I THREW THE JEEP into drive.
My mouth opened then closed, because nothing I said could fucking fix what I’d just witnessed.
What the fuck had happened to Marcus?
The kid in high school who’d taken pity on the foster kid getting bullied was gone.
I didn’t know who the fuck was just in Elyssia’s house, but that wasn’t her fucking brother. That was a shell of a man.
Inhaling, I fought for the right words, then decided there were none. “How long has he been like that?”
A silent tear slid down her face. “Like what?”
Fucking broken. “Struggling.” I reached for her hand.
She pulled away and turned toward the window. “Our mother’s dead.” She wheezed through a cough. “I’m all he has.”
“Elyssia—”
Her breath, her voice, they rattled as she interrupted me with anger. “You just took me away from him. He’s my brother. I owe it to him to take care of him, just like he took care of me growing up. He doesn’t deserve to be this way. He didn’t deserve to watch all his friends get blown up in front of him. He was protecting our country, like he always protects me. He joined the Marines to make the world a safer place. Now he needs that safer place. I shouldn’t have left, and you shouldn’t have done that to him.”
Jesus. This was what she’d been doing since I’d been gone? Babysitting her brother? “He attacked me, Elyssia. I am not going to justify my actions, nor tell you I’m sorry.” A thread of something so fucking horrific started to unravel, but I pushed the thought down as fast as it’d unraveled. The Marcus I knew, fucked-up or not, would never touch his sister. I softened my voice and put my hand on her thigh. “I’m not sorry for taking care of you, Elyssia. You can’t help him right now.” I wasn’t sure she could help him at all. He clearly needed professional help. “You need to heal. You’ll be safe at my place.” From whatever the fuck had happened.
Her chest heaved with a labored sob.
Goddamn it. I pulled into my parking garage, cut the engine and reached for her. “Hey.”
Short, no-air breaths rasped from her chest.
“Elyssia,” I commanded. “Take a slow breath. You have to stop crying.” She was going to fucking hyperventilate. “I’ll check on him after I get you settled. It’s going to be okay. Just take a breath.” I wanted to fucking pound Marcus for putting her in this position. PTSD or whatever he was suffering aside, she didn’t deserve that responsibility on her shoulders. He needed to get help.
She took three small breaths.
My thumbs stroked her cheeks, but I held her head firm. “That’s it, again.”
She labored through two more small breaths, then she closed her eyes like she had right before she’d passed out.
Fuck. “No.” I gave her a slight shake. “Look at me.”
“I’m so tired,” she rasped.
My chest constricted, and I barked out her name in a panic. “Elyssia.”
Her eyes opened slowly, but she focused on me again.
“Are you going to faint?” Goddamn it, where the fuck was Talon?
“No,” she whispered.
I hoped like hell she was telling me the truth. “I’m going to let go of you now.” I needed to get her inside.
She barely nodded. “Okay.”
“Slow breaths. Stay in your seat. I’m coming to get you.” Letting go of her was sheer fucking torture. I grabbed her bag and rushed around to her side. When I opened the door and undid her seat belt, she looked so damn pale and so fucking broken, I didn’t hesitate. I scooped her up and lifted her out of the Jeep.
“Wait.” She took a breath. “I can walk.”
“I know you can, but you’re not going to.” Kicking the door shut, I curled my arms, and brought her close to my chest. No fucking way was she walking right now.
“Please, put me down.” She shifted in my arms, as if she was in pain.
Hoping to God I wasn’t hurting her worse, I held her close as her scent snuck up on me and hit me square in the chest. Like summer and flowers, she smelled fucking incredible. “I will, when we get upstairs.”
She exhaled and coughed. “You’re bossy.”
She had no idea. “You’re just now noticing?”
“No.”
Her response surprised me, but I didn’t comment. I crossed the underground parking garage and pushed the call button for the elevator as her head settled against my chest.
“I’ve never been to your place.”
I stepped into the elevator. “I know.”
“Friends know where each other live.”
I didn’t know if I wanted to smile. “I’m your friend now?”
She ignored my question. “You know where I live,” she rasped.
“And you’re about to find out where I live. Slow breaths,” I reminded her.
“I knew your old place.”
I was still pissed about the one time Marcus had brought her over. I didn’t say shit.
“You’re mad.”
“I’m not.”
She called me out on my bullshit. “Your arms tensed when I mentioned your old place.”
I exhaled. “It was a shit place in an even shittier part of town. It wasn’t safe for you to be there. Not to mention, it was a dump.”
She almost smiled. “You swore.”
Christ. “I swear a lot.” A whole fucking lot.
“Not usually in front of me.”
Because when Helen was alive, she’d reamed me and Marcus out every time we swore. Unlike her son, I tried to watch it in front of Elyssia. “I’m not perfect.”
She looked down and her voice got quiet. “Pretty close,” she whispered.
“Elyssia—”
“Won’t your girlfriend be upset you’re bringing me to your place?”
I wasn’t a fucking saint. I’d been with a lot of women. But I’d never had a girlfriend. I’d never wanted one. No one had ever measured up to the quiet brunette in my arms who smiled like a sunrise whenever she saw me. “I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“The band has a lot of fans,” she countered.
She’d never asked me about a girlfriend, or the groupies. “Fans pay the bills.” The elevator doors opened on the top floor, and I strode to my front door.
