“I can help her,” Aaron said.
The nun pinned Aaron with a hard stare and Celine was thankful the woman’s wrath was not directed at her.
“Fine, but I will be back in five minutes to clean the floors and change the sheets.” Sister Mary Catherine dropped the new gown on Celine’s legs and quietly left the room.
“Celine, are you sure you want me here?”
“Yes, I want you. Just – don’t leave, please.”
“I’ll do whatever you want me to do.” He took her hand in his, her skin warming in his grip, his touch flooding her senses with the overwhelming sensation of protection.
“Can you help me sit up?”
He put an arm behind her and helped ease her up into a sitting position. A wave of dizziness rolled around inside her head as if she’d spun on a tilt-a-whirl. She grabbed his other arm and he held her, strong and steady. She waited until the dizzy spell passed, held the sheet to her chest and then swung her legs around to dangle off the bed. Everything about this room was sterile: the walls, the florescent lights, the silver medical devices. Everything except for her blood covering the floor.
Careful to miss the puddle, she eased one and then the other foot onto the floor, the room tilted again. Strong warm hands circled her waist. “I got you.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he whispered, his rough voice tickling her ear. “Can you stand up on your own?”
Celine closed her eyes with the delicious sensation. “I think so.”
“Okay, now what do you want me to do?”
He looked to her for instruction. Celine knew the second she dropped the sheet, he’d see her fully naked. Memories of rough hands danced around her periphery and she lifted the sheet out from her chest, staring down at the glaring marks there. “You’ve already seen me.”
He cleared his throat and she felt a tremor work through him. “Yes. I had to check and make sure you were stable enough to transport.”
She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. He’d seen the bruises left by her first captor then. He must be disgusted. She was disgusted. And then someone had drugged her – when? How long had she been unconscious? Had she been raped while she was out? The tears returned and she slammed her eyes shut, trying to assess her body. She couldn’t feel any terrible pain down there, but her whole body hurt. How would she know? Would she ever know???
“Celine, honey, I’m sorry. I had to check for life threatening injuries. Do you want me to call the nurse back in here?” Aaron’s voice was harsh and low and filled with hurt.
She kept her eyes squeezed tight and jerked her head to say no. As ashamed as she was for him to see her naked again, she didn’t want him to leave.
She couldn’t handle being alone.
Had Aaron rescued her before Dmitri took her? Had she been violated while she was out? Celine clutched her stomach and bent over, a low moan escaping her dry cracked lips.
She’d never know for sure, not unless…unless…she ended up pregnant. Please, don’t let it be true. Somehow being violated and not knowing it was worse than if they’d done it while she was awake. To be so defenseless…
XXX
Celine was literally falling apart right before his eyes and he didn’t have a damn clue what to do to stop it. She’d gone completely white when she looked under the sheet. Was he supposed to hold her? Or would having a man touch her make her worse? Did he need to call the Sister back in here?
She shuddered and silent tears flowed from her closed eyes. Fuck, his chest felt like someone had stuck a blade in it and left it there to rust. He’d never felt so helpless. What was going through her mind? If only he could ask her without invoking more nightmares.
She moaned and bent forward, the first sob breaking free and suddenly he knew what he had to do. His arms went around her, as natural as if they’d been molded for her, and he held her against his chest. Bleeding and sobbing with only a stained sheet between them, he held her.
He’d never let her go.
Her knees gave out, Aaron scooped her fluidly, sensing when she no longer had the strength to stand on her own. He didn’t care about anything or anyone else right now except the woman in his arms.
He knew girls needed to cry sometimes, he’d learned that lesson from his sisters. Sometimes they cried for no reason whatsoever than a need to cleanse. Celine cried for a reason more real than she could handle on her own.
Her sobs filled the room, each one ripping a little piece from his heart.
