Page 80 of Wicked Games

She sighs. “Okay.”

While she soaks, I change into dry clothes, run to her house, and search through her things for a pair of pajamas and a pad.

I have them waiting for her in my bedroom with a cup of coffee and more ibuprofen, and after she gets out of the bathtub, I gently dry her off and help her dress. I smear ointment over the cuts I made and bandage them as she sips.

I can’t look at her, don’t want her to see the guilt in my eyes, but she knows what I’m thinking anyway. I shouldn’t put how I’m feeling on her, and I force myself to kiss her bruised cheek and tuck her in bed, the evidence of our lovemaking still there in the crusted blood on the bottom sheet.

She falls asleep almost immediately, and it’s only then do I take a shower, the hot water running over me as I lean against the wall. My adrenaline crashes, and I tremble.

Fuck, when will this stop?

I wash the lake water off me and put on a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. Avery’s sleeping too deeply for me to bother her, and I brush another kiss over her cheek and bring her empty mug downstairs.

It’s seven in the morning, and I call Violet.

She answers on the second ring, but I have no idea what day it is, if she’s getting ready for work, or if she took the day off and she just happens to be awake. Maybe it’s Saturday and I woke her up. I have no fucking clue.

“Seth, what’s wrong?” she asks before I can even say a word.

“They went after Avery last night,” I say, and then explain everything. I manage to keep it together, maybe still in shock, reciting the events of the early morning as if they had happened to someone else.

“Is she going to be okay?” she asks softly.

“I think so. She was talking to me, and she sounded clear, you know? But I don’t know how long she was under or how long I gave her CPR. A doctor will have to take a look at her. We might never know.”

“Is she okay physically?”

I pour more coffee into my mug. The caffeine probably isn’t doing me any good, but in an odd way, it’s calming me down. “I cut her up when I hacked the zip-tie off her wrists. One of the fuckers, he might have hit her. She’s got a huge bruise on her cheek—” I cut off. Even thinking about those bastards laying a hand on her makes me sick and furious, but I don’t have to continue for Violet to know where I was headed. “Besides that, I think she’s okay. She was cold. She might end up with pneumonia or something.”

“So will you, if the water’s that freezing still. Make sure you get some rest too.”

“Yeah. I plan to stay in with her for the next few days. They can’t find out she’s still alive. Violet, if they do, they’ll come after her again.” My voice turns urgent and out of control. I’ll bring Avery anywhere if it’s a chance to keep her safe.

“Seth—” she says, then stops. She’s got bad news and doesn’t want to tell me.

“What?”

“The police let Brooke’s body go. Rowan scheduled her funeral for Monday.”

“When is that?”

“It’s Friday. In three days.”

I don’t want to go, don’t want to be there, don’t want Avery anywhere near the city, but I sure as hell won’t leave her out here alone. Always knowing what’s going through my head, Violet voices my thoughts.

“You should go. She was your wife for almost seven years. It wouldn’t look right if you weren’t there.” She pauses. “Put eyes on her, Seth. I don’t think she’ll complain.”

No, she wouldn’t complain. She’d tolerate it like she tolerated Darren until she couldn’t take it anymore, and one day I’d wake up to a note on my pillow that said this wasn’t what she signed up for falling in love with me.

“For how long, Vi?” I ask, rubbing my face, the past few hours catching up with me.

“Did you report this to Detective LaSalle?” she asks instead of answering.

“Not yet. I helped Avery clean up and put her to bed. I called you the second she fell asleep. I was going to call him after we hang up.”

“Rest first. I’ll call him and tell him what happened and that you were too wiped out to call yourself. I’ll let him know you’ll get in touch later today. Take care of yourself. We will get this figured out, and you need to be healthy to enjoy your life with Avery.”

“I love her so much,” I whisper bleakly. Too much more of this bullshit, and it won’t matter how much I love her.