Page 14 of Broken Princess

“You should be good to go. Call me when she wakes up and text me if there are any changes. I’m on shift for the next four days, but if it’s an emergency, you call me. You have enough meds until then.” She packs her medical bag. “Who’s taking me home, Enzo?”

I’m not paying attention as I stare down at Aurora. Sin takes this as his cue to volunteer. “I’ll take you.” They retreat from the room and we’re alone.

I stare down at her for I don’t know how long. I furrow my brow at her hair. Fanned out on the bed, it’s stained crimson. Her dark tendrils streaked with blood. It angers me that she still bears the evidence of Max’s depravity. I can’t move her, but there’s got to be a way I can wash her hair.

I take out my phone and send a text to Benny. He should be up by now. Nico needs to sleep, and I need an extra set of hands.

I whisper in her ear, “Sleep, Aurora. I promise we’ll keep you safe until you’re ready to wake up.”

CHAPTER EIGHT

BENEDICT

What the fuck does Zo need all this for? I dig out the last of the items on his shopping list and balance it all as best I can, heading down to the med-room.

I’ve been up for about an hour, but I didn’t want to get out of bed when I woke and found my limbs wrapped up in a tangle of Nico.

When you see us separately, nothing about us is believable as a couple. But when we’re together, particularly alone, he is as undeniably mine as I am his. Every hard edge he has softens for me and only me. And there’s no demand he could make of me I wouldn’t gladly obey.

But when he sleeps, I get glimpses of a side of him even he’s not aware of. I’ll never tell him—it’s my guilty pleasure and I enjoy it too much. At night, I bask in this secret Nico. The one who seeks my warmth, holding me tight like he’ll never let me go. The Nico that burrows into me and whose shallow breaths tickle my neck, sending satisfying vibrations down to my core and straight to my dick.

Nico has never thought to ask why he wakes up so often to my mouth wrapped around his cock. But that’s why. Because that’s the only time I’m in control. When he seeks comfort from me.

I wouldn’t want to trade or change our dynamic. I bend to his command, willingly and eagerly. But every now and then there’s a part of me that longs for control. Though I know he’d never allow it.

I knock quietly and hear Zo tell me to come in.

With a level of coordination I didn’t think I had, I wrestle open the door and manage to not drop the towel, bowls, and jug he requested. “Where’d you want all this, boss?”

“Go grab that trolley and set everything out. I’ll be right back… keep an eye on her, Benny.”

He rushes off and I wonder if he’s hurrying because he doesn’t want to leave her side, or perhaps he doesn’t trust me to keep her safe. Don’t get me wrong—Enzo trusts me. But this need to protect Aurora borders on obsessive. Looking at him now, I barely fucking recognise him. His brow is etched with worry, body tense, like a coiled spring. He’s shutting down, locking us out.

I don’t think he’ll ever forgive himself if anything happens to Aurora. Shit. If anything more happens to her. Fuck, how did we let this happen to her?

He’s wrong. She is our responsibility.

I glance down at her and I’m momentarily transfixed. It’s overwhelming taking in the brutality she’s withstood, but even now there’s something about her presence that mesmerises me. Her whole life, I’ve witnessed the effect she has on people. Aurora has always had a presence that captivates everyone around her. Like a star with her own gravitational field, she pulls everyone into her orbit. The only person to ever dim her light was Max. Like a black hole, he tried to consume her and crush everything about her.

A loud thud of the door announces Enzo’s return, and I do a double take as he produces bottles of shampoo, conditioner, and multiple brushes.

He must see my face of confusion as he explains, “I don’t want her to wake up again still covered in blood. She woke up earlier and freaked the fuck out. This is one thing we can do to help,” he practically growls.

His words only highlight her trauma and leave me nauseous.

“You going to help, or just stand there all day? I don’t have time to hold your hand through this, Benny.”

I instantly flare my nostrils at his tone, and I find myself toe to toe with him, grinding my teeth. “Fuck all the way off, Enzo. I’m allowed to be affected by this. It’s not easy seeing her this… broken.”

He’s holding up his hands, realising his mistake. “I’m sorry, Benedict. I wasn’t thinking.”

“No. You fucking weren’t,” I mutter. “You’ve had your head up your ass since we found her. You’ve been behaving like you’re the only one who’s feeling this, you dick. Like you’re solely responsible for her or some shit. We’re all taking this hard; I grew up with her, for fuck’s sake. We all have a duty to her. Cut it out and stop being a prick.”

He nods and then smiles. “Fair.” His shoulders drop, and the tension he was carrying seems to drop away like a weight has been lifted. “Calling me a prick might be a step too far though, Benny.”

“Prick,” I say, returning his smile.

He heads to the sink to start filling the bowls with warm water. After some deliberation, we figure out how to gently manoeuvre her up the gurney until the majority of her hair hangs over the top. With me stabilising her head and neck, Enzo rinses out the seemingly endless lengths of dark hair. They coil in the bowl, staining the water red. Her onyx tresses had hidden the extent of the blood. We repeat this again and again until the water runs clear.

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