Page 47 of The Love Penalty

And I will do fucking anything for her.

Scooping her back into my arms, I carry her to the bed, laying her down and rummaging in my drawers for the softest T-shirt I can find.

“Do you want your underwear or…?”

“Yeah, just the—” She points to her jeans, and I pull her bright orange panties out of them, grinning as I hand them over. “These are cute.”

She gives me a weak smile, putting them on while keeping the blanket wrapped around her. I pass over the T-shirt, then turn to give her some privacy.

“Thank you.” Her voice is wobbling again, and I spin back to check on her.

She’s crawling under my covers, looking at me with those big brown eyes.

“Can I join you? Not for sexy times, just… wanna hold ya.”

“Okay.” She smiles again, and this one has a little more strength.

I slip in beside her, stretching my arm out so she can snuggle against me. “Want to watch a movie or something?”

I figure she’s all talked out.

“I don’t know.” She shrugs, then lets out a shuddering sigh and wraps her arm around my waist.

I take charge, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV, which is mounted to the wall. I pull up Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. If she’s seen it as many times as I have, she won’t have to put much effort into concentrating. That magical music starts to play, and I feel her relax against me.

Since we both know the movie so well, I talk over the dialogue, telling her all these inane facts about the movie and books. I’ve watched so many behind-the-scenes documentaries and read so many articles about this franchise, I am filled with useless facts.

She lets out soft murmurs and sounds of interest… until she goes really quiet.

Harry has only just arrived at Hogwarts when I finally move to check her face.

She’s asleep.

All that talking and crying must have really taken it out of her. I get it. I feel like I’ve been smashed by a freight train.

Hearing that shit was fucking hard.

Watching her throw up like that… seeing the effect that asshole has had on her… it was like taking a beating.

Rage rumbles through me again. It’s hot and overpowering. My brain torments me, playing out images of Lani on that bed. Did she cry while he finished? Did she try to fight back at first, and he just held her down so all she could do was take it?

I feel sick.

Bile burns my throat as I snap my eyes shut, begging the torturous images to leave me alone.

I need to move. I can’t be still in this bed right now.

Gently sliding Lani off my chest, I arrange her limp body against my pillows, lightly caressing her cheek with my knuckles, then brushing her hair off her face, before slipping out of the bed.

I’ll be back soon. I just need to…

I don’t know what the fuck I need to do. Punch a hole through a wall, maybe?

Stalking out the door and through my man cave, I walk into the main area and notice the TV playing. Rachel and Liam are snuggled up on the couch watching some rom-com while Ethan and Mick play chess at the dining table.

“That’s not how you—” Ethan dips his chin, letting out a frustrated grunt. “You can’t just move the pieces wherever you want. There are rules.”

“Boring rules.” Mick pulls a face.

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