I have to swerve back into the lane as my hand slips off the wheel at the news. I knew that fucker didn’t only have Robyn. I knew there had to be a connection between the scholarship students and Dr Fisher. But why?
Why is he allowing them into the university only to kidnap them? Is he keeping them close just to use them as sex slavesafterwards? Is that what is happening to Robyn right now? Is she being used and abused in a warehouse we haven’t reached yet? How much time do we have before he realises we’re onto him? Will we find her body instead of her?
My mind whirls with questions and no answers as we all fall into a suffocating silence for the rest of the journey. The tyres crunch over the gravel as we pull up outside my house. It feels weird to be back. I know Fae only lives around the corner, but there is no point going back out tonight. I need her warm and clean more than I need to appease Felix.
The engine idles for a second longer before I kill it. The sudden silence presses in around all four of us. For a moment, none of us move. The porch light flickers on automatically, bathing the stone in a soft glow. It looks peaceful. A strange juxtaposition to the storm brewing inside the car.
I get out first as the cold air bites at my skin. I move quickly around the car and open her door before she reaches it. Fae steps out slowly, quieter than usual. Almost smaller. Fae the killer has been replaced by my Tinkerbell; I ache to nurture her.
Leaning back, I open the car door for Victor and Hazel before my hand settles at the small of Fae’s back.
“Inside,” I murmur against her ear as she shuffles in.
The house is warm and quiet. I can tell the rest of the guys aren’t back from whatever they were doing today and I lead Fae straight upstairs and into my bathroom. Turning the shower on, the room fills with steam. I strip first, dropping the bloody clothes in a careless heap before stepping towards her. In the bathroom light, I notice the blood again, and my jaw tightens.
I help her undress slowly as she moves like putty in my hands. I guide her towards the shower, adjusting the temperature before pulling her under the water. It runs hot, turning pink at our feet as I start to wash her first. My hands move over her shoulders and down her arms as I tilt her chin upso the water rinses the last traces of blood from her face. I pump her shampoo into my hands before massaging it in.
From the moment I claimed her, I made sure everything she used was stocked in my bathroom. Most people would think that was cute. I think it’s selfish. I love her smell and the thought of that ever being contaminated by another infuriates me.
When I’m satisfied she’s clean and her hair is conditioned, I quickly wash the blood from my body and guide us out. We dry ourselves before moving to the bed. We don’t talk. It’s what I love most about her. She’s kind of like Felix that way, comfortable in the silence just as much as she is with the noise and laughter.
I pull on my boxers as she pulls on one of my shirts and I get that same sick, satisfying feeling I do when I think about her being pregnant with my baby. Crawling into bed, I pull her body flush with mine. My arms wrap tightly around her waist as she moulds to me like she was designed just for me.
It stays quiet for so long that I think she’s asleep and my hand moves to rest over her stomach.
“I’m going to miss you,” she declares so softly that I almost think I imagined it.
The words make no sense as a slow panic claws up my throat. I frown against her hair, pulling her closer like that might somehow make her stay.
“Miss me?”
“Yeah.”
“Where are you going?” I ask, not masking the confusion threading through my voice.
She is quiet for a beat too long and the slow panic turns into an avalanche. I twist us so she is flat on her back, my body caging her in as I take in her sad, wistful features.
“Where are you going, Tink?” I repeat, firmer this time, determined to get an answer.
“I thought I could cope with it,” she whispers, her eyes filling with unshed tears as my heart pounds so hard it hurts. “But I can’t, I won’t… it will hurt too much.”
“What will? I don’t understand.”
“You… you with your two promised. I won’t pretend to be happy for you whilst I prepare to live in a compound.”
I go still. Annoyance flashes sharp and immediate at the thought. Fae reads it wrong. Her body tenses and a small divot forms between her brows.
I’m not annoyed at her for presuming. I’m annoyed at myself for not telling her sooner. Does she really think I could ever walk away from her? Has she been thinking our time together had a time frame on it? All this time I’ve been panicking over telling her, whilst she’s been panicking that I’m leaving.
Her features crumple slightly as the first tear falls. I catch it with my tongue, licking it up before pulling back so she can see my face.
“Tinkerbell, I am sorry.”
Her nose scrunches up and I can tell instantly I’ve said the wrong thing as another tear slips from her eye.
“No,” I shake my head. “I’m not sorry because I’m leaving you. I’m sorry for not telling you sooner, little one. You’re my promised.”
Her eyes go wide. It’s like she stops breathing.