All the Broken Pieces: (Broken Series Book 3) (17 page)

As she fell to the ground, screaming silent screams not captured by the video-only feed, Isaac ran out of the frame and was gone.

My girl had done it. She fought him and won.

I looked back at her in wonderment, kissing her temple as she kept her head buried in my shoulder. “Baby, I’m so proud of you.” I whispered into her hair. “You did great. Do you hear me, Lauren? You were amazing.”

She sniffed softly and lifted her head. “Take me home, Brant. Please take me home.”

“Are you hurt anywhere? Is any of this blood yours?”

She shook her head. “It’s his. I need to get it off of me. You have to take me home so I can wash it off. Please.” The despair in her voice broke me. I nodded, picking her up from the counter and letting her wrap herself around me as I looked around and announced to all who cared to listen. “I’m taking her home. Whatever questions you have will have to wait till tomorrow.”

I didn’t even slow my stride when Clay called out, assuring me that he would fill the cops in for us.

I couldn’t be bothered with anything except getting her home where she belonged.

•••

The drive back was precarious to say the least. Illegal was probably an apt description as well because Lauren stayed wrapped around me for the entire trip. I had to slide the seat all the way back and sit on the edge of it to give her room for her legs, which were still wrapped around my waist. I drove as fast as was safe and whispered to her the entire way, letting her know how amazing she was, and how sorry I was that I wasn’t there to help her. She didn’t say a word, just hung on tight and cried into my shoulder.

When we got to the cabin, I carried her inside and up to her room. She finally dropped her feet to the floor when we entered her bathroom, savagely ripping the soiled clothes from her body as I turned on the shower.

“Do you want me to stay with you?” I asked, bending down to meet her gaze as she struggled out of her blood-soaked bra.

She shook her head, not speaking.

I debated for a moment whether or not to stay but she was already peeling off the last of her clothes and stepping into the shower. I couldn’t help with that so I reached down and gathered the garments instead. “Lauren? I’m gonna get these clothes out of here. I can’t throw them away in case the police need them but I’ll bag them and get them out of the house, okay?”

No reply.

I sighed and left the bathroom, my heart breaking at the idea of what she’d gone through. And the thought that I hadn’t been there to help.

I failed her. I let that bastard get the chance to get to her and he did. He almost took her away to do God-only-knew-what to her. My imagination kicked in at the absolute worst possible time and the images it conjured made me physically ill. It was all I could do not to be sick at the thought of what I knew he’d planned to do to her.

I took the clothes and stuffed them in a garbage bag and placed it in the storage room attached to the carport, locking the door. I walked the length of the carport a few times, trying to get myself together before I went back inside. She didn’t need to see me like this. I had to get my head together and be strong for her, but I needed a minute first.

My hands shook and my chest ached and all I wanted to do was fucking hit something. I should have been there, goddammit. I shouldn’t have let her go alone. I practically offered her up to him on a silver fucking platter. I gave in and let her out of my sight and look what happened?

Fuck!

I threaded my hands through my hair, bowing my head and fighting back tears.

He could have killed her.

He definitely would have raped her.

Again.

And it would have been on me. Because I didn’t listen to my instincts. Because I gave in and let her go alone. Because I let my love for her cloud my judgment.

My head jerked up at the revelation.

I did.

I loved her.

With that realization came another, even more frightening one.

I would kill Isaac Davis before this was over.

I knew it in my gut just as surely as I knew I loved Lauren more than I’d ever loved anyone in my life.

In that moment, it became crystal clear.

I would either kill for her or die for her.

There would be no middle ground.

•••

I walked into the cabin with a new sense of resolve and an old sense of impending doom, but I couldn’t let past failures deter me. I would save Lauren, just as I should have saved Zoey. I wouldn’t fail again, no matter what it took.

I started the tea kettle, dragging out several types of tea for her to choose from, and set out for the second floor to check on her. She wasn’t one for long showers as far as I knew but after what happened, I didn’t blame her one damn bit.

Before I got to the second floor landing, I could see the steam billowing out of her room. Lots of steam.

