Total pages in book: 91
Estimated words: 86162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 86162 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 431(@200wpm)___ 345(@250wpm)___ 287(@300wpm)
“Do you want to go to the Human/Kindred Relations building?” she asked. “It might be a good idea if Chris Brander’s father really does have influence. I’ll call Commander Sylvan and let him know about the situation.”
Abbey shook her head.
“I’m so tired. Please—can’t I just go home?” she pleaded.
“Well…all right. As long as you think it’s safe,” Lizabeth Paige told her. “We don’t want this Brander’s people coming after you.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be fine,” Abbey said tiredly. “Please—I just need to be alone.”
“I’ll come with you,” Solon offered.
Abbey shrugged.
“Sure. Fine.”
“All right—let’s go then. And if you want, I can have a Kindred warrior come and drive Solon’s vehicle back to your house so you don’t have to see anyone from your reunion,” Lizabeth Paige offered.
“Thank you, that would be good,” Abbey said gratefully as the other woman helped her into her car.
Right now she just wanted to go home and take a long, hot shower to wash the awfulness of the day off—if she could.
Lizabeth drove them back to Abbey’s house where Aunt Rose was waiting on the front porch.
“Oh honey, I saw what happened on my phone!” she exclaimed, taking Abbey’s arm. “My goodness—you never told me that boy hurt you back then!”
“Because I didn’t want you to know!” Abbey exclaimed. She was starting to cry again but she didn’t want to. “I didn’t want anyone to know and now the whole town does!” She was crying harder now. “Look, can…can we please j-just go inside?”
“Of course, honey, I’m so sorry.” Aunt Rose put an arm around her shoulder and helped her inside with Solon trailing behind them and Spex nuzzling her neck comfortingly.
After they got into the house, Abbey somehow managed to get hold of herself. She swiped at her eyes and took a deep breath.
“Thank you, Aunt Rose,” she said gratefully, hugging her aunt. “I’m sorry I couldn’t…couldn’t tell you about what happened back in high school. I was afraid that Chris’s father would go after you and find some way to shut the shop down.”
“The shop doesn’t matter to me—you’re the one who matters.” Aunt Rose hugged her back. “But I know it must be hard, all this coming out like it has.”
“Yes, it is,” Abbey admitted. She turned to Solon. “Not that I’m not grateful, but…”
“But you are also upset. Because I shamed you in front of your former classmates,” he said quietly. “Forgive me, lelka, that was not my intention.”
“I know it wasn’t.” Abbey took a deep breath. “I just…I don’t know what I’m going to do now that everyone in town knows what…what he did to me.”
“You don’t have to do anything at all right now,” Aunt Rose told her. “Why don’t you take a nice long bubble bath and relax? That always makes you feel better.”
“That sounds good,” Abbey said gratefully. Earlier she had wanted a shower, but a bath sounded even better. She just wanted to soak in the tub and try to forget everything.
“May I come with you and draw your bath?” Solon rumbled, sounding hopeful.
Abbey hesitated. To be honest, she really just wanted to be alone. But she knew they needed to talk.
“All right,” she said at last. “I guess that would be okay.”
“Thank you, lelka,” he murmured. “Come—let’s go.”
“Oh, before I forget, I left a pile of mail for you on your bed,” Aunt Rose said, as Abbey was turning to go. “And your spare My Eye is on the night table in the usual place. One of those envelopes looked really official and important,” she added.
“Thanks, Aunt Rose.” Abbey nodded. She didn’t really care about catching up on her mail right now, but it was nice of her aunt to put things where she could find them.
At the moment she just wanted to take a long, hot bath and forget everything that had happened in the past few hours.
38
SOLON
Things weren’t right between them—Solon could feel it every time he touched Abbey’s skin. The sense of wrongness that had come between them was as obvious as a huge, jagged crack in an otherwise smooth road.
I shouldn’t have punished the male that attacked her so publicly, he told himself. I should have dragged him out of the building and punished him in the shadows, where no one could see.
But he hadn’t even thought of keeping things private—the Rage had overwhelmed him and all he’d been able to think of was avenging the wrong that had been done to the woman he loved. It hadn’t occurred to him that avenging her would embarrass or hurt her—mainly because among his own people, all of the shame for such an assault would fall on the attacker, not the woman he had attacked.
It was still hard for him to wrap his head around the way the humans shamed and criticized a female who had been sexually assaulted instead of blaming the male who had done it. The way the Police Captain had been so angry on Brander’s behalf and had wanted to conveniently forget about how he had attacked Abbey simply because the attack had happened in the past made it clear to Solon that the humans had their priorities completely twisted. What was wrong with them?