“I’ll find out about the arrangements.” He tried to unclench his jaw. Wasn’t successful. Maybe the heat in his head had melted the bones together.
Lathan’s phone vibrated, and he yanked it from his pocket. There was a text from Dr. Stone.
We’ve just arrived. Everyone is anxious to see Evanee.
He typed in a response without even thinking.
Be there in a minute.
At some point during the long night of questioning, Lathan had texted Dr. Stone to tell him Honey was found. Alive. He’d asked the doctor to relay the message to Thomas.
“Your brother is here. Dr. Stone, Xander, and Isleen, too.”
Panic flared in her eyes, dilated her pupils, and infused the already pungent air around her with garlic. “I don’t want to see anyone. I can’t. Not right now.”
“Do you at least want to see your brother? He was worried.”
“No.”
“I’ll get rid of them. Will you be all right for a few minutes?” Translation: Will you be all right without me? She was being even clingier than on that first day out on the road.
She drew in a breath, held it for a few seconds, then let it out. “I’ll be fine.”
The itchy, peppery scent of her deception tickled his nose, but he let her have the dignity of that little lie. “Get in the shower.” He squeezed her hand against his face to infuse her with enough healing to last during his absence. “I’ll be right back.” Breaking the connection took effort, like they were suctioned together.
He shut the door behind him and hurried down the stairs. He didn’t want to leave her alone, but he almost looked forward to seeing everyone. An odd thought. He normally would be like her—wanting to hole up and isolate from everyone.
Lathan opened the front door.
Thomas stood front and center, holding a stuffed teddy bear wearing a purple pair of pants. Under another set of circumstances, it would’ve been comical to see the guy standing around holding a child’s toy.
Thomas’s forehead wrinkled in concern. “Is she all right?”
“She’s”—Lathan could hardly find the words—“rough. Raw right now.” He would never speak of what she’d been through to anyone else. It was her decision to share or not share that experience. He looked at everyone standing on his porch, all their faces expectant. All of them concerned about Honey. “Physically, she’s cut, bruised, scraped, exhausted. Mentally, she’s struggling to hold it together. And doesn’t want to see anyone.” Lathan was doing his own struggling.
“I hope you killed the fucker who took her.” Thomas’s face blazed with color, his hands clenched into fists. The burning cinnamon scent of his fury was strong in the air. “If you didn’t, I will.”
“He’s dead. He’ll never hurt her again.”
“Good.” Thomas stared hard at Lathan. A brother sizing up his sister’s lover. “’Cause I intend to make sure she’s never hurt again.”
“You and me both, brother.”
“You’re good for her, but you ever hurt her and I’ll—”
“Won’t happen. We’re in the same book, on the same page, reading the same fucking sentence.” Lathan did something he’d never done before. He held his hand out to Thomas.
Thomas clasped Lathan’s hand, and it was like they’d just sealed a deal between them. They were both going to make sure Honey’s life was sunshine, rainbows, and puppy-dog kisses from here on out.
Xander stepped forward and caught Lathan’s attention. “You know you can heal her.” His face was set with a knowledge born of painful experience. “All of her.”
Dr. Stone put his hand on Lathan’s shoulder, a fatherly gesture full of encouragement. “If you need anything, give me a call.”
“Thanks.” Lathan looked down at the porch floor and worked to find the right way to say what needed said. “For everything. None of you had to show up, to encourage me to find her when I thought she was dead, but you did, and that meant—still means—a lot. If I’d been only a few minutes later, I might not have gotten her back.” He spoke the last bit around the lump of how-things-could’ve-gone in his throat.
“Keep close to her. Keep touching. Everything will work itself out. I promise. And I always keep my promises.” Isleen’s smile carried so much self-assurance and absolute truth that Lathan believed her. She linked her arm with Dr. Stone’s. “Come on, let’s leave them to it.”
Dr. Stone, Xander, and Isleen all turned to leave, but Thomas lingered.
“Give her this from me.” Thomas held the stuffed bear out to Lathan. “She had one just like it when we were kids. Called him Mr. Purple Pants. He was her favorite thing. Went with her everywhere. Until I cut his head off and stopped up the toilet with it.” A smile tipped the corners of his mouth at the memory. Thomas met and held Lathan’s gaze. “Have her call me when she’s ready.”
“Will do.” Lathan took the bear. He just couldn’t help himself. He liked Thomas more and more each time he talked to the guy.
Lathan watched the carload of people drive off. A menagerie of emotions churned under the confines of his skin.
He sucked in a breath and smelled the crisp bite of winter in the air. Snow would make things better. It softened all the sharp edges, made something beautiful out of the death autumn always demanded. He turned and went inside, setting the stuffed bear on the banister.
Upstairs, steam misted out from the open bathroom door. An invitation.
She stood underneath the shower spray, her back to him, rinsing shampoo from her hair. Fluffy white suds slid over the perfect globes of her ass. His dick, unaware of the concept of bad timing, began to swell.
She turned, eyes closed, head thrown back, still rinsing the shampoo from her hair in a carnal pose that drained the blood from his extremities to fill his little head. Water slid over her face and slicked down her chin, her neck, her chest. Holy Jesus. Her breast.
Her entire breast was a vile shade of maroon. Vicious tendrils of purple spanned outward—like the roots of an ancient tree. An almost perfect bloody ring of teeth marks encircled her nipple.