Chapter Twenty

Darius

When she doesn’t answer I try asking again. “Do you want Beck in here to help?” I can hear the strain in my own voice. I hated having to ask that but right now, I would give her anything she wanted. The fear in her eyes when I reached for her will haunt me for the rest of my life. She darts her tongue out to moisten her lips before flicking her eyes over my shoulder to Beckett. My heart drops, she would rather he help her than me.

“Becky, can you get me some water and painkillers, please?” I try to keep the surprise from my face.

“You got it, babe. I’ll leave them on the side table in D’s room,” he says before he rushes off to do as she asks.

“Can you close the doors, please?” she asks quietly. I nod and do as she asked, closing and locking both doors before stepping in front of her again. I’m unsure of what the hell to do next. I fear with how angry I am, that if I touch her, I may cause her more harm. As if she can read my thoughts she speaks again. “Can you unhook my bra?” I nod and reach around her. She rests her forehead against my chest as I slowly push the straps down her arms, then kneel in front of her and slowly pull her ruined thong down her legs. I run my gaze along the inside of her thighs trying to spot any sign of bruising or… blood. “He never got the chance. I fought him, Darius,” she cries. I stand in front of her, hating the broken look in her eyes. “I fucking fought him… I didn’t… I wouldn’t let…” Sobs wrack her tiny frame and I curse before throwing caution to wind.

I strip off and gently wrap my arm around her trembling form and usher her into the shower. I gently angle her under the spray and have to take several calming breaths when blood begins to cover the tiled floor. Her cheek is split, her eyebrow is cut. Her nose has crusted blood but it’s not broken. Her bottom lip is covered in blood but no sign of a split. I gently run my hand through her hair, trying to get rid of the chunks in it. She reaches out and holds my waist letting me just comb my fingers through her hair.

“You’re the strongest person I know, Goldie.” She rests her head against my naked chest.

“I don’t feel very strong.” I gently lift her chin until her eyes are on mine, making sure she can see the seriousness in my eyes.

“You are, Leah. You have been through some fucked up shit and still you stand before me, unbroken and smiling. What Gary did to you…” I take a deep breath knowing this is overdue and needs to be said. “I should never have walked out on you that night. I allowed my trust issues from my past to bleed into what we shared. You needed me and I wasn’t there. The things I did and said to you when you got here was fucked up.” Fresh tears roll down her cheeks. “That night when that cunt played that tape, I should have been the one you came to, it should have been me that held you and helped you, not Beck. I’ll never forgive myself for that, Goldie. I’ve fucked up a lot but I’m standing here before you asking you to give me one more chance, allow me to prove to you that I am worth it. Let me love you like I should have years ago.”

“I want to believe you, I really do,” she breathes out.

“Today, when shit went down you didn’t call Beck or your brother, you called me. Why?” Her mouth opens but no words come so I push on. “You were screaming for me . You called my name, not Corvin’s or Beckett’s. Want to know why?” I don’t give her a chance to answer. “Because deep down you know that no matter what I said or did to you, when you need me, I’ll always be there. I’ll always come when you call.” It breaks me to say this but I know I have to. “If I’ve blown this and lost my chance, just tell me. I know Beck and you are close, it will flay me open to see you with him but?—”

“I love, Becky,” she cuts in, and my heart shatters inside my chest. I drop my gaze to the floor, unable to move or speak through the pain. “But not like you think.” I snap my gaze back to hers. “Beck is like a… I don’t know how to explain it but he’s my Becky.”

“And what am I?” I push.

“My everything,” she whispers. My eyes search hers trying to see if she is lying but I see no sign of deceit.

“What does that mean, Goldie?” Her shoulders deflate.

“It means that I hate what you did to me and how you treated me but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t hate you. I wanted so badly to just to stop the hurt I was feeling but I couldn’t. I can never hate you because I love you too fucking much.”

“You love me?”

“I’ve loved you since I was fourteen, Darius. I won’t be your secret anymore, I can’t.” I brush my thumb along her bottom lip.

“I’ll never hide you again. I swear just tell me you’re mine.”

“Only if you tell me the truth about everything?”

“Deal, now say it.” She smiles then flinches, and I growl, “Fuck, let’s get you cleaned up and out of here, then into bed.”

“I need to scrub his touch from my skin, can you help me?” I nod unable to speak for fear of losing the tiny grip I have on my temper. A part of me wishes I had gone with Corvin to finish the job, but I knew she needed me. Knowing that it was me she called and me she was screaming for had me turning down the offer and racing inside to be there for my girl. I’ll never be able to unhear her screams. As I ran up the stairs of that frat house, hearing her screaming my name, I didn’t think as I followed her screams, then kicked the door open. I froze for one second, then I was throwing that cunt off her. I didn’t care about him, I just knew she needed me. Corvin and Crue beat the cunt and kept going even after he passed the fuck out. They gagged him and tied his ass up in his closet before they left. The three of them and Nathan have gone back to dispose of the evidence. Garrett will never be a problem again.

