Every Time My Heart Breaks, page 10
“You know, you’re not exactly reassuring me with your vague, non-answer answers,” Trick spat.
Luke sighed irritably. “Look. She’s hanging in there, okay? But it’d be real nice if you could fetch us a few things to make her a little more comfortable.”
“Things like what? What is wrong with her?”
“Okay, first, we need handcuff keys. See if you can find any handcuff keys. And then—”
“Did you just say handcuff keys? She’s fucking handcuffed? To what?”
“And maybe a blanket or towel,” I went on ignoring his questions. “Or you know, if you could just find her clothes somewhere up there, that would be even better.”
“Oh Jesus.”
“Actually clothes and a towel both would be best. And—”
“Holy shit. Why isn’t she wearing her clothes? Where are her fucking clothes?”
When Trick tried to open the door again, Luke slapped it right back in his face.
“Why isn’t she wearing any clothes, Luke? What did he do to her?”
“Trick,” I called again. “It’s okay. I’m okay. He didn’t have time to do what you’re worried about, alright?”
Luke glanced back at me hopefully when I said that part as if he wanted to believe me but feared I was only saying this to keep my brother from freaking out.
“But I’m getting pretty tired of being stuck like this,” I kept talking. “So if you could find me a handcuff key and anything to cover up with, that would be awesome.”
“Okay, sis,” Trick called, and his voice sounded shakier than it had before. “Okay, I’ll be right back. You just sit tight. I love you.”
Tears filled my eyes. “I love you too.”
As his footsteps pounded back up the stairs, I narrowed my watery eyes at Luke. “Did you really have to tell him I was handcuffed and naked?”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” Luke spun around to glare. “Did you want to stay handcuffed and naked? Since you refuse to let me leave and don’t want him in here, he’s the only one of the three of us who can go find you shit. And why does that goddamn shirt keep sliding off you?”
He strode forward, scowling and clearly annoyed that one of my boobs and a hard, pointed nipple was showing again.
“I don’t know,” I muttered, “it’s your stupid shirt.”
“Right.” He knelt beside me and very carefully straightened the shirt again so that it was covering me better
My teeth chattered and my shivering persisted, making the shirt slip and begin to slide off me again.
“Seriously?” Luke muttered, catching the cloth before it exposed me again. Then he looked into my eyes. “You’re fucking freezing. Your lips are turning blue.”
My teeth chattered as I attempted to smile at him. “Dax really should’ve invested in some heated cement flooring, huh?”
“He better have invested in a fucking funeral plan.” His words were spoken with anger and hissing venom, but when he met my gaze, he looked worried and apologetic. “Do you want my pants too?”
“Good Lord, no,” I muttered, and I closed my eyes, turning my face away from him so I could stop seeing the worry and concern in his blue eyes. “I’m already being tortured enough, I don’t need to see you stripped down to your yellow-stained tighty-whities, too.”
“Ha-ha, funny,” he muttered, as he took hold of my arm and began to rub his fingers briskly up and down it. “And for your information, I don’t own tighty-whities, yellow-stained or otherwise.”
“Don’t care,” I mumbled, opening my eyes and glancing over at his hand which was actually causing enough friction to warm my arm. “What’re you doing?”
“Trying to keep you from freezing to death,” he answered, distracted as he let go of my arm to move his attention to my leg. But as soon as his palm moved up over my calf and above my knee, I jumped.
He immediately stopped, lifting his hands as he looked up. “Sorry. Did that hurt?”
“No,” I rasped. But the more I took in his concerned expression, the more I began to freak out. Because if Luke was worried about me, then all this started to feel serious and real. My chin trembled. “I’m fine.”
But I wasn’t. I was going to lose my sanity for real, any moment now, and he was going to witness my breakdown.
That was almost more horrifying than being kidnapped by a psycho ex and handcuffed naked in his basement. Luke Hamilton being present for my rock bottom was like breaking a sledgehammer through the rock floor and falling even lower. It had to be the worst thing to ever happen to me.
