Page 62 of Ruthless Salvation
“She’s asleep. Think she’s going to be okay, but I need a hand with something.”
“What’s that?”
“I just went by her place, and something isn’t sitting right with me. The guy was gone, and the place was ransacked, but her tip jar is still full, and the door was locked when I got there.”
“Why would he have searched her place if he wasn’t looking for easy cash?”
“Exactly. And why take the time to lock the door when he left? I don’t like it.”
“You think she knows this guy?”
I explained my suspicions to him. “She also has a tattoo covering a scar on her chest. Today was the first time I got a good look at it in the light. The ink does a good job of disguising it, but it’s a burn. If I didn’t know better, I’d have said it was a brand.” I was surprised the steering wheel didn’t crater from clenching it so tightly. Saying that word aloud—brand—filled me with rage.
Keir went silent. “You give me whatever info you have on her; I’ll get a background check going.”
“That’s what I was thinking. We need to find this motherfucker and fast. I don’t just want him in the ground. I want him begging me to put him there.”
“Can’t argue with that. I’ll be in touch.”
“Later.” It felt good to take action. I’d rather cut off my own fingers than sit around and feel helpless. And in that vein, I had one more errand to run before I could go home. I wanted to punish Damyon for what he’d done, but that would only be possible with detailed strategy and careful preparations. I wasn’t about to cut any corners.
Present
I wasn’tsure what woke me, but my brain wasn’t entirely prepared for consciousness. My eyes only half cooperated—hooded and burning—but open.
It was early, earlier than I usually woke up, but still light out. I was in an unfamiliar bed with a warm body behind me.
My brain was so fuzzy.
I should have been freaking out, but a mellow numbness kept all but a sense of confusion at bay. I tried to claw at my memories to figure out what was happening when a familiar rich purring vibrated against my tummy.
Blue Bell?
I lifted up just enough to see my sweet kitty curled in a ball on top of the covers.
Memories seeped in like floodwaters under an old door—the attack, Torin, his apartment. He’d said something about running an errand, but I’d been so tired it was all a blur. I remembered being worried. I begged him not to go, but he had, and he’d brought me my Blue Bell.
Emotion lodged in my throat as I snagged my furry baby and smushed his perfect little face against mine. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” I whispered. “I was so worried.”
“Cat knows how to hide.” Torin’s sleepy voice was a warm caress. He curled onto his side and tugged me back against his body. It felt intimate and sweet—something I didn’t associate with him—yet it seemed so natural between us.
Tears burned the backs of my eyes. “Thank you. Thank yousomuch.”
He nuzzled his face into my hair and kissed the back of my head. “You can thank me by going back to sleep. It’s too fuckin’ early to be up.”
I grinned, keeping my worries at bay for the moment. Blue Bell was safe. I was safe. And we were all snuggled up like the most perfect set of spoons ever made. For the moment, it was enough.
* * *
The next time I woke,I was groggy and alone. I peered around the unfamiliar bedroom as my brain scrambled to catch up to reality.
I was in Torin’s apartment. Damyon was likely hunting for me with rabid ferocity. My body was sore and stiff, but not as broken as I’d expected. And Blue Bell … My panic surged. Had I dreamed that Torin brought him to me?
I propped myself up and squinted at the comforter where my kitty had been curled up in my memory. Relief had me melting back onto my pillow when I saw cat hair covering the bed.
Oh, thank God.
The moment was short-lived, however, as my emotions burst like fireworks one after the other. Confusion and curiosity quickly replaced the relief and had me back upright.