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“You won’t survive this, she won’t let you live, not anymore,” I tell him and Coach coughs weakly.
Blood is the only way to cleanse her body from the fear and pain.
She needs closure… from everything.
“You stopped me once and I losther. You won’t stop me now. You won’t take anyone away from me.” My voice is even as my heart races.
I can’t turn back time, but I can be better.
I head back inside and leave Coach tied up and bloodied outside. We’ll deal with him later.
Inside, Dimitri sits beside Hope on the couch. “These need to be cleaned and bandaged,” Dimitri says softly as he examines Hope’s hands. “I think there’s a first aid kit around here somewhere.”
He gets up and begins rummaging through the cabinets. Hope sits motionless, staring blankly at her hands resting on her lap, knuckles raw and oozing.
I walk over and take the seat Dimitri vacated. Reaching out, I lightly touch Hope’s arm. She flinches faintly.
“Hey,” I say, keeping my voice low and soothing. “You did good out there. Real good. He deserved every hit.”
She doesn’t respond, just keeps staring at her hands. I glance over at Knox, trying to gauge his reaction, but his expression is unreadable, his jaw tight as he watches Hope in brooding silence.
Dimitri returns with the first aid kit and sets to work, gently dabbing at her torn and bloodied knuckles with a damp cloth, only the occasional hitch in her breathing betraying the sting.
“We need to figure out our next steps,” Knox finally says, pushing off the wall. “We can’t stay here.”
“Agreed,” Dimitri replies without looking up from his task. “But Hope needs rest first. And time to process… everything.”
Knox nods slowly. “A few hours, no more. Then we move.”
The unspoken“before someone finds us”hangs in the air. Coach is a loose end we’ll need to tie up. And decisions will have to be made about what to do with Hope’s mom…
I reach out and tuck a strand of hair behind Hope’s ear. She allows the touch. It’s a tiny victory but I’ll take it.
“You’re safe now, baby,” I murmur. “We’re going to take care of you. Of everything.”
She finally looks up and meets my eyes. In their haunted depths, I see a flicker of something. Not hope, not yet. But maybethe beginnings of trust. Or at least acceptance that her fate is tied to ours now.
Knox clears his throat. “I’ll take first watch, make sure Coach doesn’t try anything.”
“What about my mother?” Hope’s torn voice catches us off guard.
“Whatever you want and need,” Knox rumbles. “You call the shots now, Hope. We’ve got your back, no matter what.”
A lone tear traces down her cheek but she quickly wipes it away.
We failed her in the past. We bought into Coach’s lies, ignored the signs. But no more. Hope comes first. Keeping her safe, helping her heal, giving her anything and everything she needs—that’s our sole focus now.
Coach will pay for what he’s done.
One way or another, we’ll make sure of it.
Sixteen
DIMITRI
Istare at Coach’s unconscious body, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. Knox follows my gaze, his jaw tightening.
“What about him?” Knox asks gruffly, nodding towards Coach.