“And groupies make touring fun.”
My jaw ticked at her insinuation. “If you have a question, ask.”
She glanced over my shoulder. “There’s only one apartment on this floor?”
“Yes.” Still holding her, my keys in my hand, I let us into my place. Then I set her down, punched in the alarm code, and flicked on a few lights.
Her gaze took in the hardwood floors, the modern kitchen, the furniture in the living room and the wall of glass opposite us. “I didn’t know Ocala had any condos like this.”
It didn’t until I’d paid Neil to build the place. He’d told me I was wasting my money putting in a luxury condo building in a small town. I didn’t care. I’d wanted a home base near her, and I didn’t want to have to deal with a house while I was on the road. Turned out I wasn’t the only one who’d wanted a condo downtown. The six other units had sold before construction was complete, and I’d made enough money off the place to buy the Miami Beach condo.
“Come on.” I took her hand.
She didn’t pull away, but she was still taking everything in. “The band must be doing really well.”
“I can’t complain.” I led her down the hall toward my bedroom, but when I pushed open the door, she froze.
Her hand went to the doorframe. “What are you doing?”
I didn’t think. I saw her hand gripping the frame like she needed help standing, and I picked her back up. Three strides and I placed her on my bed as gently as possible. The white down comforter swallowed her small frame, and I dropped her bag on the floor. “I’m putting you to bed.” I took her leg and pulled first one boot then the other off and forced myself to let go of her.
She watched with stunned silence, then she cleared her throat. “I’m not sleeping in your bed.”
“I’m taking the couch, Elyssia.” But I sure as fuck didn’t want to.
Rigid like she was stiff with nerves, she didn’t move.
“Relax,” I commanded.
For a second, she looked like she was holding her breath. Then the tension in her muscles released and she curled onto her side.
I was a dominant fuck, both in the bedroom and out. But around Elyssia, I’d always tried to temper it. She was so damn sweet, I’d never wanted to scare her away. And right now, she was testing my restraint more than she ever had. She looked so damn beautiful and submissive in my bed, I needed to walk the fuck away before I laid down next to her and forgot she was injured.
“Stay.” The single barked command was no less of an order than the last shit that’d come out of my mouth, so I forced myself to rein in my tone. “I’ll be right back.”
Her eyes searched mine, but she didn’t say a word.
Jesus, she was going to test me. Pulling my phone out, I strode to the kitchen and called Talon.
He answered on the first ring. “She okay?”
She was fucking beat to hell, and now she was upset she was at my place and not home with her asshole brother. No, she wasn’t okay. “She’s still the same. When will you be here?”
“On my way.”
I gave him the gate code. “Front door’s unlocked.” I started to hang up.
“Hey, you find out who did this?”
“No.” Not yet.
“You got any leads?”
“No.” But I had a fucking idea.
“Best guess?”
I looked down the hall before heading out on the balcony. “I’m thinking one of her brother’s MMA friends. She didn’t tell her brother what happened, and they’re close. It makes sense. He’s overprotective. If he knew, he’d go after whoever did this and he wouldn’t stop.” Marcus had always been aggressive, but when it came to his sister, or his mom when she was alive, he was protective to the point of being fucking lethal.
Talon exhaled. “Listen, I just wanted you to know the doc said she wasn’t violated. She refused a rape kit.”
I ground my jaw. “Thanks.”
“Regardless, she’s still beat to hell. You let me know if you want company going after who did this.”
When I found out who did this, I wasn’t handing it off to anyone. I was going to take care of the motherfucker. “I’ll handle it.”
“Open-ended offer. I’m a few minutes out.”
“Let yourself in. We’re in the bedroom at the end of the hall.” The only bedroom, because I’d converted the second one into a practice room.
“Got it.” Talon hung up.
I grabbed water and an ice pack and was heading back to my bedroom when my cell vibrated with a text.
Marcus: Where the fuck is my sister? If you touch her, I’m going to kill you
I fired off a response.
Me: What the fuck is wrong with you?
His response was almost immediate.
Marcus: You and your rock star bullshit. Leave Sia alone. Where the fuck is she? She isn’t answering her phone. Bring her home. NOW
Anger seethed as my thumbs flew across the screen.
Me: Maybe you should ask yourself why the hell she isn’t home right now.
I didn’t have time to think about how I was breaking a promise to her with that text. Marcus’s response was even more disturbing.
Marcus: Why? What the fuck did she tell you?
What a self-centered asshole. Was he fucking blind?
Me: Nothing. She didn’t have to. You need help, Marcus.
He needed more help than she could give him. I was contemplating turning off my phone when he sent another text.
Marcus: Fuck you. Give me my sister back. Quit trying to get between us every goddamn time you’re around.
What the hell was he talking about?
Me: You’re the one causing the fucking conflict. I’m not doing shit except looking out for her.
Marcus: You fucking liar
Me: Get help. She doesn’t deserve to put up with your anger.
Marcus: I’m only angry when a rocker asshole tries to take advantage of my sister!
Me: We both know that’s bullshit.
Marcus: What’s bullshit is you taking her to your overpriced fucking condo so you can fuck her then leave her in the dust when you go back on tour to fuck all those groupies
Fuck this.
Me: What’s fucking bullshit is how you have zero grasp of reality. Get fucking help. Until then, we’re done.
I shut my phone off and walked to my bedroom.