Chapter 43
FORTY-THREE
CORA
It’s deathly silent as we stand in the clearing and watch Soren’s taillights disappear.
I don’t really understand everything that’s happening right now, for the simple fact that my mind keeps flashing back to the image of Delaney, lying on the ground, no longer breathing, her body so fucking cold.
How long has she been out here? Surely her body was too cold for this to have happened today.
“I can stand,” I tell Arlo. And while I don’t have the patience to argue with him about what he said, I have to ask, “You plan to marry me?”
He sets me on my feet, then grasps the hem of his shirt, lifts it over his head, and proceeds to place it on me. I didn’t realize my teeth were chattering until he did that.
“We can discuss it later. First, we need to get you home and into the shower to warm you up.” His scent envelops me as he wraps an arm around my waist and guides me to the car. When we reach it, I look back over my shoulder.
“I don’t like her out there, with him.”
“I’ll stay,” Boston offers, and I give him a small, appreciative smile.
“Thank you,” I whisper.
He nods and then turns to Arlo as I get in the car.
When I’m seated, Arlo closes the door and then rounds the front to the driver’s side.
He starts the engine, then turns on the heat and seat warmers.
“I have to speak to Boston. Will you be okay?” I nod, and he studies me for a moment, his brows twisting before he finally closes the door and meets Boston near the rear of the car.
I turn in my seat to see them both staring back at the woods before facing one another. Arlo says something to Boston, then he gets into the car.
“Are you warm?” he asks.
“Is Delaney warm?” I shoot back.
“Boston will take care of her,” he assures me, his tone softer than I’ve ever heard before.
“He’s a crooked cop, isn’t he?” As we drive away, I glance in the side-view mirror and see Boston heading back into the woods. I never want to see this place again.
“Yes, I guess he is.”
“And this place is where the hunts are held?”
His hands tense on the steering wheel at my question. “What did he tell you?”
“That you like to choke women,” I tell him, remembering what Rylas said. “That you’re one to follow the rules.”
“That is true… was true. But you’re my only exception.
I broke all my own rules for you.” He says it as if it’s a fact he’s carried around for a while, something settled and certain in his mind.
And maybe it shouldn’t mean so much, but somehow, it does.
His words settle into a space I didn’t realize was so hollow. They make me feel less alone.
Not fixed. Not suddenly, okay. But seen.
“You choke me,” I state.
“I know. And you enjoy it.”
We both go quiet after that, the only sounds coming from the car itself.
When we get to my street, I turn to face him. “I need to sleep, and then we need to talk. I need to know what’s happening,” I tell him.
He answers with a simple, “Okay, but I need that arm fixed.” I glance down, and immediately, it starts to sting.
When we pull up outside of my apartment, I don’t bother waiting for him to open the door for me. I step out of the car, and the cold breeze hits me. Thankfully, I still have his shirt on.
He strides up to the building’s entrance and, producing a key from somewhere, unlocks the door, then waits for me to follow. I’m covered in dirt, and I didn’t notice until now that my shoes are missing.
I try not to let the emotions explode out of me, even though they’re bubbling just below the surface.
My best friend, one of the only people I trusted in this world, is no longer with me.
And it’s all thanks to a coward of a man who, if he weren’t already dead, I would find the worst way to make him suffer before he dies.
Believe me, I understand that’s wrong on so many levels, but when someone is as evil as he is, I think they deserve to die.
And truth be told, I’m glad he’s not breathing the same air as me anymore.
Entering my apartment, Arlo doesn’t wait for instructions.
“Sit,” he says. “I have someone coming to look at your arm, and then we can shower.”
A knock sounds on the door, and I jump.
He notices and touches me ever so softly.
“It’s just the doctor for your arm.” He waits for me to nod my head before he walks off and lets someone in.
The man is dressed in blue scrubs as if he has just come directly from the hospital.
He doesn’t ask questions as Arlo tells him where the problem is, although I am pretty sure it’s obvious.
I stare at Arlo as he starts to work on my arm.
