Broken Trust(Devastation Duet #2) - Winter Paige Page 0,51

guys. I can’t.” Tears roll down her cheeks, and my heart breaks.

“Are you in pain, little wave?” Jonah walks up, standing beside me. He gently moves a lock of hair from her face, causing her to smile sadly up at him.

What? I’m gonna stab him. I curl my lip until I hear her soft laughter.

“A little, but I’ll be okay. A wave, huh?”

“You fought back pretty fucking hard, beautiful.” He leans over, kissing her head, causing both Jaxx and me to growl.

“Good to see you up, Darlin’. I’m going to head down to the waiting room to let everyone know you’re awake. Jonah, why don’t you come with me before you end up injured, too?” Abel chuckles.

“Abel? Thank you.” Eliana sniffs.

“For what, Darlin’?” He wheels in closer, taking her hand.

“For fighting for me. Your leg, he said-” She hiccups a small sob, and Abel’s chin trembles.

“No, Darlin’, thank you. I remember what happened in that house.” We all turn to him questioningly, but he shakes his head. “It’s not my story to share. I remember though. What you did, sacrificed, to keep me alive. You did the real fighting. You’re not a little wave. You’re a fucking tsunami. I love you, Darlin’, and I am so proud of you. Now rest.” He wipes tears from his face, and I am sick with the thought of what put them there.

“I knew you were listening to us that night.” Jonah shakes his head, placing a hand on Abel’s shoulder and giving it a squeeze before pushing Abel’s chair from the room.

“We’ll come back by later, beautiful.”

“Okay,” she whispers, looking down and twisting her hands in her lap when they close the door behind them.

“What happened?” all three of us ask together.

“Princess, did he-” I swallow hard.

Eliana

I take a deep breath. “What did the doctors say?”

“They said there was… trauma but wouldn’t say anymore.” Jaxx takes my hand. “Baby, he didn’t? Did he?”

I should lie, tell them he never had the chance to touch me, but I can’t. I promised Joshua I would try to be happy, and I can’t do that if we continue this dance.

“Not exactly,” I force out.

“What does that mean, Eliana?” Jaxx jumps to his feet, taking my face in his hands gently and searching my eyes.

“Princess?” Costin is tugging at his hair beside me.

“I don’t want to talk about it, guys. You trained me to survive, and I did. I fucking killed him,” I cry. “I did kill him, right?!”

“He’s fucking dead,” Jaxx confirms. “Wait, you did that?”

I nod. “It was him or Abel. I would do it again.”

They sit on either side of my bed.

“Your screams?” Jaxx asks, and I nod again.

“He touched me, but that’s all I’m saying. I will not let this define me or paint any more pictures in your heads. He has no hold here. Not anymore.” I wipe my eyes with the back of my hand. “He had Joshua killed.”

“We know, baby. We put it together before but didn’t have a name. When your call came in, we realized how blind we had been.”

“Where’s Daddy? I heard him there.”

“He ran, Princess. He stepped up when it mattered though. He loves you in his own way. He wanted to be here. It’s just that Richard had a ton of dirt on him that he turned over right before taking you, including the house fire from the night we found you, the murder of his brother and father, and the details of him manipulating you to take control of your inheritance. Turns out, you don’t have to marry at all. He just wanted a man beside you, willing to do anything to keep you sheltered. That way, he could get your husband to sign over control of your grandfather’s fortune to him. He knew Joshua would. Turns out both he and Jaxx had already agreed to it so long as you were provided for and safe,” Costin huffs.

“Coming after me in the end doesn’t fix everything he’s done,” I spit. “That’s why he wouldn’t let you be with me? Because you are too unpredictable and would have probably just told him to fuck off?”

“We all know how that would have gone,” Jaxx snarls.

“Come here, Jaxxson.” I open my arms, and he gently lays his head on my chest.

“I’m sorry, baby.” He turns, burying his face against my gown, soaking it with his tears. “I keep failing you.”

“Listen to me, Jaxx. None of what he said to you on that phone was true.” I run