The Fae Book 3: Butcher and Raine

Chapter 27 (Raine): Walk Away

Once the fae disappeared after bowing to Butcher, he sat up, rubbing his jaw. 

"Are you OK?" Daisy asked him.

He nodded. "I know why they fight being put underground. Shit place. Nothing down there but darkness."

Rubbing his jaw, Butcher looked off into the distance while we all searched for something to say. But the emotions were still too raw, still right there, and we were trying to comprehend the close call Butcher had had. Unfortunately, before anyone could say anything, a sob erupted from my throat.

"Raine," Harmony said, putting her hand on my arm. I knew what she was doing. She was reading my emotions, which were all over the place.

Anger.

Fear.

Relief.

Anger.

Fear. 

Relief.

I kept cycling through those intense feelings, bouncing from one to another. Reliving the moments I felt each one.

Another sob worked its way out of my throat.

And then another.

Still another.

Daisy shot to her feet and grabbed Burr. "I hear Fitz crying," she lied. She wasn't even trying to lie convincingly.

Harmony followed suit and took Hatch by the hand. "We need to get home, too. Babysitters are expensive?"

I couldn't even laugh at that ridiculous excuse. Her parents or Nan watched the girls whenever they wanted and they'd never had a non-family member watch their children.

I couldn't laugh, but I could choke out another sob. Which I promptly did.

Followed quickly by another one.

Until they were a steady stream of body-shaking sobs that I couldn't stop no matter how hard I tried to hold them back.

When it became obvious I wasn't going to stop, Butcher pulled me onto his lap and let me cry. I fisted my hand in his shirt and pressed my face to his chest and just cried. I felt like, after what he'd gone through, I should be comforting him, but my stupid head didn't get the message and I just kept crying. 

Butcher let me cry until my cries became a wee bit hysterical. At that point, he put his hand on my head and said, "Stop."

It worked. He had to be magic. I gave a few shuddering breaths and began calming down, still held in his arms.

"Why are you crying?"

"Why do you think?" I asked, exasperated.

"I'm not sure, so that's why I'm asking."

I sighed. "When you dove through the portal...I thought, that was it. You were gone."

"I came back, Raine."

"I know, but it was too close."

"I heard you calling for me, telling me to come back."

"I did. Probably won't have much of a voice tomorrow."

"You didn't have to call me back," he said. "I wouldn't have blamed you if you didn't, so thank you."

He took me home not too long after that, and, after checking my apartment, he told me to go to sleep. He kissed my lips softly and left.

I'd been hoping he'd spend the night, but I wasn't going to turn into that girl, begging for attention. After what he'd been through, he probably wanted the comfort of his own bed. Had I known I wouldn't see him at all for the next six weeks, I would have insisted he stay. But this man who fought his way back from the underground for me had disappeared on me. Only this time, I had no idea where he was and no one was talking.