Too much steam.

Warning bells were going off in my head as I burst through the bathroom door and was met with a wall of steam so thick I couldn’t see my hand in front of my face. “Lauren?” I called, making my way to the shower. “Lauren? Talk to me!”

I still couldn’t see a thing but the idea of her standing under water that was clearly scalding fucking hot was enough to spur me into action. I snatched the shower door open, greeted with a thick gust of steamy air and the faint outline of Lauren’s cowering form in the shower floor.

The heat that engulfed me was incredible, and terrifying.

“Jesus, Lauren!” I stepped into the shower to pick her up and hissed at the bite of scalding water at my back, soaking my clothes as I fought to get my arms under her. Before long, the heat was too much and I had to stop to turn the water off before proceeding. Scooping her up, I carried her out of the bathroom, through her steam-filled room, across the hall, and into my room. The waves of steam coming off of her reddened skin were horrifying to witness.

I gingerly set her on my bed and knelt down in front of her, afraid to touch her again now that I’d seen the extent of the damage.

“Baby, we need to get you to the hospital. Your skin is scalded all over.” I looked around for something to put on her, settling on one of my cotton t-shirts before wincing at the thought of anything at all on her tender skin.

Fuck.

“I had to get it off. He was on me, his hands, his blood. I had to clean it all off.”

Her voice was so weak, so broken that tears sprang to my eyes.

I leaned close, desperate to kiss her but scared to touch her even with the soft brush of my lips. “You got it all, baby. It’s okay. You’re all clean now.” I glanced at the angry red blotches on her neck, her breasts, her stomach.

I dared not look any lower.

Instead, I held up a hand, motioning for her to stay where she was. “I need to get my phone from the truck, okay? I want you to stay right here. Don’t move.”

She nodded, wringing her hands as she inspected her nails, looking for dried blood. “Okay.” She muttered absently.

I made it to the truck in ten seconds flat, even after stopping to turn off the screaming teakettle on the stove. I called Ali on my way back up. She answered on the first ring. “How is she?”

“Bad. She just scalded her entire body in the shower trying to scrub the blood off. I didn’t realize it until she was in there for a while. And I can’t put clothes on her and take her to the ER without hurting her worse. Please tell me you know someone who can come check her out, Ali.”

There was a moment of hesitation and then, “Give me an hour to get her there, okay? Do you think you can handle things till then?”

“I’ll handle things for as long as I have to. Just get me someone here, please.”

“I’ve got you covered, little brother. I’ll call you back in a minute.”

She hung up before I could thank her.

Lauren was still sitting in the same spot I left her in, still studying her fingernails with quiet intensity. I stood in the doorway, watching her, taking stock of her injuries from afar and fighting against the overwhelming urge to hold her.

Goddamn it.

Not a minute later, Ali called back. “Okay, first thing is to get her into cool water. We need to stop the burning and relieve the pain. Can you get her into the tub?”

I looked at Lauren. “Baby, can you get into the tub for me? I need to cool you off so the burning stops.”

She shook her head, eyes still on her nails, picking at something only she could see.

“I might need a Plan B on this. I’ll keep coaxing but if she won’t move, I can’t force her. And fuck if I can pick her up again. Not like this.”

“It’s okay. Keep trying but in the meantime, get some cold compresses and lightly apply those to the worst areas, if she’ll let you. The tub of cool—not cold—water would be best but the compresses will at least help a little.”

“Then what?”

“Nothing. Don’t cover it or do anything else until Vanessa gets there.”

“Clay’s Aunt Vanessa?”

“Yes, she’s also head nurse Vanessa, and she’ll take good care of Lauren. But if she says to go to the ER, even if the movement will hurt, you have to listen to her. Got it?”

“Got it.” I walked into the bathroom and started gathering wash cloths, hand towels, and anything else I could find. “I’m getting the compresses started now. Tell Vanessa the front door is unlocked. We’re upstairs in my room. It’s the one to the right.” I paused as I submerged the third cloth in the gathering water in the sink. “And Ali?”

“Yeah?”

“I owe you one.”

