His lips were blue when I rolled him over. His eye is still
bloodshot.”
Vicious took the time to actually look at Terror. He’d
been so furious earlier he’d overlooked the signs. Even
his neck was bruised beneath the high collar of his uniform
shirt.
A terrifying thought struck him. He embraced Hallie
even closer. “Is she safe?”
Terror nodded. “I took care of the body and her bloody
clothes. No one knows but us three. I didn’t even report it
up the chain of command. Officially, he was never in my
hotel room. My fixer on the ground knows I carried a dead
body out of the rom. He knows nothing of Hallie’s
involvement. We’re the only three who know the truth.”
Vicious figured that was some small consolation. He
glared at Terror. “I’m still angry with you. I can’t believe
you abused our friendship in this way. She’s my wife,
Terror.
My wife
.”
“I overstepped. If you’d like to challenge me in the ring
when I’m healed, I’ll be there.”
“No, he won’t.” Hallie frowned at both of them. “This
stops here. I mean it.”
Terror snorted. “You know, I told her she’s too bossy.
You really should toss her over your knee more often and
paddle her backside.”
Hallie grumbled under her breath and climbed to her
feet. “Just remember that this bossy butt saved your life,
Terror.”
She left them sitting there on the floor. Vicious sensed
she wasn’t okay. “What happened, Terror?”
“He was waiting on the balcony when I got back to the
hotel room. I let my guard down. We wrestled. We broke
the glass door. I fell. He looped a belt around my neck.
Hallie must have heard us. She came into the room,
grabbed my knife, and stabbed him in the neck.”
Vicious wiped a hand down his face. “Shit.”
Terror nodded. “He would have killed her if he’d
finished me off. She had no other choice.” He hesitated.
“She acted with surprising calmness. I expected her to
fucking lose it but she held it together. I was still gasping
for breath on the floor while she was trying to wrap up the
body and keep it from bleeding all over the place.”
Vicious grimaced. “And when I heard you telling her
not to tell me about your secret?”
Terror paled. “You were on a call?”
“We had been. It was interrupted and reconnected. I
heard her asking you take off your pants and get on the
bed. I assumed…”
“Yes. I understand.” Terror gestured to his leg. “It
wasn’t like that, Vee. She just wanted to patch me up.
That’s all. I would never touch your wife.”
He should have known that. He should never have
doubted his best friend or Hallie. She loved him. She’d
taken a public shearing over turning on her friends. She
would never have betrayed him by committing adultery.
His stupidity made his stomach ache. “I’ve really fucked
this up, Terror.”
“We all make mistakes, Vee.” His gaze moved to the
open doorway of the master bedroom. “She loves you.
She’ll forgive you.”
“Yes. I’m sure she will. She probably shouldn’t.”
“You should be more concerned with Hallie forgiving
herself.”
“What?”
“I can see it in her face. She’s tormenting herself with
the guilt of killing Dodson. She’s not going to let it go,
Vicious. It’s going to twist her up inside. You’ve got to
help her.”
“I will.” He had to deal with Terror first. “Do you want
me to call a medic?”
Terror shook his head and held out his hand. “Help me
up.”
Vicious nodded and stood. He reached down and
grasped Terror’s hands. With one swift tug, he pulled the
man to his feet. Eye to eye, they stared at one another.
Vicious finally spoke. “You’re my best friend in all the
universe, but if you ever put Hallie in danger again, I’ll
finish this thing we started today.”
Terror didn’t blink. “I wouldn’t expect anything less.”
Their peace made, Vicious walked Terror to the door.
He waited until Terror was on the elevator before
returning to his communication console and contacting the
med bay. Terror would be annoyed but he needed to be
looked at by a medic. Vicious gave orders to have
someone intercept Terror and haul him back to the
infirmary, under armed guard if need be.
His friend looked after, Vicious headed into their
bedroom. He heard the shower running. He sat down on
the edge of the bed and stared at the floor. How the hell
did he fix this?
She needed him. That much was clear. That much he
could do without screwing it up.
Vicious peeled out of his uniform and boots. He entered
the steamy bathroom and caught sight of himself in the
mirror. Hallie had cleaned away most of the blood but his
bottom lip was swollen and his nose a bit red. He’d be
sporting a nice bruise on his temple by tomorrow morning.
Explaining that one at the office was going to be fun.
He stepped into the shower with Hallie. She had her
eyes closed and her face in the water spray. The sight of
her shaking shoulders tore at him. He’d done this. He’d
forced this confrontation and the ugly truth out of her. He’d
accused her of the very worst.
“I’m sorry, Hallie.” He wrapped his arms around her
and buried his face against her neck. “Forgive me.”
She pulled her face from the spray but wouldn’t look
back at him. “How could you think I’d betray you like
that?”
“I’m not proud of myself, Hallie. I heard something and
jumped to the wrong conclusion.” He couldn’t believe
how emotionally he’d reacted. There was a time when
he’d have verified before acting. Why hadn’t he just asked
her?
“I know how it sounded. I really was just asking him to
get out of those bloody pants and on the bed so I could
stop the bleeding.” She shivered in his arms. “We were
just lucky it wasn’t a truly deep cut. If he’d nicked an
artery, he would have died there on the floor of that hotel
room.”
