I watched Faith sleep as the guys talked. I hated the bruises on her face and how pale she looked. “How is she?”
“Doing okay.” Mac fidgeted, keeping his eyes on the bed. “They roughed her up pretty good. But nothing a little time can’t heal.”
Dom nodded and shook Mac’s hand again, thanking him for watching Faith. As we turned to leave, I heard my name on a small whisper.
“Jules.”
I immediately motioned for Dom to wheel me to the bed. “Hi, honey. How are you? We were going to let you rest and go see Storm.”
At the mention of Storm’s name, Faith looked down and played with her fingers. “I heard she’s in rough shape.” Her face crinkled in shared pain. “I hear her cry from the nightmares through the wall between our rooms.” Faith straightened and gave a fake smile. “But I’m okay.”
I couldn’t help but admire her strength. “We’ll let you get some sleep for now, but we’ll be back.”
I patted her hand, then she and Grace exchanged a few words. We headed toward Storm’s room, not knowing what we’d find after everything we’d been told. She was just lying there, watching TV, but stiffened when she saw Ezra and Dom. Her expression softened slightly when her eyes fell on me and Grace.
I whispered to Dom and he nodded. He jerked his chin at Ezra. “Let’s give them some privacy.”
Storm relaxed as the door closed behind them.
I edged a little closer to Storm. “Grace and I went to see the rest, and they seem to be doing the best they can right now. How are you doing, honey? We’ve been worried about you.”
Storm’s small smile pulled at her split lips. Her left eye was almost swollen shut. “Well, other than the obvious,” she said, running a finger across the gauze wrapped around her hand. “They’re treating me for an infection from when they thought it’d be fun to run razor blades up and down my thighs.” Her lips quivered. She looked at me with fear and resentment in her eyes. “They tortured me and took what they wanted. I was their plaything,” she whispered. She studied the wall. “I’m guessing you know they raped me several times. At least they used condoms. But they’re still testing me for STDs.” Storm wiped tears from her eyes. A shiver shook her hard. “I can still see them every time I close my eyes. Still smell them. I wake up screaming until I remember I’m safe.” Storm glanced at me. “And I have you to thank. I’d be dead right now if your people hadn’t saved me. You gave me hope. You never gave up and always said they’d come.”
I smiled and opened my mouth to answer when there was a knock at the door. Dom entered the room and I knew my slight smile didn’t reach my eyes. It was hard to smile after hearing what Storm had gone through. Was still going through.
Dom stood beside my chair. “Hey, princess. I have to go deal with some stuff. Will you be okay for a while without me? I have plenty of brothers here to watch over you.” He looked at Storm. “Can I introduce them so you ladies will know who they are?”
Storm’s eyes swung to mine with a question. I nodded and smiled, letting her know she could trust them. She gave a single nod and pulled her chin up.
Dom smiled and waved the guys in. Wow. They were all huge. But they all had kind eyes and nice smiles. “This is James, Pitch, and Smokey. They’ll be taking over for me and Viper with Ezra and Mac.” He motioned to the two who’d walked in with him. “We figured a couple familiar faces would make things a little easier. If you need anything, you call them.”
Dom bent down to my level, then hesitated. I could tell by the look in his eyes he was judging whether it was too soon to kiss me or not. I couldn’t help the catch in my throat, or the hint of fear that whispered through my mind. My eyes must’ve told the story. But he didn’t look upset. His gaze softened, as if he completely understood. I hated my reaction and would’ve hated it even more if I’d hurt him. It wasn’t him I was scared of, I just needed a little time.
He softly kissed my cheek. “I love you. When you’re ready, I’ll be waiting.”
He pulled back just as tears ran down my cheeks. Dom was perfect and I loved him so much. He brushed the tears away with his thumbs and kissed my nose. I wished I could say it back, but my throat felt like it was closing, all clogged up with too much emotion.
“I’ll be back,” he whispered.
As he turned to the door and talked quietly to the guys, all I could do was nod. He would be back. He’d always be there for me. Dom was the one thing in the world I knew I could always count on.
12
Dom
Tech met me outside Storm’s room. His face was hard, his jaw ticking. “Brother, you aren’t gonna like this. This John bastard is really fuckin’ sick.” He followed me to the elevator and I waved at Viper to join us. I tried to rein in my rage as he talked. “Your girl was right about him watching her. We went to his place and there are pictures everywhere. You have to see this shit, man. Some crazy psycho shit.”
We climbed in the elevator and I jabbed the button for the lobby, then clenched my fists. I didn’t want to see it, but I had to. “We can stop by on the way. I want everything he has, pictures, anything of hers. Then I’ll