“No you don’t, sweetie. We take care of our own. Give Lauren my love and keep me posted.”

We said our goodbyes and I gathered the wet cloths, turning to take them back to the bedroom when I spotted Lauren in the bathroom door. Her eyes were glassy and swollen, her skin an angry red all over. “Hey. You’re up. Are you hurting?”

She nodded and looked at the enormous tub in the corner.

“You want to try the tub?”

She nodded again.

I dropped the wet cloths to the floor and spun to the tub, adjusting the water temperature so that it was nice and cool before turning to help her step in. Her hand was hot in mine as I carefully steadied her so that she could sit down.

She hissed—either from the cold or the pain, I really wasn’t sure—before settling down in the filling tub.

In a moment of inspiration, I stepped into the bedroom and grabbed my water glass from the bedside table, dumping it in the sink before kneeling down beside the tub.

“I’m going to use this glass to get the water on your upper body a little faster, okay? This might feel cold at first and I’ll try my best not to hurt you, but Clay’s Aunt Vanessa said it will help, so I have to try.”

She looked at me with wide, doe eyes and nodded. “I know you’d never hurt me.” Her chin wobbled and she pursed her mouth to get it to stop.

I filled the cup from the running faucet and slowly let the water cascade over her scalded shoulders, wincing when she drew in a shuddering breath. I felt like I needed to have the words ‘I’m sorry’ on a continuous loop, knowing how much pain she was in.

The first few cupfuls were the worst, making her gasp and shiver all over before she finally seemed to get used to the sensation. After a while, the tub was nearly full so I reached in and pulled the plug to make room for more water. I figured with all the heat she was still putting off, just letting her soak in a full tub wasn’t going to cut it. She needed fresh, cool water on her skin and that was what she was going to get.

“I cut him,” she whispered through chattering teeth.

I continued pouring the cool water on her skin, not breaking my steady pace as I tried to decide what to say to that.

“I could feel the way the knife sliced through when I cut him.” Her head swiveled in my direction. “And all I remember thinking was that I wanted it to go deeper, but the blade was too short. I actually thought that.” Her eyes were wide, horrified at the idea. “I was disappointed that I couldn’t cut him more. I wanted to feel the knife sink deep into his body. How fucked up is that?”

“That’s not fucked up, baby girl. That’s your instinctive need to protect yourself coupled with a lifetime of pain at his hands.” I touched her chin with the tip of my finger, nudging it up so she would meet my eye. “I saw the surveillance footage. And when you cut him, when the blood started flying, all I wanted to do was scream for more, for you to slit his fucking throat because that’s what I would have tried to do in your place. That’s what I
will
fucking do if I ever get my hands on him.”

She shook her head, blinking rapidly. “No. You’re too good for that. I’m the bad one. I’m the one that should have done it and I didn’t. I let him get away.”

“You aren’t bad. Do you hear me? Don’t ever say that again. You fought, and you won. You be proud of that. I’m damn sure proud of you.”

Her eyes took on that familiar faraway look. “Afterward, when I was waiting for you, I thought of Teach. I wondered if he felt the same sick satisfaction when he was beating Isaac in the back yard, when he hit him so hard his face split open. I wondered if Teach would be ashamed of me if he knew how much I liked cutting Isaac.”

“No way.” I shook my head adamantly. “He would never be ashamed of you. He loved you more than anyone else on Earth. You heard what Marilee said the other day. You were everything to him and you made him proud today.”

She didn’t respond, letting herself get lost in her own mind once more.

Her shivers seemed to be getting worse instead of better, and I wanted so badly to pick her up in my arms and warm her but her skin still looked so red that I didn’t dare touch her. So I crouched there by the tub until my calves were screaming, slowly pouring cool water over her burns and waiting for help that seemed like it might never come.

•••

Vanessa actually got there in less than an hour, though it hadn’t felt like it at the time.

She examined Lauren, who insisted I stay by her side the whole time. Every time I tried to move aside so Vanessa could do her job, Lauren’s hand shot out and gripped my bicep, tugging me closer.