Page 85 of Guarded from Corruption

“No. But—” She sucks in a shuddering gasp. “My father. Niall. My father. He was behind all of it. He wanted to sell—” And she dissolves into sobs, burying her face in my shirt.

The look of devastation on Jade’s face is something I’ll never forget.

This is the terrible part of love.

Seeing Jade so hurt, so crushed, and I can’t fix it. I can’t make her pain go away.

But I can be here for her.

I’ll help her get through this.

Between sobs, she whispers against my chest, “It hurts.”

Oh. My heart wrenches and tears fill my eyes. “I know, sweetheart.” I cuddle her to me, stroking her hair and pressing kisses to the top of her head. “I’m so sorry. But I’m here. I’ve got you. You’re safe.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

JADE

I’m going to be stronger today.

I don’t want to be this broken woman huddled in bed, hiding from everything.

I don’t want to give my father this much power over me.

Not my father. A stranger.

At least now it makes sense. Why he was always so cold and critical of me. Why he kept pushing me to marry one of the men he deemed appropriate.

He never thought of me as his child—I was just a commodity.

When I let myself think about it, the pain is suffocating.

Yesterday, it was too much.

By the time we got back to Blade and Arrow after dealing with the police—telling them the horrible story of what my father had done, how Niall protected me, protected himself—I was done. In the car, I shut down. Everything was too raw and painful. The only way I could keep from falling apart was to hold it all in.

But wonderful Niall never pushed me. He carried me from the garage to the apartment, and I didn’t have the energy to insist on doing it myself. Then he did everything for me—got me into the shower, washed my hair and carefully dried and combed it, dressed me in the coziest clothes he could find, and got me settled into bed.

Then Dante stopped by and offered to give me something. “Just for now, while the shock is so great,” he explained gently. “Sometimes rest is the best way to heal in the short term. But if you don’t feel comfortable with it…”

Niall hovered protectively by the side of the bed, one hand on my shoulder and the other holding my hand. “Whatever you want, Jade. We’ll do anything to help.”

Was it weak? Maybe. But I took the sedative. The idea of hours not having to think was too appealing.

But that was yesterday. Today I need to start pulling myself together. Today I need to reassure Niall that I’m not going to break. I need to ease the worried look in his eyes whenever he thinks I’m not paying attention. And based on the concerned whispers in the hallway all morning, I need to reassure Niall’s teammates that I’m okay, too.

Those are the easier things. Then there’s the really crappy stuff—hearing how Matt figured out my father was involved, if this is really the end of it, and what’s going to happen to my mother.

“Jade, hun. Are you okay? Do you need anything?” Niall comes over to the couch, damp and fresh-smelling from the shower, and crouches by my side. I’m still tucked under my favorite blanket—the one Niall’s mom crocheted for him when he was sixteen—staring blankly at my Kindle while Bridesmaids plays in the background.

I scoot over and pat the cushion beside me. “I’m okay. Sit with me.”

He glances at the coffee table, where my sandwich is still sitting uneaten. “You should eat more, hun. You need to keep your energy up. Do you want something different? Soup? Grilled cheese? I can ask someone to go get those cookies you love.”

My throat gets thick. How can I fall apart when I have this incredible man here with me?

“I’m not really hungry yet.” Snuggling into his side, I rest my head on his shoulder. “We didn’t have breakfast that long ago…” I trail off, not saying the rest, which is that my stomach feels like it’s been twisted into a knot.

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