After making me scrub her twice and washing her hair she finally let me get her out of the shower. I dried her gently before dressing her in one of my shirts and putting her in my bed. She took the painkillers Beck left for her and five minutes later she was asleep. I sit here in the dark just watching her sleep. I’m unable to take my eyes off her for more than a second, guilt eats away at me for how I’ve treated her. I don’t know what I would have done if that motherfucker raped her. I scrub my hands down my face trying to rid myself of those thoughts.

“I’m such a fuck up,” I mutter to myself.

“Nah, man.” I snap my gaze to the doorway to see Corvin standing there, the soft glow of the hall light casting him in a dark light. I look him over and slowly climb to my feet at the sight of blood on his shirt. He meets my stare as I step in front of him. His eyes are haunted and have a look in them I have never seen.

“What happened, Corv?” I ask softly.

“I did what I had to do.” The conviction in which he says this has a pang of dread shooting down my spine. “Your brother’s next.” I furrow my brow.

“What?” His eyes harden, he reaches out and clutches my shirt in his hands.

“Gary told Garrett that my sister was fair game. That motherfucker thought he had a right to touch my sister because your brother told him she was easy .” My eyes widen and my jaw slackens.

“When?” I ask.

“Garrett was the fucking witness, Darius! He was the one who caught Vic and Gary talking about what he did to Leah. Needless to say with that bastard suing you, that video of him admitting to what he did is long gone now!” I shake my head trying to deny what he is saying, that video was the key piece of evidence that we had to drop this case against us. I know this case against us is a big deal but the merger is complete, we have the money to back us. There isn’t a thing Victor can do about that.

“I get it, Corvin, I do, but that shit has to wait. Right now, the only thing I care about is your sister and making sure she’s okay.” His face pulls taut, he uses his grip on my shirt to pull me closer leaving only a sliver of space between us.

“She comes first before everything in your life.” I nod. “She didn’t call me, Darius, she screamed for you , not me.” The anguish I hear in his voice has me reaching out to grip the back of his neck and pushing my forehead against his.

“She called me because she knew no matter what happens between us, that I’ll always come running. I put her through some fucked up shit and I have a lot to make up for.”

“Yeah, you do.” Comes from behind us. I tear out of Corv’s hold as I rush toward her. He flicks the light on before he joins us and sits on the opposite side of the bed. I perch on the edge of the bed and reach out to grip her hand in mine. Her face is busted up and bruised. I hate the pained look I see in her eyes, her vibrant green eyes have dulled.

“How you feeling?” Corv asks softly. She tries to smile reassuringly but it doesn’t reach her eyes.

“Sore, but also glad to see you two not fighting.” Corv and I both chuckle.

“He’s a dick but… seeing what he went through to get to you today showed me, I have to get over my hang up on you two… being together.” Leah’s face is a picture of surprise. “You two are together, right?” he asks as he looks between me and her.

“Yes.”

“No,” we answer in unison. I narrow my eyes at her.

“The fuck do you mean no ?” I grit out. I ignore Corvin as he whistles between his teeth. Leah’s face is blank as she stares at me. “We talked this shit out in the shower!” I growl.

“Fuck me!” Corvin grounds out but we ignore him.

“I told you, I want the truth and until I get that, no, we’re not together.” I take some deep breaths through my nose to try calm my anger.

“It’s not just his story to tell,” Corvin answers for me. “You want answers about why we started our business then you need to hear it from all of us, but only when you’re better.” She nods. “Do you really want to know?”

“About your business or about the blood that is covering your hands and clothes?” she retorts, causing Corv to flinch. “Look, if it’s something you guys don’t want to share then that’s fine, I get it.”

Fuck this. “Everyone has their own reasons for wanting to start this, mine is a lot more petty than the others,” I answer. She searches my gaze trying to find any sign of deceit, which she won’t.

“Okay.” I frown.

“What does that mean, Goldie.” She shrugs.

“It means, I’ll wait for you to tell me when you’re ready.” I nod, I may be reading between the lines here but I feel like there is a double meaning to what she’s saying.

“Thank you?” It comes out more like a question than I want it to.

“So, now that we have that sorted, can I pee and go to the spare room?” My eyes snap wide.

“What?” I cringe at how loud I say that, the little devil just smiles at me.

“Well, we’re not together and it would be wrong for me to share your bed.” Corvin’s laughter just pisses me off, the fucker isn’t going to be laughing in a second.

“We weren’t together while Corvin was away at camp and you sure as shit didn’t fucking mind staying in my bed then.” Corvin leaps off the bed like it burnt him, laughter tears from me at the disgusted look on his face.

“Fuck you! Get the fuck out. My sister doesn’t like you and needs to pee.” I lull my head toward him and smirk as I say.

“So, you gonna help her out of her thong so she can pee…” I let my sentence trail off, and the glare he shoots my way has me shaking with silent laughter.

“Millions of people in the world and she chooses you!” He looks back to Leah with a hopeful look in his eyes. “I’ll find you someone else, anyone else, just not this prick.” Laughter bursts from Leah before she hisses and grips her left side in pain. Corvin and I are on her in a second.

“Call the doc,” I snap.

“On it,” he says as he races from the room to do as I asked. I reach out and brush her hair back from her face, hating that I can’t take her pain away.