Filed to story: The LORDS Series Free PDF by Shantel Tessier
I blink again, clearing my vision, and he gives me a soft smile. “That’s it. Breathe for me.” He sucks in a deep breath, and I do the same. “The tape is gone.”
I shake my head.
He nods. “Yes, it is. Feel.” He lowers my heavy arms to my lap, and then I feel his warm hands on my neck. He runs them up my jawline and over my chin. Then cups my face. I lift my hands and place them over his. “See. It’s gone.”
I lick my lips and taste blood. Parting them again, I take in a deep breath.
“That’s it.” He smiles.
“Co … lt,” I choke out.
“Yeah, it’s me, princess.”
My eyes dart around the large room. I see Alex and Jenks leaning up against a wall. Alex’s arms are crossed over his chest while Jenks stares at me. I see the guy who held the light to my eyes dressed in a white lab coat. He’s standing beside a guy I don’t know who has his hands shoved into the pockets of his black dress slacks. My breathing picks up again, my pulse racing.
“Look at me.” Colt brings my eyes back to his. “You’re doing great, princess.”
My teeth start to chatter, that warm feeling leaving me shivering, and I whisper, “I’m cold.”
“Here.” He pulls the blanket up and around my back, tucking it right under my chin and crossing it, pinning my arms inside. I wrap them around my stomach. “Better?”
I nod. “Thank you.”
Leaning in, he kisses my forehead, and I sniff, trying to will my body to wake up. Where are we? How did I get here? The guy I’m assuming is a doctor said the pain medication was working. Is that why I feel numb and sluggish at the same time?
Someone clears their throat, and out of the corner of my eye, I see it’s the older guy with the white coat on. “I need everyone to clear the room.”
Colt stands to his full height, jaw sharp. “I’m not going anywhere.”
The doctor walks over to us. “I need to speak to her,” he argues.
“Then fucking speak,” Colt snaps.
The doctor looks over at the man dressed in a button-up and slacks. He nods to the doctor, who then averts his eyes down to mine. “Raylee, I know this is hard. But with your consent, I’d like to have a sexual assault nurse examiner come in and see you. I can have her here in thirty minutes.”
I feel Colt’s body stiffen against my legs since he stands so close to me.
“There’s no need,” I say, swallowing the lump in my throat.
Colt lets out a long breath as if he was holding it in.
“I know this is hard,” the doctor repeats. “But there could have been drugs involved,” he goes on. “You could have been unconscious-“
“I was awake when he started to rape me,” I interrupt the doctor, and the room falls silent. Blood starts rushing in my ears. I’m glad I’m wrapped in the blanket because it helps shield the fact that my body is now trembling at having to admit that out loud. But I don’t want a nurse to give me an exam. It won’t do me any good. Nate is dead. I’m not going to be pressing charges.
“Started?” the man in the slacks asks, breaking the silence.
I nod and whisper, “I killed him before he could finish.” At least I think I did. He was dead, right?
The doctor asks, “Did he use a condom?”
I lick my lips and taste the blood that still lingers. “I … I don’t know.” I guess he could have put one on. I almost blacked out from him choking me right before. We always used them when we were dating. But as much as I was fighting, I can’t see him taking the time to do that. The only person I’ve never used a condom with is Colt.
The older man looks from Colt to me. “There’s always a chance of pregnancy-“
“I’m on the shot,” I offer.
Silence falls over the room again and I look up at Colt. His green eyes are already on mine. A mask placed over his face, hiding how he feels for me right now, and my heart races at what he could be thinking.
I will not bow my head. I will not be ashamed of what Nate did to me. He tried to make me a victim. I turned myself into a survivor. That’s nothing to be embarrassed about.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
COLTON
SHE WOKE UP just like Gavin said she would-terrified. She was screaming that she couldn’t breathe and to take the tape off her face. I don’t even think she knew she was talking. In her mind, she was suffocating. He wanted to sedate her again, and I wasn’t going to let that happen. What says she won’t wake up the same way next time? I could calm her down and bring her back to here and now. Gavin had already removed her IV, and I wasn’t going to help hold her down while he started another one.
When he asked us to clear the room, I was ready to body-slam him. Over my dead body will I leave her. I never thought it would be to talk about the possibility of Nate raping her.
I knew he did. The way her clothes were on the floor was all I needed to see. I tried to convince myself that it didn’t happen, but deep down, I knew. He wanted revenge on my friends and me, and she was the easiest target. Or so he thought.
But the way she admitted it? In a room full of men with some she doesn’t even know. It broke my heart while making me also see red that he did that to her. That he thought he could break her. But I know my girl. And she’s a fighter.
She stares up at me, head held high, but there are tears in her pretty eyes. She’s refusing to let them fall. Trying to be strong.
Stepping into her, I wrap my arms around her shoulders and hear her sniff. Her body shakes against mine, and I cup the back of her head, whispering in her ear, “I’m so sorry, princess.”
“I’m-sorry,” she whimpers.
I pull back, my hands on either side of her bruised face. The doctor stitched up the cuts, but the bruises will be there as a reminder for a while. “Don’t. You have nothing to be sorry for. Do you understand me?”
Her pretty, crystal-blue eyes just stare up at me through watery lashes. Nothing that happened was her fault. It’s mine, and there’s nothing I can do to change that or make it better. Nate took something from her that can’t be given back. And I wish he was still alive so I could kill him myself.
“Colt-“
The door opening behind me cuts her off, and I let go of her to turn and see Finn enter with Mike behind him. They’re both covered in blood and dirt from digging Nate’s grave.
“It’s done.” Finn slaps his hands together, knocking off some dirt. He looks at Raylee. “A nail gun?” He arches a brow with a smirk on his face, not knowing what she just confessed to all of us.
“It was the closest thing I could reach.” She wipes the tears from her face, trying to calm herself.
He laughs. “God, I never want to piss you off.”
Mike comes to a stop when his eyes meet hers. He hasn’t said shit about what went down, and I haven’t questioned him. I wanted her awake and coherent. She’s the only one who can tell us what he’s lying about and why. His eyes drop to the floor while silence lingers in the room. Running his hand through his hair, he shuffles from foot to foot. “I better get going.” Mike turns to head to the door.
Alex steps in front of it and leans his back on it. “Not yet. There’re still some things to iron out.”
Mike raises his hands in surrender. “I promise I won’t say anything.”
I look over at Tyson, and he shrugs. It’s up to me if I let Mike walk away from this. What he’s seen. What he knows. I know he won’t run his mouth about what Raylee did to Nate. Finn had Mike help him dispose of the body for a reason. Mike would never tell on himself. No. He’s smarter than that. His fate will depend on what Raylee has to tell us.
“We’re not worried about that,” Alex tells him.
“Guys, come on.” Mike gives a nervous laugh. “I-“
“What’s a Lord?” Raylee asks, interrupting him.