*****
Duncan stood in the kitchen trying to calm down. His body was buzzing with too many emotions; he felt like he was going to explode. His focus wasn’t really on what was in the kitchen because he knew this was a decoy. Pam knew exactly what she was doing and where she needed to look, but she wanted to do it alone. It took everything he had to abide by that because he smelled the blood; though old, he smelled it and knew it was Pam’s. That alone sent his protective instincts into overdrive making him shake with rage. Hearing her small footsteps moving down the hall, Duncan stepped out of the kitchen and leaned against the wall where Pam wouldn’t see him. He glanced at Jared and Sid, and saw they too had stopped their search, their focus on Pam. They had also seen her ploy and were ready to aid her if needed. It touched him that his fellow Warriors cared for his woman and would protect her if he couldn’t.
Pam was one hell of a woman. The more he found out what had happened to her, the more his respect grew for the woman who had stolen his heart, a heart that had felt nothing for hundreds of years. And the more he found out, the more he wanted to find the bastard and send him to hell. Looking around the tiny apartment, he could see her touches here and there, but there was a heaviness…a sadness hanging in the air. The faster he got her out of here, the better. A bitter sound reached his ears. With a quickness, he was down the hall holding her head while she dry heaved, the toast she had this morning already spewed on the floor.
While holding her head, talking softly in her ear, his eyes searched for what had upset her; his rage reached new limits. Chains hung from the headboard posts, the white sheets were spotted with dried darkened blood. His eyes slammed shut, a curse so foul on his lips that he fought to hold back. Turning his focus back on Pam, he picked her up carrying her away from the horror of her past.
“I got you, babe,” he whispered gently in her hair, but his eyes were anything but gentle. They were black as midnight, with a hate and rage so deep, Sid and Jared stepped back. He sent them both a silent message which they got loud and clear.
Duncan walked out of the apartment and headed for his bike. Her shaking was scaring him, but her quiet heavy breathing worried him most. Standing next to his bike, he held her, his senses searching out to make sure they were alone.
“Babe, you have got to calm down.” Duncan rubbed her back. “Please.” He had never said please in his life, but her unresponsiveness was terrifying to him.
She pulled away from his chest, but her hands still fisted his shirt. “I hate him!” she wheezed out, her eyes unfocused. “I hate myself for letting him do…those things.”
“You did nothing, Pam.” Duncan gripped her chin forcing her eyes to meet his. “Do you understand me? None of this is your fault, and you know it.”
For a second, she just stared at him, disgust filling her face. She started to scramble out of his hold. “Let me go!”
It took everything he had not to drop her, her fierceness to get away from him strong. “Stop!” He gripped her as gently as he could to keep her from falling. “You’re going to hurt yourself. Think of the baby.”
Those words stopped her cold. Disgust left her face in a flash as pure fear and horror replaced it. Her hands flew to her stomach, defeat slumped her shoulders as her head fell forward in shame.
“What am I going to do?” She shook her head. “I was a fool to think I could handle this and be a mother. I’m so screwed up. I can’t take care of a baby when I can’t even take care of myself.”
For the first time in his long life, Duncan was at a loss. He didn’t know what to do, what to say. To tell her she was fine would be a lie, and he would never lie to her. Because anyone with eyes could tell she wasn’t fine. One thing he did know for a fact was he would be by her side through it all, no matter what.
“I’m not going to stand here and tell you that everything is going to be fine, but I swear to you, I will do everything in my power to help you make it fine.” Duncan knelt down slightly so he could be on her level. “I do know that you are one hell of a woman, who will be a wonderful, protective mother. Never doubt that. You have time to work things out, and you have good people behind you ready to help, wanting to help.”
Pam sniffed and nodded. “I know that.” Her chin crumbled. “I really do. I hate being like this. This is not who I am. I hate him!”
“Then don’t let him win,” Duncan said, wondering where that Oprah moment came from, but from the look on her face, he knew he’d hit a homerun. “You know I’m right.”