Gah, I was an idiot. Everything I’d done wrong tonight and with Dax in general and pretty much throughout my whole life seemed to crash down around me all at once.
I should’ve been firmer with Dax when I’d broken off the relationship. I should’ve set the baby down somewhere. I should’ve gone out to help Lucy from the beginning. I should’ve told Luke I loved him when I was fourteen. Maybe he would’ve— Fuck.
I squeezed my eyes shut, and this time, I knew for sure that the wetness dripping from both my eyes was tears.
But neither drip landed in either ear. Two warm fingers caught the twin trails and gently wiped them away. And that hurt my heart more than anything. I sobbed so hard that it made my chest burn.
Before I knew it, I was weeping loudly and uncontrollably.
“I’m sorry,” I blubbered. “I’m so sorry. I’m sorry…”
Luke merely murmured, “Nothing to be sorry for. Just get it out, okay? Get it all out of you.” He didn’t try to shush me or make a joke, or anything. He just kept wiping my eyes, and then my runny nose, keeping my face clear so that I could fill it again with more messiness.
“I wanna go home,” I sobbed, shaking my head back and forth. “I can’t do this anymore. I want my bed and my blankets and my pillows. I just…I wanna go home.”
“You will,” he swore. “Before the end of tonight, I promise you, you’ll be tucked into your own bed, safe and warm. Either at your house or your parents’, though I’m banking on your childhood bed because I seriously doubt Pick and Eva are going to let you go home alone after this.”
My parents. Yes. I wanted them too.
I blinked my eyes open, and they burned a little from crying so hard. Peering up at Luke, I stared at him a moment before saying, “Did you seriously just wipe my runny nose with your hand?”
“Yeah,” he whispered back, nodding solemnly as he wiped his palm on the hip of his jeans. “And you owe me one for that, by the way.”
I started to laugh, only to jerk in fear when I heard more footsteps on the stairs.
Luke lifted his face toward the door, then popped to his feet to go guard it. Putting his foot down to act as a doorstop, he pulled the entrance open about three inches and peered out through the crack, demanding, “You find anything?”
“I got the keys!” I heard Trick answer triumphantly. “And a towel. No clothes, though, sorry.”
“No. This is good. This will do. Hey! Keep your face back, perv.”
“Is she still okay? Chlo? You good?”
“I’m good,” I rasped, feeling a little drowsy and light-headed after crying so hard. It was hard to stay awake actually. “Ready to get out of here, but good.”
“She sounds worse,” Trick said to Luke. “Why does she sound so hoarse now?”
“Because her adrenaline’s dying down with the danger being over, and everything’s finally starting to hit her, okay? Just…give us a second,” Luke added before he shut the door firmly in my brother’s face.
Then, he turned back and waved the key at me in greeting. “You sure you’re ready to break free?” he asked, returning to me with the towel tucked under one arm. “Or do you need another minute to say goodbye to the place and all the fond memories you’ve had here?”
“Get me the fuck free,” I said, not even playing.
He chuckled lightly and knelt down next to one hand. “Yes, ma’am. I hear that one loud and clear.” As soon as the lock slipped free and the freezing metal grip on my wrist loosened, I sobbed out my relief. My arm immediately curled over my chest, seeking warmth and protection as I helped secure Luke’s shirt firmly over myself, hurting and burning as I bent it after it had been forced straight for so long.
Luke’s brow furrowed in concentration as he shifted down to my closest ankle and released the cuff there next.
I felt a bit like a Slinky who was no longer being forced to spread its coils. As soon as Luke freed a limb, it would curl back to the main portion of my body until he was done, and I was all wrapped up tightly on my side in the fetal position.
“There,” he murmured gently, touching my shoulder once he had all the handcuffs off me.
“Thank you,” I whimpered.
He nodded and silently took my shoulders in his hands to help me sit up. “Let’s slip the shirt over your head and then wrap the towel around you like a skirt, alright?”
