Protector(63)

Her breaths leaving her in short, panicked gusts, she somehow managed to open her eyes and stare up into Alex’s worried face. “It’s Roslyn.”

“You saw her? Where is she?”

“I don’t know.” A blink, and the last vestiges of the vision had disappeared. A woman walking past gave the two of them a curious look, but then shook her head and kept on going.

Alex gathered up Caitlin’s discarded shopping bag and stuffed it into the cargo compartment of the Pathfinder. “Let’s get you in the car, okay?”

She nodded and allowed him to guide her over to the passenger-side door, which he opened so she could climb in. That was something she just barely managed to do, her limbs were trembling so violently. But at least she was in the seat and he was buckling the seatbelt for her, since she clearly couldn’t manage to do it herself.

Without saying anything else, Alex got in on the driver’s side and started up the SUV. He backed out, then said, “Can you talk about it?”

Could she? Caitlin didn’t know for sure. All she knew was that, while the vision with Matías had been bad enough, this was far, far worse. She hadn’t been able to see the face of the man holding Roslyn, but it had to be Jorge, since the one — her brain stumbled on the concept, then kept going — the one fucking her had clearly been Tomas. Roslyn, with two guys? She was admittedly a flirt, and sort of flitted from boyfriend to boyfriend without much sign of slowing down, but a threesome? That was not her style. Especially with two men like Jorge and Tomas.

“It was bad.” Alex’s words were a statement, not a question.

“Yes.” She let the syllable hang there in the air for a minute, not sure how she should follow it up. Was she even capable of describing that scene to Alex? She’d have to at some point, but not here. She couldn’t imagine having that conversation while riding around in a Nissan Pathfinder. “Can we — can we talk about it after we get to your place?”

“Sure,” he replied, and went silent after that, guiding them back to his house. If it seemed like he was going a little too fast, cutting it a little too close on a couple of yellow lights, well, she couldn’t really blame him for that.

About ten minutes later, they were pulling into the garage. By then, Caitlin’s shakes had subsided enough that she was able to get out of the car herself. Still quiet, Alex went around to the back and retrieved her shopping bag, then went to unlock the door and let them into the house.

“Why don’t you go sit down, and I’ll get you some water?” he asked.

She sort of doubted water would fix any of this, but she realized they had to start somewhere. Besides, maybe it would help to settle her stomach, which was churning so badly she was afraid she might throw up. “O-okay.”

So she went into the family room and took a seat on the couch, trying not to think about how Alex had kissed her right here in almost this very spot. Actually, she was trying very hard not to think about much of anything at all. She’d have to tell Alex what she’d just seen, but in the meantime, she was going to do what she could to keep her mind blank.

A minute later, he came into the room, a glass of water in either hand. He set one down in front of her on the coffee table, then settled himself next to her. Because he’d brought her the water, she knew she should drink some of it. The glass felt far heaver than it should as she lifted it to her lips, but at least her hand wasn’t shaking anymore.

Alex sat waiting, dark eyes full of questions. He didn’t speak, though, seemed willing to remain quiet until she could find the words to express what she’d seen. The problem was, she didn’t know if there were words. That is, if three people wanted to get together, fine. She had the vague impression that one of the artists in Jerome had that sort of arrangement with his girlfriend and his best friend, although no one really talked about it. But all three of them had gone into that pact willingly and with their eyes open. You couldn’t say the same thing about Roslyn.

“Is she — ” Alex finally ventured.

“No.” Caitlin set down her water and shifted on the couch so she was facing him. As hard as this was, it would’ve been even more difficult if she’d been with someone less sympathetic, instead of someone she knew would give her a comforting hug as soon as she showed that she needed it. “She’s — she’s alive. But…they’ve been hurting her.”

He didn’t say anything, only waited, full lips slightly compressed as he processed what she was telling him.

“Cutting her, I mean. Whatever magic they’re using, whatever spells they’re casting, it’s obvious they’re still doing it. She had bandages all over her arms, and in between, scabs where the cuts have started to heal — ” Caitlin broke off as the horror of it came back to her all over again. “How could someone do that to another person?”