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I keep my eyes closed because I just might lose it if I look at her. I let my fingers glide up and down her spine. She shivers, whimpering as she presses harder into me. I know it’s the drug in her system but here I am, once again, taking advantage of it. She needs to be touched, so why shouldn’t I be the one doing it? She pulls away from me, taking my hands in hers.

“Look at me.”

I open my eyes slowly, dragging in a breath at the sight of her sitting on top of me, her gorgeous breasts on display. She moves my hands to her breasts and I give them a gentle squeeze.

“Touchme.”

I roll over, putting her beneath me. She stares up at me, lips parted, breathing heavy. God, she’s beautiful. I move down her body and begin kissing my way up her legs. When I encounter the first scar, I close my eyes and press my lips to the mark. I find each one, vowing to avenge her all over again. When I get to her stomach, she sniffles. I look up and there are tears streaming down her cheeks. I lie next to her and pull her into my arms. Counting each tear as they fall on my chest, I envision myself unloading my gun into the man responsible for this. One bullet for each tear.

CHAPTER 11

***Gage***

Just like I’ve done every night for the last couple of weeks, I lie in bed and watch her drawing at her table. The therapist encouraged her to use her art as an outlet, but I don’t know how helpful it is. She keeps drawing the same thing over and over – her view from the bed as her masked attacker stands at the door with his knife. Her nightmares have only gotten worse, and she’s now at a point where she can’t even sleep without the sleeping pills she was prescribed. Her therapist also prescribed depression meds, but I haven’t seen any changes since she’s been taking them. If anything, she seems worse. She’s always tired and when it comes to food, she either eats too little or too much. She’s changed so much over the last couple of months. This thing destroyed her. She’s not the vibrant, fun-loving girl I met, just a shell of her former self. It kills me to see her like this.

“Come to bed, babe.”

She glances over at me, her face expressionless, then walks to the bathroom. I know she’s taking her pill. When she climbs in next to me, I pull her into my arms.

“You know what tomorrow is, right?” I ask.

“Thursday?”

“Yeah, but it’s also Christmas Eve.”

“Oh.”

Her tone of voice is as dead as her expression was.

“I have a surprise for you.”

“Is it the blue box in the closet?”

I go still. Of course I remember the box in the closet. I just didn’t think she knew about it. “Have you opened it?” I ask apprehensively.

“No.”

I try not to breathe a sigh of relief. “No. But under no circumstance do you open it. Understand?”

“I understand.”

“Good. Now, go to sleep.”

***Raven***

I open my eyes and find he’s been watching me sleep again. This time, though, he has a smile on his face.

“Good morning.”

“Good morning,” I echo.

“Brush your teeth and meet me outside.”

He hops out of bed and hurries through the door. I drag myself out from under the covers and get myself ready to meet him. I’m a little curious to see what this surprise is. Throwing on one of his hoodies and some UGGs, I head out to the bar. Gage is standing by the clubhouse entrance with a Cheshire cat grin.What the hell is he up to?

“Holy, friggin’ hell, it’s cold out here. Can I come in yet?” An urgent voice comes from outside.

My heart skips a tiny beat. I move in the direction of the voice as Gage opens the door. Toni runs inside and I have my arms around her before she even sees me. She returns the embrace, squeezing tightly.