Chapter 29
Jared
“Uh, we’re here to rescue you?” I announce dumbly, the words sounding more like a question as I watch Selene wipe crimson blood splatter from her face.
“Jared!” She releases the long handle of the—shit, is that a fucking axe she’s holding? I meet her staggering steps halfway, scooping her into my arms.
“I’ll deal with him,” Garrett says, rushing past us to secure The Raven.
“Are you OK? Are you hurt?” I ask, searching her for any sign of injury. I can’t tell if any of the blood on her face, chest, and hands is hers or not.
“I’m fine. My head hurts like hell, but I’m fine.” She sags against me. “Jared, there’s something you need to know—”
A strangled laugh sounds from where The Raven lies bleeding.
I cock my head, looking on in morbid fascination when I see the axe hasn’t fallen to the ground.
My gaze drifts down the long handle to see the sharp edge disappearing in between black feathers matted with blood.
Damn, did Selene nail this fucker to the floor? That’s hot. Scary, but hot.
“Jared, my boy. So glad you could join us.”
I freeze. That voice. I know that voice.
“Corbin?” My boss, my mentor, is the one who tried to kill me? Who did kill all those people?
“That’s what I wanted to tell you.” Selene’s voice is gentle, as if she’s afraid I might break.
“How?” My voice cracks.
The Raven—Corbin—throws back his head and laughs. Seeing him like this, bound by the magic blocking cuffs Garrett’s locked around his wrists, I realise I never knew the man who claimed to think of me as a son. This man, laughing in a pool of his own blood, is insane.
“He told me why.”
“What?” I can’t take my eyes off Corbin.
Selene steps in front of me, forcing me to look at her instead of the psychopath beyond. “I needed to keep him talking so that I’d have time to escape. He told me all of it, Jared. You don’t need to talk to him unless you want to—I can tell you everything.”
Garrett snorts. “He did a villain monologue?”
Selene smirks. “Yep.”
“Idiot.” Garrett looks down at Corbin with disdain.
“You know why he did this? Not just to me, but why he went after all those other people?” I check. I might not work for The Ledger anymore, but the human families of Corbin’s victims deserve answers as much as I do.
“Not why he targeted those people specifically other than they all offended him in some way, but I know everything else. The SIB will figure out the rest,” she assures me.
“Then that’s good enough for me.”
More magical signatures fill the air. A moment later Agents Johnson and Terrall, plus some of the town’s protection team, come barrelling in.
“I called them,” Garrett explains.
“Thank you.”
Selene and I head for the hole where the door used to be.
“Wait, you can’t leave,” Agent Terrall calls out angrily.
“My mate is injured.” Selene’s been trying to hide her hands and wrists from me where the skin’s been rubbed raw, but I’ve noticed.
I always make it a point to notice everything about her.
She’s also swaying so much I’m pretty sure she’d topple over if I wasn’t supporting her.
Whatever she had to do to escape Corbin, it’s taken a toll on her.
“Any questions you and your partner have can wait until tomorrow. We’ll come by the town hall when we’re ready. ”
There’s an argument on the tip of her tongue, but luckily Agent Johnson has enough sense to step in and distract her. Garrett jerks his head as if telling us to get out of here while we can, and we escape without another word.
Selene’s cottage is technically a crime scene, and neither of us is eager to go back there right now anyway, so we head to my place instead.
Once we’re safely inside, she asks for a few minutes alone to shower.
As much as I hate the thought of letting her out of my sight, I can see how much she needs the space to decompress.
That’s how I find myself sitting on the carpeted hallway floor, leaning against the wall right next to the bathroom door, listening out for any sign of trouble or distress. The water turns on and seconds later I hear a pained squeak. I’m on my feet in an instant.
“Are you OK?” I call through the door.
“Yes… no.” Well, that cleared up absolutely nothing.
“Can I come in?”
There’s a long pause, then she responds with an almost inaudible, “Yeah.”
The air in the bathroom is turning thick with steam from the shower. Selene’s perched on the edge of the bath, hugging her arms to her chest, the humidity making her fringe stick to her forehead.
“What’s wrong, Gorgeous?” I ask, kneeling in front of her. She shoots me a droll look. Sue me. She always looks gorgeous—all dressed up or bare-faced and tired, it doesn’t matter.
“My hands. The water stings like a bitch,” she grumbles.
I reach out, hands hovering over hers, not quite touching.
“Can I take a look?” Biting her quivering lower lip, she nods.
With the utmost care, I draw her hands towards me.
Scarlet abrasions mar the porcelain skin in rings around her wrists, and I bite back a growl.
Gently I encourage her to unclench her fists, wincing in sympathy at what’s revealed.
Her dark nail varnish has chipped off, and her fingertips are bloody and torn.
Her delicate palms aren’t much better off.
Corbin deserved far worse than an axe to the wing.
“I need to clean them. They’ll get infected if I don’t.”
“I know.” Unshed tears shine in her eyes.
“Are you hurt anywhere else?”
“My ankles, but they’re not as bad as my wrists—the rope was over my jeans.”
“Alright, let’s get the rest of you cleaned up first, then we can treat your cuts,” I say, eyeing the flecks of blood still spattered across her skin. “Can you stand?”
“Yeah.” Her movements are stiff, but sure enough, she makes it to her feet.
“Get in, I’ll be right behind you,” I tell her, stripping off my shirt.
Her jaw goes slack. “You can’t—”
“No, you can’t, not with your hands like that. I most definitely can.” She still looks uncertain, so I add, “Selene. There’s not an inch of you I don’t know and love. Let me do this for you. Let me take care of my beautiful, brave mate.”
“OK.”
Quickly I shed the rest of my clothes, then join her under the hot spray.
When it first became clear she’d be staying over a lot, I made sure to get in the body wash and hair stuff she uses, a decision I’m especially glad of right now.
Once the dried flecks of blood are erased from her skin, I free Selene’s ebony hair from her ponytail.
Lathering up a generous amount of shampoo, I gently massage her scalp, before working it through the long strands.
After a couple of rinses, I use the conditioner to untangle the knots until her dark hair hangs in a silky-smooth curtain.
Selene’s shoulders finally relax, and she leans back against me, head resting on my chest.
“Better?”
“Better.” She turns to face me, and I do my best to ignore the feel of her full breasts pressing against my chest. This isn’t the time. “Jared?”
“Hmm?”
She presses a kiss right over my heart. “I want you to claim me. I want to complete the mate bond.”