He’d handle whatever she’d been through and he’d be here for her; hold her up so she wouldn’t fall to her demons. He had no clue about recovering from rape or captivity, but he’d do his damn best to do what he could for her and right now he did what felt right. He held her.
Sister Mary Catherine eased open the door, saw them together and slowly closed it.
Celine clutched his shirt, holding on to him like a life line. He embraced the fierce surge of protectiveness and eased onto the bed, settling her in his lap. Eventually, her sobs turned to soft sniffles and then to even softer pants as she strove for control.
He remained silent, letting her figure her own way through. When she was ready, he’d be here.
At least for now. The need for vengeance took a back seat to Celine’s anguish. He would avenge her. He had to.
But that couldn’t begin until Celine started her recovery.
As gently as he could manage, he eased her from him and brushed back the hair that had stuck to her wet cheeks. He pulled the sheet tighter around her chest, making sure she felt safe and covered. Her arm had quit bleeding and now curled up around his neck, stained with dry red blood. “Talk to me.”
He knew he couldn’t fix her problems for her, but he could listen, even if he was terrified of what she would say.
She’d been held in captivity for over two weeks, there was no telling what type of nightmare she’d lived through. Sister Mary Catherine had seen no recent trauma with her exam, but that didn’t mean she hadn’t suffered in the beginning.
“I don’t know what to say.”
He threaded his fingers through her left hand and eased her head down to rest on his shoulder. “You can say anything you want.”
Her breath caught again as she fought for control, twisting his heart into all kinds of knots he didn’t know if he could ever untangle. His job demanded he go to the worst places in the world to deal with the scum that infested the human race. He’d seen women more beaten than Celine, got up close and personal with all kinds of scary shit, but he’d never had it hit so close to home.
God help him if she had been violated – he honestly wasn’t sure if he’d be able to keep his shit under wraps.
Celine drew in a ragged breath and Aaron squeezed her to him, trying to make her feel how he was here for her. “It’s okay sweetheart. You don’t have to talk about anything. I’m just gonna sit here and hold you for a little bit and if you want to talk you go right ahead, if you don’t want to that’s okay too.”
“I need to know.”
“Know what?” He asked gently.
“I need to know what happened,” she whispered, leaving him straining to hear her.
“You don’t remember anything?” Aaron couldn’t keep the incredulous tone out of his voice. Had they kept her drugged the whole time?
“No, I remember being taken from the wedding. I…”
When she paused for so long he wasn’t sure what she’d say he prompted, “Why don’t you start from there?”
She sucked in a breath and shot upright, her wild gaze scaring the crap out of him. “Kate – Did you find Kate? We never saw her, not after we woke. Is she okay? Did they get her, too?”
“No, honey. We were able to rescue Kate from the wedding. They’d drugged her, but left her behind when we caught up with them. Kate is safe and back home in the states, worrying about you.” And Caroline, but no need to bring her up just yet.
Celine collapsed against
him once more. “Thank God.”
“We thought she might be…dead.”
Aaron captured her hand in his. “Not a chance of that.”
She bolted again and Aaron yanked back just in time to keep her from head butting his chin. “What about Caroline? Where is she?”
“We couldn’t find her. I’m sorry.” She hadn’t been at the meet which confirmed Aaron’s suspicion that Caroline had been the original target and Celine a bystander. A bystander that would have never been there if not for him.
His guilt hit full force and he leaned his head back to stare up at the cracked ceiling of the little hospital.
“Do you think she’s okay?” She started plucking at his shirt and Aaron lowered his chin to rest on top of her head. “I don’t know. I think so. She has value to the man who took you.”
“But he doesn’t have her any more. Mr. Mankel rescued us from him.”
“What do you mean, honey? Who rescued you?” Maybe the drugs were still in her system. They’d barely rescued Celine before being sold into sexual slavery.
“Mr. Mankel. He said he’d been sent by Caroline’s father, Senator Cotter. He took us from that…that god awful prison in the dessert.” She shuddered and her nails dug into his chest with sharp little pricks of pain. Aaron barely felt them. Something else was going on here, he felt like they were talking in circles.
