Cillian had stayed quiet, but Trent gasped softly when they arrived and took in Talia’s injuries.
“Did she do that?” I heard Bryan murmur, but I didn’t take my attention off Talia. She was going through shock. I played with the plain wedding band on her left hand, fingering it softly. The gentle motion pulled her attention to her hands.
“I did it.” She whispers, her voice soft enough that only I can hear.
“Go clean everything up, get started on the body and dispose of the guns. Hurry.” I order the guys, turning away from Talia for a split second.
“I did it. Again.” She breaks and looks to me. “What have I done?”
“You did what you had to do. It was you or him.” I tell her. She should never have been in this situation; I should have been able to protect her from this. But, I’m so proud that she was able to defend herself.
“There’s blood.” She whispers.
“It’s okay, baby. We’ll take care of it.” I promise and her eyes flash to mine in alarm.
“No! No! Not again!” She screams and leaps out of my arms.
“Talia, it’s okay. Nothing is going to happen to you. I promise.” I can’t help but be hurt by her reaction, at her pulling away from me. I couldn’t dwell on it right now. Not with how she looked like she was breaking.
“He said…He said…” She hiccupped and it dawned on me. Talia had relied on Luca to cover up the murder of her sister’s boyfriend and then he started beating and raping her. He must have said something similar if my words caused this reaction.
“Talia, Talia, look at me.” I pull her hands between us and cup her cheek, softly making her meet my eye. “I promise you, on my life, that I will never raise a hand to you in anger. I will do everything I can to not harm you with my words. I will always, and I mean always, keep you safe. That’s what I’m doing now, I’m keeping you safe by cleaning this all up. You did this in self-defense and no one will challenge that. No one will know what happened outside of us and Kellan.”
Talia nods slowly, my words sinking in as she’s pulled out of the panic haze. I see the light return to her eyes and she focuses on me.
“You promise? Nothing will change?” She asks, her bloodied fingers gripping the lapels of my jacket.
“With everything I have, with everything I am, I promise. Nothing will change with us.” I kiss her forehead, and feel the tension leave her body as she fell into mine. I catch her, holding her waist and supporting her weight. “I’ve got you, baby. I’ve got you.”
* * *
After I’d cleaned her up, all the while she stayed quiet and staring at me blankly, I laid Talia down on the bed, tucked one of the blankets around her and left the door cracked open so I could hear her when she woke up.
“How’s she doing?” Trent looks over my shoulder towards the cracked door. I knew he had a soft spot for her, and the way he was looking told me he felt somewhat responsible. Which he shouldn’t, her safety is my responsibility. One I’d failed.
“She’s as good as she can be.” I run my fingers through my tangled hair and shake my head. I don’t know how I’m going to help her through this. Help her heal.
“She’s strong. She’ll get through it.” He slaps me on the shoulder. “Unfortunately, she’s had to do this before. Right?”
I nodded, understanding that for us both, the need for compartmentalization for repeat killings is just part of our daily life. But not for her. Talia had only ever killed for defensive reasons be it for herself or her family and now, when she wakes up, she’s going to have to deal with what she’s done. Even if none of us would spare an extra breath on the Garzino prick’s death, I know she will.
“That won’t matter.” I say quietly.
“I know.” He nods. “Cillian disposed of the body and Bryan is working on wiping down everything in there. Everything should be fine. The only thing you need to worry about right now is making sure she’s okay. And later, we will worry about the Italians.”
“Thank you.” I grab his hand and pull him in for a hug, slapping him on the shoulder. “It is safe to say that your cover has been blown with them so welcome back to the Clan fully, brother.”
Trent laughs and his smile is so bright and stress-free. It’s been very obvious how hard it’s been on him to do this and I’m so glad he’s out. He doesn’t have to be the man in his cover story anymore. “Glad to be back.”
Cillian came in wearing just his white under tank tucked into his black jeans and covered in dirt.
“It’s done.” He said, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath. “How’s she doing?”
I hadn’t realized how each of my close friends had been won over by Talia, but it warmed my heart that they cared for her in their own way.
“She’s coping. She has pretty bad bruising on her ribs, maybe a broken one or two, her knuckles are bruised to shit, split lip, two black eyes, a deep cut on her forehead, probably a concussion, but the worst one is her emotional wounds. You know?”
Cillian nodded, we all understood. Even though killing was easy for us now, it didn’t mean that it had always been.
