Page 53 of Ruthless Angel

When we arrived back at the Angels’ house, I felt the hugest sense of relief. It almost felt like a dream. I kept expecting to wake up and find myself locked in that room with Brady lurking outside the door. The scent of my guys hit me as I walked through the door, reminding me that this was real. I was home.

“Do you need anything?” Blaze asked, looking uncertain. “What can we do?”

“I think I’m going to take a bath. It’s been a long week.” When his face fell, I added, “Some herbal tea would be nice.”

“Sure thing. Anything you want.” Like the golden retriever he could sometimes be, Blaze rushed into the kitchen.

Daire eyed me with this knowing expression. I was ready for it when he asked, “What happened to you, Angel? What did Brady do to you? Did he hurt you?”

With a hand on the stair railing, I sighed and shook my head. “Can we talk about this later? I need some time, Daire.”

Cash put a hand on Daire’s shoulder, steering him toward the kitchen. “Of course. Go have your bath. We’ll be right here if you need us.”

I understood their worry. However, I wasn’t ready to talk about my experience. It was too fresh. Too raw in my memory.

As I started to close the bathroom door, their voices carried up the stairs.

“Do you think he touched her?” Daire’s voice was thick with fury. “Would she tell us if he did?”

Blaze’s voice was softer. “I don’t know, man. Just relax. We all want to kill him. That will come later. Right now we have to be here for Clover.”

“She might be traumatized,” Cash pointed out. “Forcing her to relive whatever she went through will only make it worse. We have to back off. Give her space.”

Daire muttered something angry that I couldn’t make out. Closing the bathroom door, I shut them out. I was finally alone and safe. That’s all I needed at that moment.

It felt great to strip off the shitty blue dress Marilyn had forced me to wear. Never wanting to see it again, I shoved it into the trash can next to the toilet along with the shoes. I scrubbed off the makeup she’d put on me before turning on the bathtub tap.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror for a long time. The person looking back at me felt familiar and yet also a bit like a stranger. Things could have been so much worse. I wasn’t gone all that long. Nobody had made me their personal slave. That didn’t make my experience any less horrifying. It didn’t make it any less real.

The warmth of the bath water welcomed me. Releasing a grateful breath, I sank down so it covered everything but my head. Now that I was able to truly decompress, I expected a purge. A flood of tears to release everything I’d been holding inside.

Nothing happened. I couldn’t cry. Couldn’t scream. Nothing. I laid there in the water waiting for something to break free. It didn’t come.

When the water started to cool, I went through the motions of washing. I told myself that I was cleansing away the ick that clung to me since Brady took me. I was clean now. Free.

I emerged from the bathroom after a solid hour. Entering Blaze’s bedroom, I breathed in his scent, sucking it deep in my lungs. God it felt good to be surrounded by his things. His energy. I felt safe in his room.

Going to his dresser, I helped myself to one of his large t-shirts. I paired it up with some clean underwear and a pair of pajama shorts. Not ready to go downstairs, I sat on the end of the bed and stared out the window at the night sky above the neighbor’s house.

It wasn’t long before I heard footsteps on the stairs. I glanced over as Daire entered the bedroom. Knowing better than to turn on the big overhead light, he moved to the bedside table and turned on the lamp instead.

“I brought your tea.” He placed a steaming mug on the table.

“Thank you.” I offered him a small smile. He seemed stiff and awkward. Like he didn’t know what to do or say.

“Is it all right if I stay?” He glanced at me in small bursts, as if he was afraid to make eye contact.

I patted the bed next to me. “Of course.”

Daire sat down, keeping some space between us. He seemed to expect me to be fragile. Like I would crumble to dust if he touched me. He’d never shown such consideration before. It confirmed what I’d suspected. He wasn’t all bad.

We sat there in comfortable silence for what felt like a long time. I sipped the tea, focusing on the aroma and taste, trying to anchor myself in the present. Needing a stronger connection, I reached for Daire’s hand.

He watched as I slid my fingers between his. He gave my hand the gentlest squeeze. “How are you feeling?”

“Better,” I said, tucking my hair behind my ear. “Relax, Daire. You’re so stiff. I’m okay. Really.”

He gave a little half shrug. “Sorry. I don’t want to upset you.”

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