“Damn straight they are.”
“They were pretty surprised one wasn’t assigned.” Kason crossed his arms. “I still can’t even believe this happened.”
“Yeah. It’s beyond messed up. What did the doctors say?” I asked, hoping to God the guy didn’t hurt her.
“Her knees are badly bruised, and her wrists are raw, but nothing’s broken. They’re just keeping her for observation,” he said, his voice low and concerned.
“Are the cops out looking for the guy?”
“Yeah. But he wore a mask, so she didn’t see his face. And, the fucking cameras weren’t working.”
“Since when?”
He shrugged. “Who knows.” I could see that he was thinking the same thing as me. If we were there, we would’ve killed him. “He took everything.”
I shook my head. “Not everything.” Giselle’s okay. Or, at least, she was going to be.
8
GISELLE
I stepped into my bedroom at my parents’ house. It was just as I’d left it when I moved into my condo. Same light blue walls. Same white comforter. Same collage of photos of my high school friends over my desk and framed photos of my family and Gino on my dresser.
I lowered myself down onto my bed. I was home. I was safe. I was alive.
“Do you need anything else?” my mother asked as she came in carrying a blanket.
I watched as she placed it on a nearby chair, feeling as if this was some sort of dream. Like it was all happening to someone else, and I was just there watching it all play out. “Peace of mind?”
“That’s why you’re here. You’re safe under this roof,” she assured me.
“I wish it were that easy.”
She sat down on the bed next to me and rubbed her hand over my forehead like she’d done so many times when I’d been hurt as a kid. “Between the indoor and outdoor cameras and the new alarm system, no one’s getting in here without us knowing.”
“Seems a little excessive,” I said, though I knew I felt a hundred times better with those precautions in place.
“We’d do anything for you, sweetie.”
Tears glazed my eyes. I wasn’t a crier. But I’d been crying since it happened. Crying for the loss of everything I once possessed. Trust. Security. Strength. “Am I a coward for staying here?”
“We love you more than anything in this world. We wouldn’t let you be anywhere but here right now.”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to go back to the boutique.”
“We’ll figure it out,” she said, brushing my hair away from my face. “It’s still raw. Let some time pass. Give yourself time to heal.”
Raw or not, I knew I’d never be able to go back in there.
“Get some rest,” she said as she stood up. “I’ll start a lasagna. It’ll be ready when you wake up.”
“Lasagna’s Kason’s favorite,” I reminded her.
“Would you like something else?”
I shook my head. “I’m not hungry.”
“Oh, but you will be once you smell it.”