Tainted Me

Chapter 23: Raise Hell

I slammed the door open.

My eyes zeroed in on the girl holding an ice pack to her head. She was leaning on the kitchen counter as she talked with Byron.

When her eyes met mine, I felt a sudden rush of relief at seeing her in one piece. But it was quickly replaced with rage when I noticed a forming patch of bruise on her left cheek.

"Hey," she said.

I went over to her and wrapped my arms around her, careful not to squeeze too tight. My eyes closed as I buried my face in her hair, trying to calm the urge to hunt the fucker to who did this to her.

For now, I had to make sure she was alright.

"Baby," I murmured.

"I'm okay."

"I'm so sorry."

"You shouldn't be. You're not the one who hit me."

I pulled away and examined her face, eyeing her bruise. Shit, that was gonna be a big one.

"Shouldn't you go to the hospital?" I asked.

"It's just a bruise. He might've slapped me pretty hard, but no broken bones."

I breathed through my nose. My hands were shaking. My blood was boiling. I was itching to break something. I was trying so goddamn hard to control my anger. Arisa noticed because she snaked her arms around my waist and stroked my back.

"What the fuck happened?" I demanded, through gritted teeth.

"Someone broke in while I was here. I guess he didn't expect anybody to be home."

"Did you see his face?"

Arisa shook her head. "He was wearing a ski mask."

"I came in just in time," Byron continued. "Arisa had just slashed him with a kitchen knife and he was bleeding when he ran out."

"I thought about going all Rapunzel with the frying pan, but the kitchen knife would leave a scar."

"Did you run after him?" I asked Byron.

He nodded. "I followed his blood trail down the block but it disappeared around the corner."

He probably got a car ready.

"Where did you cut him?" Oz asked Arisa.

"On his upper arm," she breathed out, tilting her head and closing her eyes like she was tired.

I took the ice pack from her and held it to the side of her head, softly kissing her forehead.

She smiled gratefully at me before adding to Oz, "It was deep enough to need stitches."

Oz turned to me. "I'll call up the nearby hospitals."

As my best friend walked towards the living room, Byron stared at me. I could see the question in his eyes, but he didn't know where to start.

"He left his phone."

My eyes snapped back to Arisa. She pointed to the black iPhone on the counter beside her that I didn't notice before.

"He dropped it when he saw me. He was using it as flashlight." She sighed, as if she was disappointed that the attacker was stupid. "It looks like a burner, but it has contacts."

"That could be a lead," I concluded.

"Exactly."

She hopped off the counter, grabbed the phone, and headed to the living room. Oz was by the window making calls. Arisa propped on the floor and opened her laptop.