“I shot him.”
“You shot him in the leg. You injured him, but you didn’t kill him.”
“Oh.”
“Was that bothering you? Thinking you killed him?” I didn’t want that on her conscience, and I was glad to clear that up for her.
“I don’t know.” But she picked up her toast and bit into it, chewing and looking thoughtful.
“I was aiming for his head.”
For some reason, her words made me grin. “Well, you missed.”
“I guess I’ll leave that stuff up to you.”
I leaned close and kissed her cheek. “Not that we’ll need it again, but yeah, let me do the heavy lifting.”
She ate more of her toast.
“How high on his leg?”
“His kneecap.”
“Huh. I thought I’d be better at that.”
“You often think of shooting people?” I teased.
“Not really. But at times…” She shrugged. “I’m pretty good with darts and stuff. I guess a gun is different.”
My lips twitched. “Somewhat.” I wasn’t sure if I should tell her, then decided to be honest. “Egan flashed through some video Andy took. He told me you punched Andy and kneed him in the nuts.”
“He got too close, and I didn’t like it.”
I ran my fingers down her cheek. “You’re incredibly brave, Raven. I am in awe of you.”
“Is the video…” She let her voice trail off.
“Gone. It’s all gone.”
“Okay.”
She was quiet for a moment, then spoke. “Would you teach me?”
I knew what she was asking. I hated the thought of her touching a gun. But I realized why she was asking. She needed to take back her power and not be afraid.
“If that’s what you want, then yes.”
She finished her toast. “Okay, good.”
I woke her every two hours all night, not that she slept much. For the first time, darkness frightened her, and she panicked when I snapped off the light. So I kept one on, dim enough not to bother her eyes. She would begin to fall asleep, only to jerk awake, gasping and clutching at me. I would talk to her, whispering reassurances until she fell asleep again, only for the pattern to repeat itself.
Finally, as dawn broke, she fell into an exhausted slumber. I slipped away, wanting her to sleep and too restless to stay beside her.
I wasn’t shocked when Marcus and Julian showed up before seven, both exhausted and grim.
I poured them coffee. “All done?”
Marcus grunted as he sipped the hot beverage. “Damn, that’s good. Yeah. All done. The house burned fast. We have everything, and it will all be looked after.” Before I could protest, he held up his hand. “Not by you, Damien. HJ will take it over. They’ve already moved in and smoothed the waters. No questions will be asked about the house, Raven’s name will not come up. If there are any other victims, they will be helped. You concentrate on Raven and you.”
“And Sofia cleared you?”
Julian chuckled. “Yep. She was waiting.” He rolled his shoulder. “All bandaged up and the lecture about no more bullets duly noted.” He touched his head. “She also had some rather snarky views on my head versus the fry pan the asshole hit me with. Something about how hard it was.”
Marcus chuckled. “Me too. She had a lot to say on that subject.”
I grinned. Sofia had no problem expressing her opinions. I told them about the conversation I’d had with Raven about killing Andy. Julian nodded. “Little flashes of humor help. It shows how strong she is. She’ll recover and move past this. You will as well, but you need to step back and let HJ finish this.”
“I will. But I have one thing I have to do. I need to tell Deb the truth. Or a slimmed-down version. She should know he won’t be around anymore and why.”
Marcus drained his mug. “Do that, and shut the door. Come back to the island with us, and let the peace and beauty help Raven heal. I know how much it helped Missy. She said it helped her focus and move past all the horrors she went through. We’ll have the private plane, so she’ll be comfortable. You need the break as well.”
“They’re right. And I’d like that,” Raven said from behind me. I stood and turned. She was in the hall, wearing my T-shirt and a pair of leggings. Her hair was down and messy. She was bruised and worn.
And the most beautiful woman in the world.
She came forward, her steps slow. “We haven’t officially met,” she said as Marcus and Julian stood to greet her. “Thank you for what you did.” She extended her hand, the tremor obvious. I knew strangers would make her wary now. But she was trusting my relationship with these men. She knew they helped rescue her, and she was making the effort.
They shook her hand, offering her a kind smile and gentle words.
Marcus pulled out a chair. “Join us, Raven. Let me tell you about the island. I have some pictures too.”
She sat down, reaching for me. I shifted my chair closer, taking her hand. I felt her relax, and I tugged her closer. With a quiet huff of air, she leaned into my side.
“Do you have pictures of your kids?” she asked. “Both of you? I would love to see those.”
And right then, they fell in love with her.
Deb pressed a hand to her mouth, horrified. She looked between Raven and me, shocked. I had been as honest as I could be, telling her that Stew had used her to get close to Raven and it was he who had kidnapped her.
“It was all a lie,” she murmured. She reached for Raven’s hand. “He hurt you.”
“I’ll recover.”
“That bastard!” Deb spat out. “I knew something was off. He was too perfect.”
I bit back my smile. I was glad to see her anger.
“I knew it wasn’t going to work,” she added. “But I didn’t expect this.”
“None of us did.”
She tossed her hair. “I met someone last night. My neighbor’s brother moved back into town. He asked me for a drink, and when I told him why I couldn’t right then—how upset I was about you, Raven, he was great. He sat and talked to me about life in general. Distracted me.”
“Maybe you should take him up on the offer,” Raven said.
“Maybe I will.” She paused. “Where is Stew now?”
“Where he can’t hurt anyone,” I lied smoothly. “He won’t be back.”
“Good.”
Egan knocked and came in, stopping when he saw Deb. “You got a moment?” he asked.
I stood. “I’ll give you girls some time to talk. Raven, are you okay if I go downstairs with Egan?”
She paused, then nodded. “Yes.”
“I won’t leave her until you get back,” Deb offered.
“Okay.”
Downstairs, Egan showed me a file he thought I’d be interested in. I stared at the image on the screen. It was a younger version of Raven—or a very close facsimile. “Who is that?”
“The girl Andy stalked when he was younger. I think he created his site to look for replacements. He saw Raven’s picture, and that was that. I found several files on his computer of women he went after.”