Page 39 of Her Wicked Knights
"What?" She blinks, confused, and reaches around her back like she can find proof of what I'm saying. "No, I'm not."
"Yeah, you are." I snap. "What the hell? Was that Jake? Did he hurt you?"
"Jake?" She shakes her head. "No. I don't… he didn't—"
I've had enough of her stuttering, so I pull her to her feet and then spin her quickly, bending her over the bed so that I can see the source of the blood.
And holy fucking hell.
Saying she looks like she survived a match with a wood chipper would be dramatic, but saying she looks like she fought a fucking demon trying to take over her body isn't. Her back is covered in scratches, angry red nail marks that cut through her tanned skin.
"What the fuck?" I growl, rage unfurling in my stomach as I appraise the marks, how they cut over each other in a crisis cross pattern, entirely at random. And at the top, near her shoulder, is a bandage that's been saturated with blood so much that it drips down her skin.
"Explain." I snap, because my only explanation is that Jake fucking took things too far. This is... wicked.
"It's nothing." Audrey says, trying to wriggle out from beneath me. "Just let it go, Colt."
"Let it go?" I laugh. "Audrey, have you fucking seen yourself?"
She shakes her head, and I reach for the cell phone I abandoned on the bed when I shoved her onto it the first time. I snap a quick pic, wondering if we need to keep it to press charges against Jake, because this is horrific. No way Audrey thought that felt good? She's asked me to hurt her a few times, but this? It looks like Jake tried to murder her.
When she sees the photo, Audrey sits up, her face pale as she studies it.
"Fuck."
"I'm going to kill him." I shake my head, trying to transfer some of the pressure building inside.
"No." Audrey shoots up, grabbing my arm. "Please, it's not a big deal."
"You're lying. You bled through a bandage the size of my fist, so I'd say it's a pretty big deal. What did he do?"
"Nothing!" Audrey says quickly. It's too quick, too panicked. "Colt, just stop, okay? It wasn't... it's not what you think?"
"Did you get whipped in the town square then, because that's what it looks like?" Her flesh is hot to the touch, and I wonder how long it's looked like this. Is an infection setting in? Do I care that much if it is?
"Quit being so damn dramatic." Audrey huffs. "I just wanted him to go harder. It's no big deal."
I stare at her tense jaw.
We've both understood for a while that Audrey can fuck Jake if she wants to. She's been doing it longer than she's been fucking me, I'm sure, and while I would love to know that Marley's boyfriend is monogamous and treats her well, she's not going to fucking listen. Tripp and Rev told me they flat-out told her once about how they saw Audrey and Jake together, and she's so much in denial that trying to convince her otherwise would only push her away. I can't make her see reason, but I can look the other way when she's being unreasonable.
"You like it when you're treated like a whore?"
Audrey seems to recognize the out I'm giving her. I don't quite believe her that she wanted to be torn apart like that, but just like I can't make Marley see the truth, I can't make Audrey tell me the truth.
"Yes!" She says quickly, her eyes holding to a glimmer of hope, though I don't know what for. That I'll let it go, I suppose.
So that's exactly what I do. I let it go.
But I don't let go of her.
I push her to her knees, right back where we started.
21
Tripp
IfIhavetosee one more girl hanging on Rev's neck, I'm going to hurl myself into the ocean and let the tide take me. It's fucking nauseating, the way they cling to him like ants on honey. But I suppose I can't blame them. He is honey; he is smooth and sticky, and it's hard not to get caught in all of that.
