I wasn’t sure how Abigail was going to take the news. Not great, I imagined, and I wouldn’t expect her to.
For a second, I wondered if she would turn on the club. Blame us for the whole thing and let her pain turn into hate. I’d seen shit like that happen before and what I’d learned was that you could never predict who would do that shit. So it didn’t matter that I didn’t feel like she was the type of person that would turn her back on us. Grief and loss made people do the unpredictable sometimes.
I wouldn’t blame her if she did. I promised Dade I’d look out for her and I intended to honor that promise until I took my last breath. Even if I had to do it from afar, I would.
“We need to shower,” I said softly as I tried to pull myself out of my thoughts.
We were both covered in blood. Most of it not our own.
Yeah, that should have been the first thing we did but right now I just didn’t give a shit. The damage was done. Her car was going to have to be wiped down and now parts of my place. I had a feeling someone was going to come looking for those two men. If luck was on our side, it wouldn’t be for a few more days.
I knew I’d have to call Connor at some point. I had to figure out some sort of explanation for Dade and since we were moving his body, I’d have to make it real fuckin’ good.
“Come on, Pet,” I said as I let my hand slide away from her head. “Up.”
She did as I said, walking to the bathroom without me having to say anything.
We stripped in silence. She piled everything in the sink, even her underwear and shoes. I reached for the trash bags under the sink and she gave me a knowing nod. Shaking it out, I held it open so she could dump everything in there. With her eyes on mine, she pulled her hair free and tossed the tie into the bag. Then she took the bag and held it open for me while I stripped down into nothing.
“Where’s your blade?” I asked as she stepped into the shower.
“I left it behind. Garen will take care of it for me.”
I nodded figuring this wasn’t the first time he’d had to wipe that thing clean for her. I damn well knew she liked her razor and that it was the same one I’d seen her use before.
We showered in silence. Each of us taking turns to make sure the other got all the blood off.
I turned to shut off the water but stopped when I felt her hands slide up my chest. Her breasts pressed into my back as I felt her lips at the base of my neck. My hands came up and I threaded my fingers through hers.
“I can’t make this right for you. I can’t fix it,” she whispered and I felt her forehead rest on my shoulder. “I don’t know what to do here, Iron.”
“You’re doin’ it, babe. Just your touch and being here is all I’ll ever need,” I told her softly.
I knew she struggled in situations like this but it meant a lot to me that she had said something. It showed me that she was trying and I was just so damn glad she was holding me up right now. I was a man but I also knew that some times that one woman could be stronger than us all. And Petra sure as fuck was that for me.
“What needs to be taken care of next?” she asked as I shut off the water and then reached for our towels.
“I need to call Connor O’Shay. See if we can figure out some way to work out Dade’s shooting as something it’s not. Still don’t trust that Detective Mullins. He called peace a while ago, but you never know how long that shit will last.”
She nodded, her eyes on the wall behind me like she was thinking real hard.
“But I want to wait until I talk to Dade’s sister, Abigail, first,” I said and walked out of the bathroom.
She followed behind me, toweling off her hair.
She was already reaching for the tee I pulled out for her by the time I turned around with it in my hand. I let a small smile slip out. There was something about seeing a woman in your shirt, yeah. But there was really something about seeing Petra in mine. It meant even more to me that she never hesitated to wear it after she showered here.
And I loved how it was usually the only thing she wore.
She walked out to the living room while I went back into the bathroom and hung our towels up. I snatched up the brush before I headed back out.
She coyly smiled as she saw the brush in my hand. She knew it wasn’t for me since I preferred to brush my hair after it was dry, if I did brush it at all.
I flopped down on the couch and she settled on the floor next to my legs, her head automatically resting on my thighs.
I couldn’t tell you why I liked brushing her hair. And I couldn’t tell you why she liked me to. All I knew was that it calmed us both. I couldn’t deny that there was something about having Petra at my feet like that, either. It just didn’t seem like something she’d ever do. Not one of those things she’d give into even if she really wanted to. But she did for me.
My phone chimed after I worked through all the tangles in her hair. She leaned over, grabbed it off the coffee table and then handed it to me without even looking at it.
