Page 29 of Sins and Secrets

“The doctor will be here in a minute but I’m going to get Davide to take over compressions. The doctor can’t see you here and you need to get clean.”

Davide walks through the front door as I’m talking and looks down at the body. “There’s no sight of who did this outside, but the others are going to scour the compound.”

“Good, take over compressions.”

Davide raises an eyebrow, his mouth opening slightly. I shake my head before he has the chance to say what we both already know.

“The compressions need to be done until the doctor gets here and can get him to the hospital,” I say as Davide kneels beside the body and gently takes over from Billie.

She sits back on her heels, looking lost.

My heart aches for her as tears run down her cheeks. Though I might not remember the man’s name, I remember seeing him grow up. He was Billie’s best friend, and I was sure that at one point Arturo told me that they were dating.

I couldn’t imagine being in her position in that moment. I’ve seen people I love die, but I was turned off to the emotional impact when I was young. My father made a point of beating it out of me, making sure that his son would never show weakness.

Arturo was a kinder father than mine ever was.

“Come on,” I say, leaning down to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her to her feet. “You need to come with me. We have to get you cleaned up. I promise that Davide is going to take good care of him until the doctor gets here. You have to come with me, though.”

Davide looks at me over his shoulder before his gaze darts to Billie. I can see the question there, but it’s one that I’m going to do my best avoiding.

“This is between us, and you aren’t to breathe a word of it to anyone,” I say to Davide as I pick Billie up. She buries her face into my shoulder, her sobs soaking my skin.

“Yes, boss,” Davide says.

Billie continues crying as I carry her up the stairs. She takes deep breaths, trying to calm down, but each time she nearly gets a hold of the sobbing, it starts all over again.

“It’s going to be okay,” I say as I carry her into the loft.

She doesn’t fight me as I place her on the edge of the bathtub and crouch down in front of her. I run my thumbs beneath her eyes, trying to wipe away some of her tears but they just keep coming. I don’t know how to help her and it’s tearing me apart inside.

There is nothing I can say to her that is going to ease the pain that she’s feeling right now. She needs Arturo here. He always knew what to say when things were going wrong. He would be the one to calm her down and get her cleaned up. He would make sure that his daughter was taken care of.

He’s not here, though, and he will never forgive me if he finds out that I left his daughter to suffer alone.

He won’t forgive me for the thoughts I have about his daughter either — though I have no intention of ever letting him find out about those.

“We need to get some of this blood off you,” I say as I stand up and turn on the shower. The water cascades down, steam fogging up the glass that surrounds it.

Billie grips the edge of the tub like it’s the only thing keeping her connected to this world. I stare at her.

I’m going to have to drag her in there and hope that the water breaks her out of her state of shock.

I take the gun out of my waistband and set it on the counter. Though her sobs stop, tears still stream down her cheeks as I help her to her feet and guide her into the shower. Her hands grip my forearms as I back up into the shower, stepping beneath the spray and bringing her with me.

Pink water coats the tiles, heading for the drain. Billie looks at me, her blonde hair hanging in her face. I push the hair away from her face and grab the shampoo. I squirt some into my hand before working on the blood staining her hair.

The suds turn pink as I try to get as much blood out of the strands as possible. Once I’m done with her hair, I work on her arms, taking my time to massage the soap into her skin.

“He’s dead,” she whispers as she blinks slowly. “Matt is dead.”

Matt. I have to remember that name.

“I’m sorry,” I say softly as I pull her soaked shirt over her head and toss it into the corner. I try not to look at the way her lace bra hugs her breasts. My hands ache to touch them, but now isn’t the time. “I know he meant a lot to you. I’m going to find out who did this to him and I’m going to make them pay.”

I don’t bother to tell her that I know who did this. It would only upset her more.

Instead, I help wash the blood from her body before getting her changed into a soft pair of pajamas. She doesn’t say anything else to me as I put her in her bed and sit on the edge, working a towel through her hair.

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