Page 24 of GOAT

I just nodded before lifting my wrist, showing him the club and spade burned into the soft, tender flesh of my left wrist. He tenderly cradled my arm, his frown deepening as he stared at the mark. Then, he clenched his jaw before gently leaning me against the wall so I wouldn’t have to support myself and walked over to the shower to turn the water on. He toed off his boots as he tested the water temperature, and then he came over to me, lifting me off the counter. “Your clothes—” I blurted as he stepped into the shower.

He shook his head and sat on the side of the tub, resting me on his knees. “Not important,” he muttered as he began running the warm water over my skin. We both watched as pink streaks washed down the drain, and my chin wobbled.

“I’m here,” he said, raw pain in his voice. He pressed his lips to my temple and stroked my hair back from my head. “If you need to cry, then cry, little devil. I’m here. I won’t let anyone hurt you or take you from me again. I fucking swear.”

I shook my head, but my throat was too tight for me to say anything. I wanted to tell him I wouldn’t cry anymore. Not right now. I was safe. I was going to be okay, even if I did have a long road of recovery ahead of me.

I was just so tired. I wanted to curl up in bed in Cameron’s safe arms and just sleep without the worry of a doctor or a guard or even Johnny fucking Dorman coming into the room and violating me.

Cameron was gentle as he washed my hair, rinsed it, and then conditioned it. He was even gentler as he bathed my body, being careful of the marks. And once I was clean, wrapped up in a fluffy, white robe that’d been left hanging on the bathroom door, he applied ointment to the wound on my shoulder and to my aching nail beds before carrying me to bed.

A bottle of water and two white tablets were sitting on the nightstand. Without a word, he handed them to me, and I swallowed the tablets, too tired and aching too much to bother asking what they were. I didn’t care so long as it stopped this pain and made me sleep without nightmares and flashbacks plaguing my mind.

Cameron remained silent as he dressed me in a pair of his sweatpants and one of his t-shirts, and then I was tucked into bed. Laying on my side, I watched as he stripped out of his soaked clothes. His muscles were rigid, every part of him tense as he dried off and quickly donned a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

“Lay with me?” I asked quietly, my lips trembling when he began to pull a chair out of the corner of the room. My fingers twisted in the black comforter covering me, my chest aching. “Cam?—”

“Easy, little devil,” he said, quickly changing course and heading for the bed, his bare feet silent on the hardwood floor. He leaned over me and smoothed his lips over mine in a kiss that just settled something inside of me.

And that was all it took. I sobbed, completely fucking falling apart again. Cameron, somehow understanding that he hadn’t triggered me and had instead released a flood of bottled-up emotions, slid into bed beside me, his body above the covers. And when he tugged me into his arms, hooking one of his legs over both of mine and pinning me to him, I wailed, finally safe enough to just let go.

“I’ll kill him,” Cameron swore into my hair. “I’ll slaughter anyone left who took you from me,” he growled.

I wanted him to. I wanted them all to pay, but not just for me. I wanted them to pay for every woman, man, and kid before me, too.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Abbie

Iwasn’t sure what to expect the next morning. I understood where I stood with Cameron, but the rest of the club? His brothers—his family? I didn’t know. Because despite them coming after me, I was still a cop. I was still a woman who’d manipulated Cameron and tried using him to get to his family so I could climb the ladder at work.

Did they know I’d done that? Did they know what I’d done to Cameron? Sure, he’d played me, too, but he was protecting his family.

I was willing to destroy him—destroy all of them—just for more money on my paycheck. He was trying to save their lives and their freedom.

“Come on,” Cameron said softly, his fingers twining through mine. My legs were a bit unsteady beneath me, but I was determined to walk. I’d been raped and beaten and burned, but I was still alive. I was still breathing. Which meant I would still fight.

“Do your brothers know…” My voice trailed off.

Cameron glanced over at me before he nodded his head. “Yeah, but they’re not worried about that shit, Abbie,” he told me as we made our way to the stairs. “We’ve got a lot bigger shit to worry about. But if you’re still thinking about?—”

“I’m not,” I rushed out. My throat closed up with tears, and I squeezed my eyes shut when we stopped at the top of the stairs, a ragged breath filling my lungs. Opening my eyes, I looked at him, swallowing past the lump in my throat so I could speak. “I’m not,” I promised, my voice raspy. “I fell for you, Cameron, and it wasn’t supposed to happen, but?—”

He cupped the side of my neck and pulled my lips to his in a soft, short kiss that rocked me to my core. “Okay, little devil,” he said softly, pressing a kiss to my forehead after. “Okay.”

The trek down the stairs was long and tedious, but Cameron, who usually displayed so much impatience, was soothing and didn’t seem to mind waiting and letting me lean on him for support when I began to grow tired. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, thankfully to be on flat ground again, but then quickly grew a little alarmed by everyone sitting around, eating breakfast.

All of whom were now looking at me.

Shaw stood from the table he was eating at and came over to us. “Cameron, you want to grab her food? I want to check for any broken or fractured bones.”

I frowned, taking a step back into Cameron, who dropped my hand to grasp my hips. “I’m fine?—”

Cameron gently squeezed my hips and dropped a kiss to the shell of my ear. “Yeah. Check her burn wounds, too. She has another.” His eyes flickered to Blu and Grey. “It’s on her wrist. Matches theirs,” he said, inclining his head to them.

Shaw clenched his jaw but nodded his head. Cameron pressed a kiss to my temple before slipping around me, heading for the kitchen. Shaw led me to a table and pulled out a chair for me. “Do you have full range of motion everywhere?” he asked, gently feeling over my shirt around my ribcage.

I nodded. “I’m fine. Just… banged up.” I licked my dry lips. “Do any of you know if my partner is okay?”

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