His gut lurched at the possibility. Hallie would have
been left alone to deal with two dead bodies and the very
real threat of retribution from Dodson’s people. “You’re
never going anywhere with Terror again.”
She made a short laughing sound. “Terror and I agreed
that was for the best. I’d like to not ever have to kill
someone again.”
Vicious ached for her. “I know it’s hard, Hallie. That
first time is always the worst.”
“That’s what Terror said. Apparently, it gets easier.”
“For some men, maybe,” he agreed cautiously. “For
me? No. I still feel the weight of the lives I took in battle.
The ones in close combat are especially difficult to
carry.”
She sagged in his arms. “I wish you’d been there with
me. I needed you so much but I only had Terror. He tried
but he’s not very comforting. He basically told me to suck
it up and forget it ever happened.”
Vicious winced. “I shouldn’t have dodged your calls.
I’m sorry, Hallie.”
“It doesn’t really matter. I wouldn’t have told you over
a call. I just—I needed to hear your voice and see your
face.”
The longing in her voice killed him. He hesitated. “Do
you think you can ever forgive me?”
She slowly turned in his arms and placed her cheek to
his chest. “I already have.”
The depth of her love and forgiveness stunned him. He
truly didn’t deserve her kindness and generosity. If the
tables had been turned, he was sure he’d have held on to
that grudge for a long time. He wasn’t proud to admit that
but it was true.
“Let me bathe you, Hallie. It will help.”
She surrendered to him with a small nod. He took his
time washing her body. His palms spread the foamy lather
over her skin, following the curves of her small breasts
and the gentle slope of her belly. Kneeling down, he
washed her feet, taking care with her toes, and then slid
his hands up her legs to her thighs and back. He rinsed her
slowly and swept his hands up and down her body to wash
away the soap.
His fingers tangled in her hair as he worked her favorite
shampoo into a thick lather. She leaned back against him,
her hands resting on his thighs. He swirled his fingers over
her scalp and tried to decide what to do once they were
out of the shower. He had an idea of how to help her
relieve the guilt but it was a bit unorthodox.
She spluttered a bit as he nearly drowned her while
rinsing her hair. He laughed and pulled her back. “Sorry.”
She whacked his arm but laughed. “Pay attention.”
“I’m trying,” he said. “It’s been so long since I’ve
touched you, Kitten. You’re making it hard for me to
think.”
He quickly washed and shut off the water. He stepped
out first and wrapped a towel around his waist. He
reached for her and helped her onto the thin mat. She stood
still as he rubbed her dry with a towel and squeezed most
of the water from her dripping hair. He wiped at his chest
and back and dried his short hair while considering his
options.
“Hallie, do you trust me?” He draped their towels over
the bar.
“Yes.”
There was no hesitation or uncertainty in her answer.
He held out his hand. “Come with me. We’re going to try
something a little different, Kitten.”
She grasped his hand and met his gaze. “Okay.”
He led her out of the bathroom, into the bedroom and to
the door he’d kept locked since their first night. She hung
back a bit when he stepped inside the darkened room. He
tugged on her hand and raised a questioning brow. She
nodded and followed, showing him such bravery.
Inside the room, he adjusted the lights to a dim setting
and played with the temperature controls. He liked his
rooms nice and cool but Hallie seemed to like them a bit
warmer. With what he had in mind, she was going to need
the added comfort of some warmth.
He dropped her hand to check on his equipment.
Virtually all of it was unused and new. He’d picked out
the various implements and pieces of furniture with a new
wife in mind. He smiled at the silly notions he’d harbored
then. By now, he’d planned to have introduced his new
bride to everything in here. As it was, she’d touched the
restraint table and nothing else.
When he turned around, he found Hallie next to the
restraint table. Her fingertips glided over the gleaming
metal surface. He wondered if her memories of the table
were good or bad. Possibly a mix of both, he reasoned.
She lifted questioning eyes to him. He shook his head.
“Not tonight, Kitten.”
Instead, he sat on the nearby spanking bench and
motioned for her. “Come here, Hallie.” He pointed to the
spot in front of him. “Kneel.”
She went to the floor gracefully, sat back on her heels
and placed her hands on her thighs. He bent down and
moved her hands into the correct position, her palms up
toward him, and widened her thighs. He saw the slight
furrowing of her brow. No doubt she’d already committed
his preferred kneeling position to memory. She was
nothing if not considerate and thorough.
He cupped her chin and forced her gaze to meet his.
“You feel guilty for killing that man.”
She nodded. “I took a life, Vicious.”
“A pathetic, disgusting life,” he corrected.
“But still a life,” she replied. “I’m not a judge or jury,
Vicious.”
“Dodson was a pig. He was a monster. He’d already
spent fifteen years in the Kovark prisons for murder and
rape. He put those scars on Terror’s face.” Vicious
touched the scars along his neck and shoulder. “He put
these on me.”
Her face showed surprise. “I didn’t know.”
“I didn’t tell you.” Vicious caressed her face. “You did
what you had to do.”
“I made a split-second decision to kill one person to
save another. It’s still murder, even if in defense of a
friend.”
Her statement confirmed his fears. “You won’t feel
better until you’re punished.”
She didn’t say anything. She simply swallowed and
blinked. He could tell she struggled with that realization.
“I’m going to help you, Kitten.”