going to do, but then Grave makes the decision for her.
“Wicked little girl. You can’t do anything right, not even this.”
Climbing to her feet, she grabs the torch and moves it up and down his shin. Like the first leg, it burns quickly while he screams in agony.
I cough from the putrid stench of burning flesh. His legs buckle, leaving him nearly dangling from the tree.
When she presses the torch against his eyeball, I know his time is coming to an end.
“Where is Jedediah?”
“Hiding,” he hisses through a clenched jaw.
“This isn’t a threat, Gabriel. I’ll do it. Where is your Prophet?”
“I won’t betray him.”
Heather doesn’t respond, without another word, the fire from the torch burns his eyeball as he writhes in agony. She moves to the other side and repeats what she did with the first.
His head slumps down, and she quietly steps away from him. Glancing at Killian, she says, “Call Bones, please. Tell him the body is ready.”
Knox and I both follow her as she moves across the field quietly.
She sits on the grass, and I sit on one side of her, Knox taking a seat on the other. Neither of us says anything, we let her dictate the conversation.
“She is the first girl born in our family who won’t be abused. Once they are dead, I want to find her a good family. People who will love and protect her. I want that for her. Something I never had.”
She pulls a wildflower from the ground and mindlessly removes the petals one at a time.
“Do you think that even exists?”
“Good people?” Knox asks, and she nods.
“Yes. I’m scared someone will hurt her.”
“Good people exist, Tesoro. You are one of them. Have you considered keeping her?”
Her eyes fill with unshed tears as she shakes her head.
“I want her to be surrounded by good. That’s not me. I’m evil. I just melted a man’s eyeballs and feel no remorse. No, she deserves better than me.”
Stroking my thumb over the back of her neck, I sigh softly, hating how she talks about herself.
“I’m not trying to convince you to keep the baby.
I don’t know if any of us are ready to take that on, but if it’s what you want, we will support you and figure it out.
You are not evil. You’re inherently good.
Making those who harmed you pay for their crimes does not make you a bad person.
Your heart is pure, Little Heathen. And if you decide to keep her, she’ll be the luckiest little girl in the world. ”
Laying her head on my shoulder, she breathes, “Thank you.”
“After Bones gets here, we are going to a house he set up for us. And you will relax for forty-eight hours before phase two. I don’t want any arguments.”
Surprising me, she glances at me with a small smile.
“That sounds really nice.”
Bones, Reaper and Raven arrive quicker than I expected.
“I’ve sent the address to your phone. We are in the house next door.” Bones says while glancing over at Grave.
“How’s the baby?” Heather asks, and I know she’s been worried about her since she handed her over to Bones.
“Perfect. Athena and Bella are doting on her around the clock. We had her checked out by Dr. Knight. Everything was fine. She estimates that she’s only around six weeks old. She’s a little underweight at only nine pounds but thinks she’ll gain weight now that she’s being fed regularly.”
The expression on Heather's face mimics what I’m sure we are all feeling with this information.
“My sister wasn’t taking care of her?”
He shrugs his shoulders as he glances at me.
“We don’t know what her birthweight was but she should be closer to ten pounds. A little over. When Athena got her-“
He runs a hand through his hair as he stares at her, eyes filled with pain as he thinks about it.
“I’m sorry, Heather. I know this is difficult, but she was very hungry. The doctor thinks she hadn’t been fed for a few days. She was also dehydrated, but she’s doing much better now.”
Heather nods her understanding.
“Thank you. I’d like to see her later, if that’s okay.”
“Of course. You’re family. Our home here or in New York is always open to you.”
Psycho and Reaper stop in front of Grave, with their heads tilted, eyes fascinated as they stare at him in amazement.
Reaper rubs his hands together excitedly as we all approach what’s left of Grave.
“Wow. Did his eyeballs melt?”
Bones rubs his temples as he sighs audibly.
“Enough. You’re making the headache behind my eyes start again. Get him down and do your job.”
“Come on, Killer. Time to get you to the house.”
Killian wraps his arm around her waist as we walk across the grass to the SUV.