Dark Boundaries(58)

I make sure to watch all life drain from Warren’s face. Up until now I was running on pure hatred. Now that the source of my hate is dead, all that’s left is the aching concern I have for Kristine.

I rush to her side and drop down to my knees. “Hey, gorgeous.” My throat clogs up as I take in the sight of her. I try to smile, to be brave for her. The left side of her face is swollen with bruises. The bruising on her side and stomach has darkened to a nasty color. I’m too scared to touch her, but I know we have to get out of here.

Her grey eyes are huge with fear. She tries to lift an arm, to reach out to me but it falls limply back to the ground. She doesn’t scream or rage over what happened. She only whimpers, her eyes never leaving my face.

“I’m going to take you home now. It’s all over.” I push through the overwhelming feeling to pound Warren’s dead body to a pulp. When I got here I sneaked in. I wanted to use the element of surprise, knowing that I might be out numbered.

I knew to expect anything, to prepare myself, but still I was shocked by the scene I walked in on. Seeing Bill empty himself on her, seeing Warren get ready to rape her, it was the end of me. I shot Bill without thinking twice. I didn’t want to give him the chance to talk with his dick hanging from his pants. Warren was another story. I wanted him to feel the fear he’d made Kristine feel before I killed him.

I made them pay with their lives for touching what’s mine.

I gently reach for her and lift her to my chest. A pain filled groan from her makes me freeze for a second. The sooner I get her home and taken care off, the sooner she’ll feel better.

“I’m getting you out of here, Kris. It’s going to be okay. I’ve got you now.”

She whimpers softly and lets her head fall to my chest. I move quickly, now in a hurry to get her home. I take a blanket out of the trunk and wrap her in it. I can’t let go of her while I wait for Justin to come. I phoned him right after I left to come get Kris, asking him to come back me up and bring lots of gasoline. That was forty minutes ago. I hate sitting here with her. I want to get her back to my place so I can clean her and see where she’s hurt.

Finally, Justin’s car pulls up next to mine. “I’ll be right back, Kris. I’m going to take care of things.” She nods and curls her body as small as she can on the seat, her face almost disappearing under the blanket. Those fuckers can be so glad they’re dead. I’m going to enjoy torching them, knowing they will never hurt anyone again.

I get out of the car and see that Riza came along. She runs to Kris’s side of the car and I watch her squeeze in next to her friend. At least she can comfort Kris while I take care of the problem.

“Thanks for coming out here,” I say, and the exhaustion seeps through my voice. I’m so tired of all this shit.

“Do we still need to take care of them?” Justin asks. He came prepared to kill them. We feel the same about these bastards. We just want them out of our lives.

“Already took care of them. We just need to torch all the evidence.”

He pats me on the back. “Let’s do this. I brought three cans, I hope that’s enough. Where do you want to torch the place?”

I start to walk to the entrance. “Their bodies and where they kept her. I don’t want any evidence that Kris was ever here.”

We spend a good few minutes soaking the place up and when I light it, I feel a tiny bit better. I’m worried about Kris and how this is going to affect her.

“Let’s get out of here,” I call to Justin and Riza.

“I want to stay with her,” Riza argues.

I shake my head. This is not open for discussion. I want Kris to need me. If Riza comforts her she won’t need me. “You can come by tomorrow. I’m going to get her cleaned up and put her in bed.”

“Come, Riza,” Justin commands. He knows I need this time with Kris and I’m thankful for my brother always having my back.

I wave goodbye and take the road back home. The drive back to the apartment is quiet. She looks like she’s sleeping but every now and then her body shudders. I park in the basement so we won’t run into anyone. I pick her up and cradle her close as I walk to the elevators.

Only when I close the apartment’s door and lock it, do I feel relieved. I take her straight to the shower.

“Can you sit for me?’ I ask as I place her on the counter.

She nods but slumps to the side when I let go of her. I peel the blanket away from her and carry her into the shower. I pin her to the tiles with my body and open the faucets. Cold water sprays over us. “It will warm now.”

As soon as the water is warm I soap up my hands and start to wash her body. She hangs onto me, her grip weak. As I spread a lather of soap over every inch of her body, I feel my throat clog up again. I hate that they touched her and I try with my own soft touches to wipe theirs from her.