Unfortunately Rory's confession had left him far too raw to interpret Pippa's touch as the comfort she intended, so he flinched away like ... like a skittish horse. "Wanted to do it?!" He stared at her in sick amazement, púca eyes still liquid with tears. "Haven't you been listening? We had only one choice, between walking away from his clear intent to keep on with his murder spree or ending it. None of us wanted to do it, no matter how angry and disgusted we were. None of us--"

Abruptly Rory turned and swung his legs out of bed. He couldn't stay where he was, facing what he saw as the judgment in Pippa's eyes. His shudders made him stumble as he moved around the room, grabbing and donning clothes from the night before.

"I shouldn't have come," he muttered through a throat still thick. "I should have left you in peace." Almost savagely he shoved his feet into his shoes. "I thought hearing their screams was punishment enough. I shouldn't have come."