Mayhem (Deathstalkers MC #5)(25)

She turns but then stops. "What towel would you like me to use? Are there certain things I shouldn't touch?" Her voice is small, her chest heaving up and down.

Jesus, she needs me to be specific. I can't leave anything as a choice. Fuck, I hope Lucy gets here quickly.

I place my hand on the small of her back and she jumps but doesn't instantly move away. I take that as silent acceptance. We move slowly through the house, her shuffling her feet along the carpet. I can only imagine the effort it must be taking to move right now. I don't even want to think about all the times when she dealt with this on her own.



       
         
       
        

I guide her to the bathroom, getting a towel from the closet. "There's soap and shampoo in the shower, use those. I'll grab you some more clothes to wear and put them out on the bed for you. When you're done come back into the living room."

I walk out of the bathroom and try to get control of my emotions. That fucker is lucky he ran. My knuckles turn white, my teeth clenched to prevent me from lashing out as anger flooded my veins like acid, eating away at me from the inside out as I suppress both rage and regret. Regret that I hadn't killed him while I had the chance.

I pace the living room and when a knock startles me. I fling the door open. Lucy is standing there with Whip behind her. I don't think I've ever been so glad to see her.

"She had a glass of wine and I couldn't let her drive herself," he explains, walking in and slapping me on the shoulder. "One of the prospects is sitting at the house with the kids."

"All right, well, you and I can let them talk." I turn to Lucy. "I don't know how much you'll get out of her with us here. It's bad."

Lucy places a hand on my shoulder with her mousy brown hair pulled into plaits on either side of her head and her pink T-shirt and jeans, she couldn't have looked less threatening, something I was thankful for. "He caught me up already. Don't worry, we'll figure it out. No one is permanently broken. Some people just heal in different ways."

The sound of footsteps makes me turn. Jasmine's eyes dart between all of us, the long-sleeved T-shirt I set out for her, thankfully, hiding the marks up her arms. Her wet hair hangs down the side of her face and she's brushed it so it covers most of her right eye. The acid gnaws away at me again as I realize that this is likely a practiced routine.

I walk over and stand in front of her. "My friend Lucy came to talk to you. Go have a seat. I'll be in the next room." She nods at me and then walks toward the couch.

I pause, not sure whether I should leave her alone. "Go," Lucy says. "I've got this."

Whip follows me to the spare room and I sit down on the bed. "This is fucked up."

"Well, hopefully Lucy can get somewhere." He leans up against the tallboy, eyes to the ceiling. "Man, those bruises. Her fuckin' eye. Jesus, fuck. Did you see her trying to walk-"

"I saw." I cut him off, unable to listen to him list the injuries that he'd seen, knowing there were so many more hidden beneath her clothes. Changing her clothes last night was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, and I've done some pretty nasty shit in my time. Her entire body is a canvas of bruises, welts and scars, ranging in color from pale yellow to black as night. It had taken all of my strength to hold back when I saw that. I'd tried my best to clean the blood off her with salt water, something I'd seen my mom do. She'd been so out of it that she hadn't even flinched as I ran the washcloth over her skin, cursing the day Dylan Burke was born. 

"When Wrench finds the asshole don't go racing off on your own. You call one of us and we'll be there." He moves across the room, taking a seat next to me on the bed. "This bringin' up some bad shit for you?"

Whip is one of the few brothers who knows my story, and how I got my road name. The fact that he's able to ask says a lot about him. "I'm trying to separate the two situations, but it's hard."

Neither of us really says anything else. Whip pulls out his phone and messes around on it. I'm grateful for the silence. My head is so full of shit that I don't think I can hold a conversation.

There's a knock on the door and Lucy appears in the doorway. There is no smile on her face. She almost looks like she's in pain. I wait to hear what she thinks, my knee bouncing, my head and heart assuming the worst.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, it's bad. She's destroyed. She can't function without rules, and you're going to have to give them to her. You cannot just leave her here with no direction again-she can't handle it. As much as you may not want to, you're going to need to control her, it's the only way."