I just wanted to hold her, like I held her when her mother died and her father died. I just wanted to promise her that everything would be okay. That we’d make it okay.
“Tell us,” Ryu insisted. He leaned over the island, gripping a glass full of scotch. It was his second so far, at least from what I had seen.
Willow sighed. “Let’s just get a few things clear. None of you are entitled to the truth about what she went through. She’ll tell you when she’s ready, or she won’t. That’s up to her. Understand?”
Ciel and Obi nodded while Ryu took a massive drink. When Willow turned to me, I answered, “Understood.”
I would do whatever it took to help her through this.One breath at a time.
“She was not raped.”
The four of us collectively exhaled.
“However, she was assaulted. As I’m sure you’ve already seen partially, she’s covered in bruising. She was beaten. She has scratch marks on her skin?—”
“Scratch marks?” Obi’s voice dipped low and dangerous. “From nails?”
“Yes.”
“Fuck.” Ryu grunted. “I’ll fucking end them all.”
“She said she killed the man who did the worst of it,” Willow added. “And that Max Volpe helped her.”
The man on the ship’s bridge with his eyes gone. She had stabbed him over and over. That had to be him. I let out a heavy breath, pressing the palms of my hands to my eyes.
“She also has a concussion and several lacerations. I’ve given her antibiotics and bandaged what I could. Now her eye...”
“Will she lose it?” Ciel asked.
Willow shook her head. “Thankfully, no, but she wouldn’t let me stitch it.”
“Why the fuck not?” I asked, straightening.
“She wants Obi to do it.”
Obi’s head snapped up. “Me?”
“Yes.”
He pulled his phone from his pocket. “I can have the best plastic surgeon in the city here within an hour. They will keep the scar as small as possible. Surely, there’s?—”
“She was adamant that it had to be you.” Willow crossed her arms over her chest. “She needs someone she can trust. Not a stranger.”
He stared at his hands, like there was something covering them that only he could see. “If that is what she wishes.”
“The wound is clean,” she continued, drawing her hair over her shoulder. “It’s ready for suturing. I’ve also left topical anesthetic in the bathroom if she wants it. She told me she didn’t, but it’ll be painful.”
“Fucking hell,” Ryu groaned. He poured himself another few fingers of alcohol. “She’s so fucking strong.”
He was right. I was so proud of her. For fighting. For surviving. Thank God we’d already buried those fuckers in the sea, but that was not the last of this.
The four of us exchanged a somber look. Our faces reflected a whirlwind of emotions. Anger. Rage. Resolution.
The Vokshi Clan would face the Shadows and die in the darkness.
So would Max—for bringing this on her. He was the who got mired in the Camorra’s shit. We’d known they were bad news since we were kids. Like walking a knife-edge, working with the Camorra was necessary business that came with significant risk. There was areasonthe American mafia considered themselves a separate organization. And now Max’s fucking choices had caused Leona to get harmed. I wanted to strangle him with my bare hands. Ishouldhave. But he’d helped her, and that made me so fucking confused. What the hell was he playing at?
Ciel gripped Ryu’s shoulder. “Can we—Can we see her? After she gets stitches?”