“What man in the desert? And who is Mr. Mankel?”
Her nails dug deeper. “There was a nasty man, he was Arabic or something, he kept us locked up in a tiny cell without food or water for what seemed like forever. He – he – “she stuttered.
His whole body constricted with realization. “He’s the one who gave you the bruises?”
He felt her nod against his chest, her breath hitched on a fresh sob and ripped another chunk out of his soul. “What’s his name?”
He would hunt the bastard down and rip his fucking balls from his body and feed them to him. And then Aaron would kill him. Slowly. He’d learned all sorts of ways to make a man suffer before death.
“I don’t know. He didn’t speak English. He just kept us locked up most of the time.” Her voice trailed off at the end so that he had to bend down to catch her words.
Shit. He didn’t know if he could hear this now. Or ever. She needed a counselor. She needed a woman like his Noni to talk to. Not some dumb soldier.
His fault.
“Tell me about the other guy.” He knew he was a coward for changing the direction of her conversation and he accepted that fact. He sure as hell couldn’t sit here calmly and listen to her tell him how some filthy hired assassin had used her body.
“Mr. Mankel. He showed up after a couple of weeks, at least I think it was a couple of weeks. We weren’t ever allowed out so I’m not sure exactly. But Mr. Mankel negotiated our release from him and took us to his palace.”
“Can you describe Mr. Mankel?” No one else had been sent to rescue the girls other than TF-Scorpion and Delta Force that he was aware of.
“He was tall and had a big chest, like really big and tall. He always wore a suit, but it was like he shouldn’t wear a suit, you know? He had black hair with silver at the temples. He was some sort of an ambassador.”
Aaron stopped breathing. She’d just described Mr. J. He managed to croak out, “Go on.”
“He had a doctor check out me and Caroline, although I didn’t get to see her after he saved us. He said she was too sick. But he kept us safe. He asked me all about my home, my family, my education. Gave me clothes and food and a beautiful room.”
He’d pumped her for information to sell her to Dmitri. Dammit.
“Ow, Aaron you’re hurting me,” Celine said.
He took a breath and forced his arms to relax. “Did he tell you his full name?”
“Jack Mankel.”
Jesus Christ. He had to call Colonel Grey and tell him Mr. J’s alias. They could track him with that. Palace. Jack Mankel. Wore suits. “Do you know where he took you? What town? Any land marks?”
“No, I passed out on the ride to his palace. His place was surrounded by desert, completely, but inside the walls was heaven. Green grass. Bright flowers and fountains. My room was so luxurious… he had all kinds of guards. And a daughter. She – she…”
“She what?”
Celine shook her head. “I don’t know. My memory is kind of a fog. I keep remembering her in that blue burka and for some reason I want to think she looked like Caroline, but I never saw her face.”
Her voice filled with worry and confusion and Aaron immediately sought to comfort her. “It’s okay. They gave you a pretty strong cocktail to knock you out. It would be weird if you did remember everything clearly.”
“Anyway, the last thing I remember is going to sleep the night before and waking up here.”
Aaron hugged her to him tight as he processed her words. She’d basically just told him Mr. J had left them in captivity for two weeks with the man hired to kidnap them. Then he’d sold Celine to a slaver and kept Caroline for whatever plan he’d concocted. But now they had intel Mr. J had never planned on them finding.
“Do you think he’s already sent Caroline home?” Celine’s wobbly voice penetrated his thoughts.
“I don’t think so, honey.” No need to tell her exactly who Jack Mankel was or that he was responsible for her kidnapping and near slavery. Or for her rape.
Celine gripped his hand, her fingers convulsively clenching around his. Aaron gently rubbed his thumb back and forth across her palm.
