“Don’t call them now,” Raine blurted. She didn’t know why—maybe everything was catching up to her or reality was setting in—but she teared up. “They’ll come, and I’m not ready to see them.”
“I promise. Just do as I say.”
She thought about disobeying, about going back to her hotel room, downing her bottle, and…who knew what then. But she’d already disrupted his day, brought her problems to his office, and prompted him to change all his plans. He’d promised not to call Liam and Hammer in the next few minutes. She owed it to Beck to stay.
“All right. I haven’t eaten all day anyway.”
He nodded and released her. “Get something in your stomach. Fifteen minutes, princess.”
Raine nodded, then left his office, feeling the stares of a dozen patients on her.
It didn’t take long to find the cafeteria. They were nearly ready to shut down breakfast to begin preparing lunch. She must have looked pitiful because one of the workers sent her a glance full of sympathy and let her grab a few prepackaged foods before they locked up the counters, leaving the seating area open, with its silent but animated televisions flashing and the chairs empty.
Ignoring the beginning of a talk show, Raine reached into her wallet for cash. Damn it, she’d spent it all on her bottle. She hesitated. She couldn’t put everything back after the woman had bent the rules for her.
With a sigh, she handed over her credit card. Maybe the guys wouldn’t be tracking her movements. For all she knew, Liam and Hammer didn’t care that she was gone. Despite his pretty speech, Liam had washed his hands of her. And Hammer…who knew? She hadn’t seen much of him since Thanksgiving.
The woman swiped quickly and sent Raine on her way with a receipt. Setting her purse and the bottle on the table, she plopped into the chair with a cola and a breakfast pastry—and stared at them. She could have cooked something more appetizing at Shadows. Normally, she would enjoy feeding Liam something hot and wonderful. She always made extras for Hammer and left it in the oven. Strictly speaking, she wasn’t supposed to, but he’d starve or eat junk otherwise. If she was already in the kitchen, how could it hurt to cook a little extra for someone who needed it? Of course, Liam would have prodded her to eat the something warm and healthy, too. Now?
Raine usually loved sweet things. The Pop-Tarts just depressed her.
What was she doing here? Where was she going? She had no damn clue.
Fighting back more tears, Raine pulled her phone from her bag and gripped it. She fought the urge to turn it on, call Liam, beg him… God, what good would that do? He’d just wanted to know if she loved him, and she’d been too afraid to make herself vulnerable to him.
She had to pick up, move on, grow up, figure it out. And she would. Raine didn’t know where to start yet, but it wouldn’t be with a teary conversation that would make Liam feel guilty enough to take her back only to have the entire cycle repeat again. Until she changed, that’s precisely what would happen.
Dread snaked through Liam as he stared at the envelope Hammer had put into his hands. “What’s this?”
“A visual of what daddy dearest is capable of.”
With his guts in knots, Liam ripped into the envelope, yanked out the photographs inside, and got his first glimpse.
Oh god. Oh Raine. My poor wee lass. His chest buckled.
The photo was of Raine—much younger, but it was still his Raine. Her innocent face was swollen, colored in a rainbow of unnatural hues: black, blue, purple with shades of yellow and green. Her eyes were closed and so puffy, Liam wondered if she’d been able to open them. The lips he’d kissed so many times were split and caked with blood.
She’d been beaten savagely by a monster who’d meant to destroy her.
His first thought was that he wished he’d been there to protect her. He hadn’t known her then, but Liam still felt as if he’d failed her somehow.
His second thought was that he would kill the man.
He took seething breaths to bring his rage under control. “Her father did this to her?”
“Keep breathing, man. It’s a shock,” Hammer said in a tone meant to soothe a wild beast. “I know.”
How ironic. It was the first bloody time all day his old pal seemed to find his control.
“Breathe? Like hell! Answer my fucking question.”
“Yes, her father.”
The bloody prick they were headed to see. Liam stared down at the photo. There were more pictures he hadn’t seen yet. He didn’t want to…but he must. If he wanted to understand Raine, this was part of who she’d become. He hoped like hell she hadn’t let it define her.
Hammer sent him an anxious glance. “I took those the night I found her. She wouldn’t let me near her, even to give her first aid. So I called Beck over, and we slipped a sedative in her Coke. Once she drifted off, Beck made sure she didn’t have any injuries that needed immediate attention. The following morning, I took her to a doctor he recommended. She examined Raine. Cracked rib, a couple of stitches, lots of bruising. The rape kit came back negative. She hadn’t been sexually assaulted.”
Thank god for small mercies.
But from this photo alone, the fact that Bill hadn’t raped her might be the only one. Liam wanted to growl at the injustice Raine had endured. He didn’t care if the pictures had been taken six years ago or yesterday. The agony her father had forced on her stabbed him with pure fury.
Dragging in a sharp breath, he shuffled to the next picture. Raine’s arm, black with bruises in the shape of a man’s hand. God, she’d been a skinny little thing. A grown man unleashing all his force on her would have overpowered her quickly. And no one had been there to stop him. How had Raine done it alone?
Another photo revealed a red, angry spot of torn scalp just above her ear, indicating she’d been grabbed and yanked viciously by the hair.
His eyes smarted. She’d been nothing but a scared child, enduring what that bastard had dished out. But by Christ, she’d escaped. No wonder running was ingrained.
The next shot was of her neck and chest. Deep gouges and cuts raked her flesh. More mottled bruises lay beneath the straps of her tank top. Liam could see discoloration around Raine’s throat. Her father had tried to strangle her? Fuck killing the man; Liam wanted to destroy him.
At the lodge, he’d pried the girl open with pickles and chocolate. The memories of Raine’s words that night rang in his ears. I found out that I shouldn’t mess with Dad’s temper… He would never win father-of-the-year awards. A fucking understatement. He said he wouldn’t go to jail for disciplining his stupidest, most willful...