The ride up to the seventh floor is the longest journey, and by the time I reach her door, I’m anxious because of Bennett’s call. My father wasn’t impressed with me leaving early, but I don’t give a shit. This is Ella. She’s hurting and needs me and I’ll be fu*ked if I let her wait.
I knock, then hear Bennett’s voice from inside. When the door opens he steps aside and I see her. It takes all my restraint not to rush to her. I don’t want to scare her, but all I want to do is hold her.
She looks like she’s been crying for days. “Carter.” Her voice is croaky and she clears her throat, her eyes never leaving mine.
“Ella, I’m so fu*king sorry I took so long. Are you okay?” My words fall like the walls I’ve hidden behind for so long. Bennett’s hand on my shoulder startles me and I turn to him.
“Let’s sit.” He looks at home here and something tells me he’s made a move already.
I settle on Ella’s left, and Bennett on her right. She’s sandwiched between us, the only place she belongs. There’s no longer a choice in my mind. This is right. My heart aches seeing the pain in her expression, and all I want to do is protect her. When I look at Bennett, I see the same resolution in his eyes.
“Carter.” Her soft, tentative voice drags my attention back to the reason I’m here. The incredibly beautiful woman beside me. Her eyes are shimmering with unshed tears. Seeing her in pain only makes me want to kill whoever hurt her. There’s nothing for me to say until she tells me the truth.
“I’ll start at the beginning; it will be better that way. When I was eighteen I ran away from home, from my life, and from my past. I’ve never had anyone who cared enough to ask why I didn’t have any friends or why I was alone.” She peers up at me shyly, and I realize I was the one who broke her barriers.
“We care, Ella.”
She nods and places her hand on mine. When her skin touches mine, my intake of breath is sharp.
“I know that now. You see, when I was…” This time she breathes deeply and my gaze flits over to my best friend. He nods, but doesn’t say anything. “When I was thirteen, my mother remarried.” I remember her telling me her father passed away, but she never spoke of another man in her life.
“He was good to us… but… I…” Tears tumble down her cheeks and I can’t stop myself. I reach out and swipe them from her pretty face. She’s perfect even when she’s crying. “It was my sixteenth birthday.” She laughs wryly. It drips with pain, which seeps into my veins, darkening my heart because I have a feeling I know what’s coming.
“He… I was… I mean, he took me…”
My vision blurs and I see red. Pushing up from the sofa, I hear an animalistic sound and I realize it’s me growling. fu*king arsehole! I need to punch something. I need to fu*king break something, someone, with my bare fu*king hands.
“Carter, sit down.”
Pivoting, I glare at my best friend. He’s right, I should let her get it out. I find my seat again, but my body is vibrating with fury.
I take her hands in mine, watching her submit to my touch. “Baby, I don’t know what to say.”
“The card and box. It was him...” Her body shudders, but she continues, “The first time he ever gave me a snow globe was a few months after my birthday.”
I have to frown at this and her eyes find mine.
“It was a snow globe with Buckingham Palace and a red bus inside.”
“I don’t understand, baby.”
“That night he showed me what he wanted to do with it.” Her gaze implores me to understand and when I do, bile rises in my throat, burning like a poison threatening to kill me.
“Ella.”
“He fu*ked me with it.” Her voice breaks on the words and I don’t resist pulling her body against mine.
Anger heats my blood and I can’t fu*king see straight. I’ve been angry before. Hell, I’ve been furious with people, but this is a whole different type of rage that’s coursing through me.
Her body so pliable against mine makes me want to hold her forever. My gaze meets Bennett’s and I can see the pain he feels for her. He cares about her as much as I do. When I first saw her, I knew she’d be different. She’s the one for us.
“Baby, you don’t—”
“I woke from a nightmare earlier, and Bennett asked me about it. So now you both know my dark secret.” The woman I love was hurt and violated by a sick bastard who’s out there fu*king with her head.
“We’ll find him, baby. I promise you.” Meeting Bennett’s stare, he nods and I know this fu*ker will not survive the wrath of me and my best friend.
Ella
He sits absolutely still, but I know there’s a silent conversation going on between the two men who’ve come to mean more to me than anyone ever has. There’s a vow in Carter’s words that’s unsaid but known by me and Bennett. He’ll kill for me.
The sooner Charles is found, I know I’ll be okay. Freedom is something that’s always been elusive to me, but with both men fighting for me, there’s just an inkling I might make it through. Right now, though, all I want to do is be cocooned between these two incredible men.
The broken girl. The tainted whore.
I want them both.
Does that make me a bad person? No.
Does that make me a slut? No.
Does that mean I’m finally fixed? Maybe.
The first thing I know I need to do is find a psychologist who can assess me once more. This time there aren’t any hallucinations. He really has found me. There aren’t any vivid dreams or morbid thoughts, only real-life memories.
I curl up and they both wrap their arms around me. Now they both know who I am and what I’ve come from. My sordid past is out in the open and they haven’t run. They’re both here and for the first time in years I feel like a woman who’s desired for the right reasons.
“Princess.”
I turn to Bennett. His gaze is soft, yet commanding.
“Princess.”
My gaze flits to Carter. He looks as if he wants to devour me. My head is spinning, like I’m on a carnival ride and out of control.
“Let me in. Don’t worry. I’ll find him and kill him with my bare fu*king hands, but don’t push me away. Please?”
My heart leaps at his sincere promise. I want Carter, there’s no doubt in my mind, but I turn to Bennett and realize I want him too.
I nod. I agree. Nothing can stop my need for them.
“Sleep now. We’ll talk after you’ve had some rest.”
My eyes close and I feel safe, more so than I ever have in my entire life.
* * *
Rolling over, I find a warm hand on my hip and one on my arm. Cracking my eyes, finding the source of the heat cocooning me and after my confession, I can’t help smiling. Two incredibly beautiful men are holding me. “How long was I asleep?” I ask, my voice groggy with sleep.
“About an hour,” Bennett answers with a smirk, his gaze roving over me like a hungry lion.
Pushing up, I settle between them, finding myself relaxed and calm.
“Can I have one?” I gesture to the whisky.