Total pages in book: 140
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129207 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 646(@200wpm)___ 517(@250wpm)___ 431(@300wpm)
“Don’t worry about me, baby. As long as you’re still breathing, nothing could ever take me away. Not a knife, not a bullet, not even your deadly wit. You’re stuck with me, Raleigh Stone. I’m not going anywhere.”
My lips press to her temple, lingering there as I hold her with everything I have, and even when my security team finally barges through the door, I refuse to let go.
Hardin takes the gun off the bed, and it doesn’t go unnoticed when he wipes my fingerprints off it before doing the same with the knife. He takes one final look around the room before walking around the edge of the bed and kneeling down. “Okay,” he says, his sharp gaze flicking between mine and Rae’s. “This is what’s going to happen . . .”
An hour later, I stand under the shower in Dylan’s hotel room with Rae tucked tightly in my arms, her face pressed against my chest. We’ve spent the last hour giving our statements, saying exactly what Hardin told us to say to be able to claim self-defense, and with the live stream of Rae being raped, it wasn’t long before the cops were satisfied with what we had to say.
“I killed him,” Rae whispers into the silence of the bathroom. “I killed a man. I didn’t realize I could be a monster like that. What I did—”
“You didn’t kill him. I took the shot, that’s on me. You don’t have to bear the burden of that. The shot through his ribs is what killed him. What you did . . . That was demanding justice and taking what you were owed. You’re not a monster, Rae, and what you did wasn’t anything you should be ashamed or fearful of. You did what you had to do, what so many other women who’ve been in your position wish they got the chance to do.”
“I stabbed him, Ezra. I took that knife and castrated him, and I lost control. I don’t even know how many times I stabbed him.”
It was twelve. I counted every last one of them, but it’s not something I think she needs to be aware of, not yet anyway. I’m sure she’ll eventually find out though. There’ll be all sorts of documentation to go along with this, and I’m sure this is only the beginning of the investigation. We’ll be questioned until we’re blue in the face, but for now, I’m just glad they’re happy to give Rae a moment of peace to come to terms with everything that just went down.
“It’s okay. We all lose control. It doesn’t make us any less human.”
“How can you be okay with this? How can you stand here and hold me and tell me I’m not a monster? What if I lose control around you? What if we get into a fight one day and there’s a knife on the kitchen counter? You should be terrified of me.”
“Are you terrified of me?” I ask as my fingers trail up and down her spine.
“No,” she says, pulling back and looking up at me with furrowed brows. “Why would you ask me that?”
“I shot your father point blank. Three times. His knee, hip, and ribs. I took the shot that ensured he bled out. Do you fear that one day I might lose control, grab a gun, and decide to shoot you?”
“No, of course not.”
“Exactly. It’s the same for me, Rae,” I tell her. “I could never fear you for what happened here tonight in the same way you could never fear me. You took back everything he stole from you, and you did it in a way that made me so damn proud of you. He died knowing you won, and there’s nothing that can take that away. You were a warrior today. You fought hard, and you won.”
More tears spill from her eyes, and she squishes her face harder against my chest. “You really think so?”
“I know so,” I murmur. “I love you, Rae. I would let this whole world burn just to see you smile, and today, you fucking shone as bright as the sun. You might not feel it now, and it might take a little while for you to feel okay again, but just know that I will be right here, always ready to catch you when you fall. I’m not going anywhere, Rae.”
Raleigh lifts her chin, squinting as the water ricochets off my chest and against her face. “You really love me that much?”
“Do you even need to question it at this point?”
A soft smile pulls at the corners of her lips. “Not even a little bit.”
33
Raleigh
4 MONTHS LATER
The crowd roars as Demon’s Curse makes their grand entrance for the final show of the Bleed For Me tour, and I cheer along with them, never so excited. It’s almost bittersweet to see it come to an end, but I’m also pumped for everything the boys still want to achieve.