I nodded and then tried to lift the shirt over my head to put it on myself, but my arms were too weak, and they shook so hard that it hurt to move.
“Here, let me,” Luke offered, taking the shirt from my hand with a kind gentleness I’d never seen from him before. “Just lift your arms out in front of you. Yeah…that’s it,” he murmured when I complied. He patiently slipped the arm holes over my bloody wrists, and the big shirt slid its way up my arms until he was pulling warm cloth that smelled like Luke over my head. When he went as far as to slide my hair free of the collar for me, I lifted my gaze to his face.
He met my eyes and nodded. “Perfect. Now, let’s just wrap this towel around your waist and get the fuck out of here.”
I nodded. “It’s like…it’s like you can read my mind.”
He winked at me. “Just one of my many superpowers, darlin’.”
I sniffed and rolled my eyes, which made his grin bloom.
But then I sucked in an unexpected breath and winced when pain shot through my hurt ribs.
Luke gripped my arm. “Chloe?”
I nodded my bowed head, trying to reassure him. But I couldn’t stop shaking, even though sitting up off the floor and away from the freezing concrete, plus wearing his shirt made me a million times warmer than I’d been before.
My nerves were just plain shot.
“I’m okay,” I said, looking up.
Luke smiled encouragingly and hooked a hand under my elbow. “And we’re going up,” he instructed, trying to get me to follow the pressure of his tugging until I was up on two feet.
Except when I tried to stand, my knees gave out, and I started to go back down again while pain screamed through my side.
“Whoa, there.” Luke promptly caught me and helped me back down to the floor. “No problem,” he told me, blowing out a settled breath. “I’ll just carry you.”
When he looked at my face, silently asking for permission to pick me up, I nodded and lifted my arms to wrap them around his neck. He swept an arm under my knees, then braced a hand around my back, and I was finally off that damn wet concrete.
“Oh God,” I breathed in relief. “Thank you. Thank you…” I turned my face in to bury it in the crook of his neck, inhaling his warmth and familiar Luke scent, and he turned his face in toward me as well so he could press his cheek to the top of my head.
Silent tears streamed down my face.
“You’re okay now,” he whispered into my ear. “I’m not going to leave you. It’s okay now.”
A knock on the door broke into our moment.
“Hey,” Trick called through the wood. “Everything okay? You need anything?”
“Yeah,” Luke told him. “I need you to open the fucking door and get out of the way. We’re coming through.”
The door immediately sprang open. “Chloe!” Trick cried, rushing inside. “Are you okay?” He came straight to us, looking me over immediately and touching my arm and face to assure himself that I was really there.”
“I’m okay,” I assured him, just as Luke growled, “I told you to get out of the damn way.”
Trick reached for me. “Here. Give her to me.”
“I’ve got her,” Luke assured him testily and tightened his grip on me.
Trick glared. “She’s my sister.”
But Luke refused to let go. “I don’t know how well this towel will stay on her if we transfer her around too much. Just clear a path for me, and I’ll get her up the stairs.”
“Fine. Just don’t drop her.”
“And here, that was the first thing I planned to do.” Luke rolled his eyes, then glanced at me. “Head’s up. I may have to hurt your brother before the end of the night.”
Exhausted and finally feeling safe again for the first time in hours, I dropped my head onto his shoulder and tightened my arms around his neck, glad I could stay right where I was, warm and secure. “Just don’t do any permanent damage.”
“I think his brain’s already permanently damaged,” he muttered.
My eyelids fluttered. I think I could fall asleep right here. “Probably from hanging around you so much.”
Luke tipped his face to the side, trying to see me. His glance was speculative as if he wanted to glare at me for my quip but also wanted to smile. What he saw in me must’ve told him that I was okay enough to crack a joke.
But instead of firing back, he murmured, “Yeah. Probably.”
I sighed and closed my eyes fully. “Wake me when it’s over, will you?”