He watches me back with curious eyes until the doctor stands, and Arlo walks him out.
Once the door is shut, I hear him lock it before he kicks off his shoes, then heads straight through my bedroom and into my bathroom, where he immediately starts the shower.
Then he drops his pants, and I can’t look away.
At first, I’m hesitant, but then his hands find the hem of his shirt, and he gently slips it off me before he unzips the back of my skirt and pulls it down, along with my panties.
“Have you ever cared for someone before?” I ask, watching his every move, from the way his hair shifts with each movement to the way his hands grip my clothes before he drops them to the floor.
“I have never, and will never again, care for a living soul the way I care for you right now,” he whispers.
And I believe him.
I hate that I believe him, but I do.
He turns me around and then directs me into the shower with a hand on the small of my back. Stepping in under the hot water, he follows behind me and then shuts the door.
I look down and see the dirt washing off my body and swirling down the drain.
It’s a luxury, when you think about it, to be able to stand in the shower and wash yourself clean.
I know that sounds unbelievable, but Delaney will never again be able to do something as simple as rinsing the dirt off her skin.
Actually, I don’t know what will happen to the dirt on her. Will they wash her clean? These are strange thoughts to have, but my mind is having a hard time wrapping around what happened.
“Stop,” Arlo softly orders as he rubs his soapy hands on my back. “You couldn’t have done anything differently. You did what a good friend would do, and we found her.”
“We only found her because he took me,” I reply, not bothering to move from under the water.
“No, we actually had a lead on him before that. We weren’t aware he had you.”
“You drove out there to help her?” That doesn’t seem like something he would typically do.
“I did. Now, let’s clean you up so we can go to bed. We will have to arrange things tomorrow.” Just then, his phone beeps. “That’s probably Boston. He plans to have them both found tonight so you don’t have to wait around. You can grieve without having to hide it.”
“I would never have hidden it anyway,” I tell him honestly.
“You can’t tell Sebastian. You can’t tell him what happened,” he insists.
I take a deep breath before I say, “They would kill me, wouldn’t they?” A shiver runs through my body, even just thinking about it.
“They would try,” he says, conviction lacing his words.
I lay my head on his chest, and he runs his fingers through my hair, probably removing some of the dirt that’s in there.
“Why are you here, Arlo?”
“Because this is where you are,” he murmurs into my hair before he lays a soft kiss on it and then turns the water off. He reaches for a towel and then dries us both off before stepping out and offering me his hand. He then wraps the towel around my body and asks, “Pajamas?”
“Top drawer,” I tell him, then turn to look in the mirror.
What I see is a woman who looks sad. Broken.
How do I fix her? Can I fix her? I’m not sure that’s even possible right now.
My cheek is red from where he must have hit me when I was out of it, and my stomach is bruised from where he kicked me.
I try not to think of it as Arlo appears behind me.
“Reon’s sister is a nurse, and she’s offered to come check you over if you’re comfortable with that.”
“Not tonight. I feel fine. I just want to sleep.”
“Tomorrow, then,” he says.
As he raises a shirt to put on me, I wince from the movement of lifting my arms.
“I’m sorry,” he says, and I say nothing in response before I lower my arms. He leads me to my bed, and when he lifts the covers, I climb in, then he pulls them up over me. “Do you want me to stay?” he asks, hovering over me.
“Yes,” I answer without hesitation. I want that. It’s been a long time since I’ve wanted to feel the protection of someone else. And I’m afraid that tonight, of all nights, I need it the most.
He walks silently around to the other side of the bed, dropping his towel before he climbs in beside me.
“Where are your beads?” I ask, noticing he isn’t wearing them and remembering them falling into the dirt after he choked Rylas.
He pulls me in so my head rests in the crook of his arm, and I wrap myself around him as much as I can without hurting my midsection.
“I don’t need them anymore” is all he says before he mumbles, “Go to sleep.”
And it isn’t long before my eyes, which feel so fucking heavy, close.
And all I can dream about is… her.