The look in her eyes told him the truth. He had to be sure. “Raul raped you, didn’t he?”
“Almost.”
A roar tore from his throat.
She wrapped her arms around him. “Calm down. I stopped him. It’s okay.”
His body shook from the power rushing into his muscles. He fought the downward spiral and focused on Harley’s small hands caressing him. His anger subsided, but not the need for revenge. “He’ll come after you again, force you to embrace your rage, take you away from me.”
“He can try, but he won’t be able to, not with you as my pillar of strength.” Harley flashed him a smile. “Right? That’s what you told me. You’d help me.”
“Yes, but he won’t give up easily.” Calan peered over her head at the back corner of the room. “He’s obsessed with you.”
She gasped, then shoved away from him and approached the sick display of photos. A few feet away, she stopped.
“He’s been watching me for years. He told me he had. I didn’t realize…” Harley reached a trembling hand out to the picture he’d stared at not long ago. “I endangered every lover I took. I didn’t mean to. I thought I was being so careful, meeting them during the day, running afterward.”
She stepped backward and stretched a hand out to him. He grasped it and pulled her against him. Her pain beat at him, but so did his own. “Did you desire them so much?”
Harley snorted and turned in his embrace, wrapping her arms around his waist. “No, I used them. Every last one.”
“Why?”
With soft back and forth motions of her cheek, she caressed his chest. “I was horny and lonely. Selfish reasons, I know. I couldn’t help it.” She leaned back and met his gaze. “Your eyes haunted me. I couldn’t let you go, so I used them as substitutes, but it never worked. None completed me.” She trailed her finger over his chest. “They weren’t you.”
Her answered eased him, yet filled him with remorse. “I left a piece of me with you when I shared my knowledge and strength so you’d be able to find me and not fear what I am.” He ran his hands over her back in an effort to soothe them both. He hated the confusion and loneliness he’d caused her. “I am sorry I didn’t explain it to you. I should have.”
Calan waited for her to absolve him of the sin. She didn’t. After a long moment, she sighed. “Get me out of here. Please.”
He swept her into his arms and strode outside. His horse no longer stood where he’d left him. The morning sun brightened the landscape. His stallion would’ve returned to the Underworld with the first rays of light.
He surveyed the vacant lot. They’d have to return to Harley’s house by human means. “We need a car.”
She reached into her back pocket and retrieved her cell. After a couple of swipes of her finger, she pressed the cell phone to her ear. “Hey, it’s me. Come out to the warehouse behind Cynthia’s house. We need a ride.”
He heard Ian’s mumbled agreement, then she pressed a button on the phone and slid it into her pocket.
“Ian’s coming.”
Calan nodded. He didn’t know what to say to make this situation better. Besides, words couldn’t take away the hurt: for herself, her brother, and all those killed by Raul.
He rested his head on hers. He hated knowing he’d failed to protect her for all the years they’d been separated, but he finally had her in his arms. Nothing would ever hurt her again. He’d make sure of it.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sensing her anxiety, Calan bent to kiss Harley. She scooted under his arm and walked into the kitchen of her home. Hands fisted so he didn’t yank her back to him, he followed and leaned against the wall. She set a loaf of bread on the center island and moved to the fridge.
“We do not require food, Harley. We are eternal.”
She shrugged and continued pulling meat and condiments out of the stainless-steel refrigerator.
He watched her sluggish movements a moment more, then sighed. It didn’t take much to guess what bothered her—Ian’s pain.
They’d spent most of the day with him, helping him search for Cynthia, a futile endeavor. Calan had his dogs compare the scent in warehouse to that of something that belonged to Cynthia. They’d confirmed her scent lingered near the fairy ring, but so did the scents of all the humans who’d died in her house. The sluagh had returned to the building, covered in the blood of its victims. Considering she was the only human unaccounted for, however, it seemed likely she’d been the killer.
Ian hadn’t wanted to accept the possibility and insisted they look for her, so they’d wandered the town. As the afternoon approached, Ian had grown agitated, however. He’d called off the search and stormed home, leaving Harley to wallow in guilt.
Calan stepped behind her and linked his arms around her waist. “Don’t suffer in silence. It’s my duty and privilege to ease you in any way I can.”
She laid her head against his chest. “Unless you can bring Cynthia’s family back to life or find her alive and well, you can’t.”
“You know that’s impossible.”
“Then, let me be.” She skimmed her fingers over his forearms. “When I’m upset, I eat. It’s just a way for me to cope.” Harley tipped her head to meet his gaze. “Okay?”
She would’ve needed ways to deal with her sadness and anger. If food helped, then they’d eat.
“Yes, okay.” He stepped away from her and moved to the counter where she’d started making sandwiches. “Sit, and I’ll finish these.”
Without waiting to see if she complied, he opened the cabinet for dishes only to find it bare. He looked over his shoulder. “Where do you keep the plates?”
She stiffened. “Ian probably took them