Celine relaxed into his arms, her fingers opening wider as he traced larger and larger patterns over her palm. The urge to care for her held command and he leaned down to press a kiss to her temple. He would avenge her. He would kill the man who’d hurt her and then he’d wipe Jack Mankel and all his evil from the face of the earth.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
The plane ride home was heaven and hell. Someone in the government had rented a private jet, complete with plush couches and an attendant and pilot. Once in the air, Aaron pulled Celine into his lap again, making her feel protected. Like him knowing and seeing her injuries hadn’t repulsed him after all.
The nuns hadn’t had anything to change into out of her gown except a long tunic which the color could only be described as a non-color. Some sort of off white, tan, dirt…Ugh.
His thumb slid to her wrist, meandering back and forth across her skin. Feather light tingles spread up to her shoulders in delicious tendrils. She let out a small sigh. “So we’re both stuck on here until we land. Why do you think they went to the expense of renting a private jet?”
“Sweetheart, I stopped trying to figure out the government a long time ago. But if Colonel Grey arranged for us to be here, it’s for a reason, and I trust him with my life. Therefore, I trust him with yours, too.”
What must it be like to trust someone so much? Sure she trusted her family, even though they spent more time working than being together, and even though her mother had pretty much given them the finger and run off with a drug head. She trusted Caroline, but didn’t know where she was. Maybe she trusted Kate, but anyone else? Anyone she could boldly say she’d gladly put her life in their hands?
There’d been a few boyfriends here and there, but they’d always managed to find someone better, someone more settled that they could marry and have kids with. Her last boyfriend had pretty much told her she’d been great for a girlfriend, but wasn’t wife material.
Celine realized there was no one in her life in which she could put her complete faith.
As a stylist and fashion boutique owner, she’d helped lots of women pick out their clothes for hot dates and wedding parties and honeymoons – but never herself. Celine Latimer – always number two.
“Hey, what’s going on in that mind of yours?”
Aaron’s gentle voice pulled her from her thoughts, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that he was just like everyone else. As soon as she was out of danger, he’d dump her at her doorstep
and hop it back overseas.
“Nothing.” She tried to ease her hand from his.
“Nothing, huh?”
He wanted her to spill the beans about the little mental pity party going on her head? No way. “Just silently loving this outfit the good Sister gave me. How long do you think it’ll be before we touch down? I really need to hit up a TJ Maxx.”
“A what?”
“You know, get some real clothes…what I wouldn’t give for a pair of Gianni Binni’s and the latest DKNY romper.”
“You’re telling me you just had a look like someone killed your dog…about your clothes?” Aaron asked incredulously.
“You carry a gun to make you feel comfortable, I dress in fashion.” And avoid topics like this at all costs.
“I know you’re lying to me, but seeing as how you’ve been through a lot of stress lately, I’ll let it go this time.” Aaron shifted her closer.
“What are you doing?”
“Getting comfortable so I can hear the rest of your story, because I don’t believe for one second you’re worried about your clothes or your hair or any of that nonsense.”
“Have you looked at me recently? I could give The Walking Dead a run for their money. No makeup, my hair flat as a board, and this…” She grabbed the tail of her tunic and gave a shudder of disgust.
Aaron grabbed her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm. “You’re beautiful.”
Celine gasped at the instant stamp of heat his lips left on her skin. “You’re crazy.”
He immediately dropped her hand and a shadow crossed his face behind the grin. “I didn’t go into the Special Forces because I was sane, honey.”
She felt the shadow fall over him and wanted to take back whatever she’d done to cause it. She grabbed his hand and he practically devoured her with his gaze and her body reacted, her breasts went heavy and her tummy tingled. Jesus, if he could do this to her with a look he would destroy her in bed.
His gaze dropped to her lips, those molten baby browns darkened to nearly black. She was a goner. She knew it. She wanted his kiss more than anything else in the world. Aaron Speirs could devour her and she’d forget everything.
Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Aaron's Honor (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Men of Mercy Book 8) Page 7
