Page 325 of Redeemed

As Haven burrows into me, my arms encircle her. I’d give anything I could to change the course of the past two days. Hell, I’d give up my life if it meant Haven wouldn’t have fallen into Isaiah’s hands again. Instead, all I can do is whisper to her and remind her that she’s safe.

It’s not enough, though. It never will be. We can’t erase what happened.

It only takes another minute to get home, and then Lucas is picking Haven up and carrying her inside. My family is still here, so we tiptoe upstairs and into our room.

“I want to shower,” Haven says softly. “I want to wash away his…”

She doesn’t finish, and Lucas clenches his jaw as he brings her into the bathroom. I’m frozen in place as rage consumes me, quickly followed by guilt.

We could’ve prevented this.Icould’ve prevented this if I’d just gone straight to Haven after the graduation ceremony instead of heading for my family. What made us think that Isaiah wouldn’t show up on the one day he knew Haven would be out in public?

“Do you want help?” Lucas asks Haven. He has her sitting on the counter while he scrubs Wes’s blood off his hands at the sink.

“I’d like to be alone.”

He frowns. “Cal said you’re supposed to stay off your feet.”

“I’ll be fine, Luc. Please.”

It’s obvious he doesn’t like the idea of leaving her, but he steps out of the bathroom anyway. The moment he closes the door, his eyes meet mine, and I see every little thing he’s thinking.

“We should’ve left him to burn,” Lucas says hoarsely. “Shooting him was too painless.”

I don’t say anything—just cross the room and wrap my arms around his waist. He’s so tense, so angry, that when he pulls away, I was already expecting it.

“I need to get out of here. Go for a ride and get my head on straight.”

“Lucas, if you’re not here when Haven gets out of the shower, it’ll break her. You know it will.”

“I—”

“She’s already struggling enough without Colton. She needs you.”

He shakes his head. “She needs the Lucas who can look at her without instantly losing his shit at the reminder of what Isaiah did to her. And that guy isnotin the room with us right now.”

“You won’t lose your shit.”

“Yes, I will. God, Xander. I can barely hold it together right now.”

I slip in front of him and plaster my body to the door so he can’t get out. “No. You’re not fucking doing this.”

“I don’t want to hurt her,” he grits out. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t. Look at me, Luc. At us. Have you ever laid a hand on me in anger? Hit me? Punched me? Shoved me?”

“No! Because I always left until I calmed down. It’s what I have to do.”

“It’s not,” I tell him softly. “How many times do I have to tell you? You arenotyour dad.”

He lets out a panicked breath. “Xan—”

“Stay. Prove me right.”

“And what if I prove you wrong? What if I’m just as much of a monster as he is?”

“Then we would know by now, wouldn’t we?”

He snaps his mouth shut.

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