Page 75 of Virtue & Vengeance

21

ZANDER

I ALMOST DIDN’T CATCH Eden when she suddenly wilted toward the floor. Seeing her on the other side of my door had stunned the hell out of me, and my reflexes were delayed momentarily.

I caught her before she hit the ground, and I tucked her body safely against me. I couldn’t see her face behind the hood, but I’d known instantly that it was her.

The shape of her.

I knew her body and its curves like the back of my hand.

Stepping back into my suite, I closed the door with my foot. It shut with a loud thump that echoed through the room.

I moved toward the couch, lying Eden down gently and going to my knees next to her. Her head rolled to the side, and her hair covered her cheek.

The blond strands were dirty and greasy. Lines of red streamed through the limp locks, and I knew it was dried blood. My eyes followed the path of crimson until they landed on the cracked and broken skin along her hairline.

I pulled the hood back and pushed her hair from her face, and the sight shocked me.

I gasped.

Sucking in a deep breath as my eyes moved over her face.

Rage filled me, and my fingers shook with it as I softly touched the swollen part of her face. There were cuts and bruises everywhere. I ran my knuckle over her cheek and the caked on make-up she had used to try to cover the damage stained my skin.

I wanted to shake her awake.

I wanted to howl and demand that she tell me everything immediately, but it was more than apparent that she had already been through something. The last thing I wanted to do was harm her or upset her even more.

“Eden,” I whispered her name softly as my hands moved over the rest of her body.

I unzipped the hoodie she was wearing and pushed it open. Lifting up her shirt, I examined her, making sure she had no more marks anywhere else. When I was satisfied, I went back to waking her up.

“Eden.” I shook her slightly. She moaned, and the sound broke my heart in two. “Eden,” I whispered again.

This time her head moved to the side a little before her eyes slowly opened.

“You’re here,” she said, her eyes devouring my face.

She tried to smile as she brushed her fingers across my lips.

She looked as though she hadn’t slept decently in hours.

She was exhausted.

Broken.

Battered.

And I was beyond livid at seeing her in that state.

Whoever had touched her would die.

No.

They would be tortured and then murdered.

I would personally make sure of it.

---