Free INK: Vanishing Point (Book 2) by Bella Roccaforte Page A

“Eli,
I need to make a phone call. Come take care of her.”
    I’m still paralyzed, trying to
process what happened. My feet won’t move and I can only shake
my head. “Eli!” Carl barks, standing up from the bed
holding Shay. I jump and take three steps toward them.
    He transfers her into my arms; she’s
sobbing uncontrollably. I pull her in tight to try to calm her
shivering. “What the hell was all that?” I ask Carl as he
heads for the door.
    He doesn’t look at me as he keeps
walking, “Occupational hazard.”
    Shay is a lost puppy shaking in my arms.
Her bottom lip quivers and her fingers are tangled behind my neck
like she doesn’t ever want to let go. I don’t know what
happened but she’s terrified, and honestly so am I.
    Holding her tight, I carry her into my
bathroom to clean the blood from her hands. I don’t know if
she’s been cut or whose blood it even is for that matter.
Against her protests I set her on the counter and turn on the faucet.
    I gingerly hold her hands under the
water, revealing the fingernail cuts in her palms. She looks from her
hands to me. Her pale blue eyes wide and uncertain, she looks to me
for comfort. I know she’s waiting for me to say something but I
don’t know what. I break a slight smile and rest a kiss on her
forehead to reassure her that I’m here.
    The sleeves on her shirt are too tight
and won’t go up. “We need to take this off; I’ll
get you one of mine.” When I try to go get a shirt she catches
my arm. I turn to her and she just shakes her head no, holding on to
me.
    “Okay.” I unbutton my shirt
while she pulls hers off over her head. She crosses her arms across
her chest, covering up like I’ve never seen her undressed
before. Maybe I never have seen her this vulnerable, full of
uncertainty and fear. I take in the beauty of her childlike demeanor
and realize that though she’s bloodied on the outside it’s
nothing compared to the wounds alive inside her. I’ve never
seen her so broken before. All I want to do is heal her from the
inside out. The need to hold her overcomes me and I rest my hands
lightly on her shoulders and give her a look asking for permission.
    She throws her arms around me and pulls
me tight and begins to sob again. I want to cover her in my love,
hold her forever and keep her safe, but I don’t know how. After
all of this she may need more than what I have to protect her.
    My anger for Aiden subsides as the
nagging thought that maybe he was frightened, that maybe she was
going to hurt him. But could all of that be true? If it were me I
would gladly take a knife to the heart before I ever hurt her. I
could never aim a gun at her head and pull the trigger. The anger is
returning in full force and I hold her tighter, telling her it’s
going to be okay. I inhale deeply to take in her scent; she always
smells like spring. But there’s something different: burning
and smoke.
    Carl clears his throat, standing in the
doorway. “Hey Carl.” I finish taking my shirt off and
wrap it around her shoulders and roll up the sleeves to look at the
cuts on her arms.
    “I spoke with McNab.” Carl
says simply.
    Shay perks up at the mention of his
name. I keep cleaning the blood from her arm and don’t
acknowledge Carl.
    “We need to talk, Shay.” His
tone kind, he steps into the bathroom and picks up her other arm. “It
looks superficial. I think you'll be fine.”
    Shay puts her hand on his, “What
happened?”
    Those two little words seem so harmless
but they’re loaded. Carl tries to smile but can’t manage
it, “Let’s go talk.”
    Shay slides off the counter unsteadily.
I brace her as we head for the living room. All I want to do is pick
her up and hold her forever. Siphon the pain from inside her and make
this all go away.

Chapter 8
Nescience
    Shay
    Eli holds me close to him as we sit on
the couch. Carl sits on the edge of the leather chair across from us.
I have no idea what the hell just happened. I’m so confused