Page 58 of The Veil

She paused again. I was still trying to hold in my anger. Her terror was genuine, and she was struggling to tell me this story.

“When I continued to fight him, he reached for an object,” she choked. “I think it might have been a trophy of some sort. He hit me so many times with it that I ended up with a bad concussion and in the hospital for three weeks.”

I stroked her hair, whispering, “It’s okay, bella.”

Wrapping her arms around me, she cried, “At first I didn't remember much but as the days and weeks passed, the memories came flooding back to me.” The tears flowed down her cheeks as she sobbed in my arms. “I was terrified that he raped me when he knocked me out.”

“Did, uh, he touch you at all?” I tried to pry a little more.

Shaking her head, she concluded, “No, I don’t think so. I was told that some guy at the party heard the commotion on his way to the bathroom and came into the room to check on the noise.” She shrugged, sighing, “That scared your brother off.”

Gnawing the inside of my bottom lip, I nodded.

She sat back, half-smiling, “It's ironic ya know.”

“How so?” I mused, tilting my head.

“He would tell me all the time that he would be my first even if he had to hurt someone else in the process,” she snickered. “I don't know, maybe I laugh at bad times, but I find it funny that his brother was the one to get me into bed.”

“Do you regret it?”

Shaking her head, she wrapped her arms around me tighter. “I know it's weird to say,” she confided, “but I feel safe with you.”

I leaned my face closer to her, leaving a small peck on her cheek.

“I think I feel better now that you know," she inhaled deeply as she peered into my eyes. “For so long that entire situation haunted me.”

I circled the small of her back with my fingertips.

“I was so scared he was watching me and would find me,” she groaned before burying her face in her palms. “I was scared he would end up stealing that from me.”

“I understand,” I muttered, unsure of what to say.

An evil grin grew on her face as she studied my stressful face.

“What?” I nervously asked.

“If you kill him, can I watch?” she sneered, folding her arms over her midsection.

Wow! She was bold! An involuntary snort escaped my nose. Crossing my arms, I matched her expression. She smirked, waiting for my reply.

“What makes you think I will kill my own brother?”

“I felt the way you tensed up when I spoke about it,” she hinted as she began to draw little circles on the bed with her finger. “I know there is more to you than you let on.”

I shrugged, “Maybe you will have to stick around and find out.”

She giggled as she averted her shy gaze.

“He knows I'm with you, doesn't he?” she sighed. “That's why you have that file on him.”

Cradling her face, I slowly trailed my thumb across her bottom lip. “Let me worry about him,” I countered as I searched her eyes for approval.

Slowly, she blinked. “The guys in my apartment with the guns,” she gulped, I mean, the reason I had to leave,” she fumbled. “Was he a part of that?”

I nodded, believing it to be true at the time. There was no point in lying anymore. She would hate me when I told her the rest of the story anyway. That would be the day she probably ran away from me, for good. I watched as she articulated her next sentence carefully.

“Am I truly safe here?” she fretted.

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