Page 24 of Absolution
I cast a fearful glance toward the open bedroom door, and I release a shuddering sigh when I find it empty.
The shadowy man is gone.
And so is the distressed little girl.
“Talk to me,” Dane urges. “Tell me about it.”
I shudder and snuggle deeper into his embrace.
He strokes my hair in a soothing rhythm. “You’ll feel better once you say it out loud,” he urges. “It won’t have power over you anymore.”
“There was…” My stomach lurches at the thought of the shadowy man, and I swallow against the sudden urge to vomit.
I shake my head. “I can’t talk about it,” I say, my voice small. “I just need you to hold me. Please?”
“Always,” he reassures me. “I’ll be right here whenever you’re ready.”
I shake my head again and shove the terrible memory of the nightmare from my mind. I don’t want to think about it ever again, much less talk about it.
“All right,” he soothes. “It’s all right.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, pressing closer to him.
“Never thank me for taking care of you,” he says, but there’s no bite to the admonishment. “It’s my job to protect you. I won’t allow anyone to harm you ever again.”
I think about Stephen Lansing.
Don’t watch, Abigail. Close your eyes for me. I’ll take care of this. I’ll take care of you.
Dane’s form of caretaking can be lethal, but I barely experience a twinge of disquiet over his murderous capabilities.
“I meant what I said at the rooftop bar,” I remind him softly. “I don’t want you to kill for me again.”
He tenses slightly, but his fingers remain gentle in my hair. “I will do what’s necessary to keep you safe.”
“I know.” I have complete faith in him.
“If you think that you’re somehow responsible for my actions, you’re mistaken,” he declares. “Stephen is dead because he was a fucking rapist. You bear no responsibility.”
I turn into Dane so that I can meet his fierce green gaze. “At first, I felt like he was dead because of me, but I can see now that I was wrong. I’ve already accepted that he faced the consequences of his own actions, and that’s not my fault.”
I try to brush away the furrow in Dane’s brow.
“If you’re asking me not to kill out of some sense of morality, that argument won’t sway me. You should know by now that I don’t possess a moral compass, and I feel nothing but satisfaction when I think about the fact that Stephen paid for what he did to you. My only regret is that he should’ve suffered so much more.”
He breathes a soft curse, and his body relaxes around mine. “I’m scaring you. I’m sorry, little dove. I don’t want that.”
“I’m not scared,” I reassure him. “The only thing that scares me is the prospect of being separated from you. I can’t bear it if you go to jail. No more killing, Dane.”
He shakes his head. “I won’t make that promise. I can’t. Not if you’re in danger.”
I blow out a sigh, exhaustion sapping my bones. In the wake of my nightmare, I don’t have the energy to continue with this argument.
He presses a kiss to my forehead. “No one will separate us,” he vows. “No one will take you from me.”
I lean into him and allow my heavy eyelids to droop. His scent enfolds me, more comforting than the softest blanket. The hands that are holding me so tenderly are capable of brutal violence, but they will never touch me with anything but reverence.
With that reassuring thought, my body finally relaxes, and I drift into a deep, dreamless sleep.
