Page 61 of The Lies We Believe

“Y-yeah, this...” She gestured toward the mutilated body. Even though dried blood covered his face, it was unmistakably Dale. “This is some twisted shit, right? He looks like his skin was either sliced, or?—”

“No, the cuts aren’t clean enough for a blade. These look more like whip marks that split the skin.” I sighed. I wasn’t an expert, but I’d seen the work of a sadist Dom that had gone too far once, and the wounds were eerily similar. Hauntingly so.

“The most disturbing thing is the lack of blood on the bed. Judging by the amount covering his face and the wound to his neck, I’d say they tortured him before hanging him by his feet.” She gestured to the deep purple-black bruises ringing his ankles. “Then sliced his throat open and drained him dry. Again, this isn’t where he was tortured or killed, but judging by the coagulation of the blood, this was recent.”

“I think it’s safe to assume that he was tortured and killed in the main house, then brought over here and presented like this… for us to find.”

“That would explain why it’s currently a burning pile of rubble,” she said. “For the fire to have consumed the building that well so quickly, I’d be willing to bet they used accelerants to remove all traces of evidence.”

“Ahh, there you two are.” Davis sauntered into the room looking cool, calm and collected and stood at the foot of the bed next to me. “Interesting one, isn’t it? Any idea what that’s referring to?” He gestured with his head toward the wall, an almost taunting tone to his voice and a smirk on his lips.

With my emotions locked down, I slid on my professional mask. “Not a clue. Have you heard from Daniel? We could use his expertise on this.”

Davis grunted. “He’s on his way.”

“Good. We’ll stay until he gets here and get a preliminary report from the fire chief then arrange a follow up. Do you think Barnes is up to manning the gate?”

“Nothing like throwing them in at the deep end.” He chuckled and clutched his gut. “I heard there are reporters gathering down there already. It’ll be a good experience for him.” Slapping me on the back with a little too much force, he continued, “Alright, well now that you two are here, I’m heading out.” Davis shot me a salacious grin that made my skin crawl, saluted Montoya, and left, leaving a foul smell in his wake.

“Today’s going to be a long one,” Montoya muttered under her breath as she stepped out of the room, leaving me alone with a message written in blood that threatened the safety of the one person I cared about more than my job.

CHAPTER 25

RIVER

I’d spent a lot of time working with Joelle, discussing and dissecting my life experiences and the methods I’d taught myself to cope. The main one she’d focused on has been my selective mutism and why I felt that was the best way for me to handle the life I had been forced into. She suggested cognitive brain therapy and explained how learning new coping mechanisms would foster a healthier way of dealing with situations that would ordinarily make me shut down and take the shit that came my way.

Joelle said I wasn’t weak, that I’d just been in survival mode for so long it had become as easy as breathing. But now I have the opportunity to grow and heal, and I shouldn’t shy away from the good things I deserve. Whether I believed her or not was another thing, because my cynical mind found it difficult to understand that things could be good after surviving such a violent and depraved life.

Over the weeks, she’d instilled a glimmer of hope in me that I wasn’t totally broken or irreparable. Although I found her positivity hard to manage most of the time and have questioned more than once if she was as screwed up in the head as I was. Joelle was a relentless force of good, and even though I found ithard to admit, she had helped me find my voice again. I may only be able to string small sentences together when in the company of those I trust, but it was a start. And it’s helped Bane and I build a solid foundation to our growing relationship, rather than one that resembled a house of cards built on quicksand.

The hardest battle I’d chosen was my inability to trust that the drugs she’d prescribed to help temper my gnawing anxiety and ever-present depression weren’t going to kill me after watching many of the guys under Dahlia’s care die from accidental overdoses taking coke cut with rat poison. It had been an insurmountable mountain that I’d kept trying to scale, but inevitably ended up failing and falling back down.

“Every day is a fresh start. What happened yesterday doesn’t control me or influence today. I am worthy of happiness. I am worthy of love. I deserve to live.” I scoffed at my reflection in the mirror as it stared back at me as I spoke my daily affirmations. I didn’t see the point of them, but it was all part of the CBT Joelle had me on.

“What are you up to, angel?”

Bane stepped up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist before nuzzling tender kisses on my neck. I tipped my head to the side to allow him better access and sighed, relaxing into his hard body.

“Just saying my daily affirmations.”

“Mmm.” He moaned as the tip of his tongue teased my pulse point. I shuddered as he nudged the sensitive spot just below my ear with his nose and inhaled, his chest rumbling behind me.

Lost in the beauty of our reflection, my mind wandered. The contrast between us was striking. Bane might have been only five years older than me, but where I still looked like a teenager, he was all man. He towered over me effortlessly, looking like he could scoop me up like I weighed nothing. I couldn’t deny how much I loved the way he could maneuver me with just a flickof his hands, even if it sometimes stirred something deep and uncomfortable in me.

His broad shoulders, carved with deliciously defined muscles, flowed down to powerful arms and a chest that commanded attention, leading to abs that would make any bodybuilder green with envy. His forearms, thick and veined like something out of a fantasy, guided my gaze down to where his large hands rested. They skimmed teasingly across my exposed stomach, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. They made me feel delicate, precious even, and lit a fire in me that traveled through my veins and spread out to my fingertips and down to my toes.

“What would you like to do today, angel?” Bane’s lips brushed the shell of my ear, the heat from his exhale making me shiver.

There were so many things I wanted to do, and all of them involved him. The last few weeks had pushed us individually to our limits and tested us as a couple. After Dale’s body was discovered alongside the fire that burned down any evidence of the crime, Bane had been relentless in his work. The hours I’d spent alone had me feeling like I was caged once again. Luckily, I had Shadow, and after much coaxing from me, Bane allowed us out into the yard to play for a couple of hours a day.

“Well…” My breath caught in my throat as I watched his hand slide up my stomach and tweak my nipples before gently collaring my throat with a possessive hold.

Bane chuckled huskily in my ear. “Well what, sweetheart?”

My tongue toyed with my bottom lip, and my mouth curved into a grin when I caught his eyes tracing the movement in my reflection. His comforting weight became more present as he pinned me against the counter, and my head fell back against his chest when the weight of his hard length rested between my cheeks.

“I was thinking…”

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