Page 10 of The Lies We Believe

A weak smile flickered on my mouth, and I took the coward’s way out and hid behind my bottle. My throat was drier than a desert after swallowing down that toast like I was in an eating competition. Bane seemed to understand that I needed some time to process everything fully and sat silently as I looked over everything he brought.

Shamelessly, I brought his massive hoodie to my face and inhaled his intoxicating scent, making Bane chuckle. When I glanced up at him, his eyes darted to the ceiling, his smile morphing into something contagious as he tried to pretend he was coughing.

“Once you’re changed and comfortable, I hope we can have a little chat. That okay?” Just as elation had sparked inside me, it died.See? You’re just a job.

I nodded, locking down any sign of emotion, and held my chained hands up to him.

Bane pinched his nose, and his shoulders slumped. “I’ve got you.” He stood up and pulled a set of keys from his pocket. Leaning over the table, he unlocked the cuffs, a heavy sigh breaching his lips. Warm fingers wrapped around my wrists, the thumbs making soothing circles over my inflamed skin. “I’m so, so, sorry, River.”

I sucked in a stuttering breath and screwed my eyes shut as they burned. My heartbeat whooshed in my ears as a wave of dizziness washed over me. I counted to ten and back again, bile thick on my tongue. I knew what was happening—a panic attack was creeping up on me. It had been a long time coming, like waves lapping at the shore, growing stronger before calming and left me balancing on a knife edge.

Bane’s mismatched eyes bored into mine, adding layers of weight to his words. “I mean it, Riv. I’m so sorry for everythingthat’s happened to you. Let me help you. Help me make them pay.”

Hope fluttered in my heart, small and fragile, an exposed flame in the eye of a storm. Withdrawing from his touch took everything in me. I pointed at the clothes, then looked around the room.

Bane studied me for a minute. “Here.” He tapped a pen on a small pad and handed it to me. “Tell me.” I picked up the pen and started writing while he continued talking. “I hope one day you’ll feel comfortable enough to talk to me again. It’s been years since I heard your voice.”

I snorted.Me too.I turned the pad toward him.

Where can I change?

Wincing, Bane looked at me apologetically, arms out to his side. “Here.” I slumped back in my chair and bit the inside of my cheek while bundling the clothes in my arms. Turning away from the mirror, I picked the corner under the camera to give myself some semblance of privacy. I’d never been ashamed of my body; the johns who used me didn’t care what I looked like as I was just a hole to use to them.

But now I felt different. I didn’t want Bane to see how visible my ribs were or where my hips protruded. I didn’t want him to see the scars, cuts, and bruises that decorated my skin in a litany of my suffering.

You’re disgusting.

Worthless.

I ripped off the wet top and hauled on Bane’s massive hoodie. It swamped me, falling halfway down my thighs, and making me feel like a kid playing dress up. I kicked the sliders off my feet, followed by my wet pants, and pulled on the jogging bottoms,rolling them up at the waist to stop them from falling down, and slipped my feet into nearly new sneakers. Even without socks, they were the comfiest things my feet had felt in as long as I could remember.

“Done?” Bane asked where he stood facing the door. I coughed instead of answering, and the smile that lit up his face when he turned to look at me made all of this worth it.

Even if it wasn’t forever. Even if it was just for one moment.

I’d made him smile, and that meant more to me than anything ever had.

CHAPTER 5

BANE

The sight of him in my hoodie was like a sucker punch to the chest. He still didn’t look like the River from my memories, but he looked human at least. The smile that pulled at my lips was instantaneous. All I wanted to do was wrap my arms around him and get him away from here, from his old life, to somewhere safe where I could look after him.

I puffed out a breath, trying to calm myself down. I was getting way ahead of where things needed to be right now. When it came to River, I had to take baby steps. He was emotionally volatile. Vulnerable. Broken. He’d been systemically beaten down and ground into dust. He needed time and patience, and if there was one thing I never ran out of, it was patience.

He needed love. A home. Family.

This was going to hurt me as much as it would him, but I couldn’t let my emotional state affect him or any information he could provide in relation to this case. Once I had something I could take to Bower, I was going to take River home and help him heal and rebuild himself. It was the least I could do for him, considering all he’d done for me when I was at the Wilkinson’s. He might not have spoken even then, but hisconstant, unwavering presence brought me a level of comfort no one had ever been able to compete with.

“Have a seat, River. I’ll make this as quick and painless for you as I can. We want to make sure what you’ve experienced doesn’t happen to anyone else, so any information you can give us will be a step in the right direction. Then, well, then we’ll see what comes after, alright?”

The light that had flickered in his eyes making them glow like emeralds extinguished the more I spoke. I wanted to kick myself in the ass for snuffing it out, but I hoped over time I could make sure they burned brighter and never went out.

River stumbled back into his seat and collapsed against the table. I didn’t know exactly what he’d endured over the last twenty-four hours, but it had drained him of every ounce of strength he had. Exhaustion carved itself into the flawless skin on his face, and dark circles surrounded his hollow eyes.

I wetted my lips, ready to begin, when River shoved the pad I’d given him across the table. He pulled his legs up so his knees were against his chest, wrapped his arms around them, and chewed on his puffy bottom lip. All the while, he watched me like a hawk. It was an automatic response, likely to monitor the most dangerous person in the room. It made me feel like I’d failed him already.

I picked up the pad and read his messy writing.

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