He leaned his face over so he could briefly press his temple to my hair, even as he answered, “Will do. You just sleep tight. I got you.”
So I did. I slept hard and deep, comforted by Luke’s smell in my nose, his warmth on my skin, and his arms locked protectively around me.
10 LUKE
Trick and I had a small debate over what to do after we found Chloe.
I wanted to take her straight to the hospital to get checked out. He was determined to get justice and wanted to wait until the police showed up so that the bastard who’d kidnapped her wasn’t left alone and given a chance to escape.
“Dude, I’m not keeping her in this house any longer than she needs to be here,” I insisted.
He nodded as if he understood and took my arm as he led me to the door. “Fine. Go sit with her in the truck. I already called the police. They shouldn’t be that long.”
When he opened the front entrance for me, he paused to reach out and touch Chloe’s cheek. I think she’d passed out on me before I’d even gotten her all the way up the stairs. But I could tell she was still breathing because I could feel every exhale against the side of my neck and her breasts swelling against my chest when she inhaled.
“She shouldn’t have to be dealing with this,” Trick murmured quietly, his gaze full of concern.
“No shit,” I muttered and shifted past him, turning sideways to carry her through the doorway. “Come open the truck door for us, too, will you?”
Trick hurried to comply. And once I’d slid into the passenger seat with Chloe nestled securely in my lap, her brother peered in at us and asked, “Is there anything you need?”
I shook my head and focused on the top of her head. “I think we’re good here until the cops show.”
He nodded and said, “I’ll be back to check in every once in a while.” And he eased the door shut so as not to wake her.
I hissed out a breath and closed my eyes as I tipped my face to the side and rested my cheek on the top of Chloe’s head.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered. “I’m so fucking sorry.”
The already-unconscious woman didn’t answer, so I enjoyed these few moments of quiet as I got to do nothing but hold her and reassure myself that she was okay and safe. When I buried my nose in her hair, however, I had to gnash my teeth from the scent of decaying basement that clung to her.
Recent visions of how I’d found her assaulted me, and I shook my head, forcing them from my brain. I took her hand gently and ran my thumb over her fingers before lightly tracing the bloody scabs she had forming on her wrists already. Chloe sighed in her sleep, and the sound filled me with this overwhelming sensation of privilege that even after what she’d just been through, she still trusted me enough to take care of her and keep her from harm so she could rest.
When I saw red and blue lights flashing in the rearview mirror, I groaned. I was going to have to wake her up now, and I already knew she was going to have to answer a bunch of awful questions, and I had a bad feeling I wasn’t going to get to keep holding her like this and getting the physical reassurance that she was okay.
And sure as shit, the first thing they did was separate Chloe from both me and Trick. They stuck her in the back of a cop car, where one officer took her report and called EMS, and the rest dealt with me and her brother.
When the ambulance arrived, they took over her care, and the police turned their full attention to questioning us men.
For a minute there, I was sure Trick and I were both going to go to jail. No one liked the fact that we’d basically broken into the psycho’s house to retrieve our family member…or that Trick might’ve gotten a little too forceful when he’d subdued the douche.
But our salvation seemed to come from the fact that half of them had already been to Lucy’s house and seen what he’d done there to her and the baby, plus the two officers escorting Freston outside had trouble restraining him, and he tried to run, causing all the others to converge.
Trick and I just sat back and watched, glad Chloe had already been transported to the hospital at that point.
After taking our names and information and asking a shit ton of questions, it felt as if eons had passed. But finally, Trick and I climbed back into my truck so we could head toward the hospital, too.
“Chloe’s okay and already there,” Trick reported from the passenger seat, where he was scanning his phone and reading the group chat. Then he glanced up and added, “It says your dad’s checking her over.”
My brow furrowed. “My dad?” Dad was a heart surgeon, not a—
“Yeah,” Trick answered, cutting into my thoughts. “I guess he’d just gotten out of surgery when the news went out, so he stuck around, and my dad asked him to be the one to look her over.”
