“What about Mr. J? And Caroline?”
Grey sighed long and hard through the phone.
“He was gone, wasn't he?”
“You’ve got to give it to that sneaky bastard. He's outrun death more times than a black cat with nine lives. The compound we raided had been deserted, except for a few servants who'd been hired by a go-between. No record of Mr. J ever having being there. As of right now we've got nothing to go on, but I'll keep you updated as I get new intel.”
“If you want, I can have someone meet you at the next hop and take her back to the states. I can get you back to the Team straight from there.”
An opportunity for revenge against J - he could kill the bastard himself. But that meant he'd have to abandon Celine. Again. “I don’t know yet. I need to wait until she wakes up; see if she’s stable.”
“Roger. Contact me as soon as she wakes up.”
“Roger.” Aaron hung up the phone and tried to work the stiffness from his shoulders as he made his way back to her door.
When he reached it, he grabbed the handle and paused, working up the courage to go in. The sister’s reassurance had been more than he’d hoped, but hadn’t been conclusive. What if she woke up and was scared of him?
Aaron lifted his head and stared at the rusty patch on the metal door in his line of sight. If she was scared, he’d deal with it and be there for her however he needed. With newfound resolve, he quietly opened the door and moved to her side. The nurse had dimmed the lights, leaving only a small bed lamp on, but that faint glow clearly highlighted the I.V. running from her arm, along with the bruise on her cheek.
He’d thought her fragile before, but laying there in the bed, hooked up to monitors she looked…broken.
Agony ripping through his chest, Aaron collapsed into the metal chair beside the bed and carefully gathered her tiny hand into his. The rush of fresh tears caught him off guard. He let them fall to the mattress.
“I’m so sorry.” He could barely choke out the words.
Celine’s hand hung limp and cold in his. “Please be okay. I swear, I’ll never leave you again. I was wrong. So wrong.”
His only answer was the slow, steady beep of her monitors. Aaron dropped his head to her hand, wishing he could crawl into bed and take her in his arms. He needed to hold her and feel her heart beat against his chest.
But he may never get that chance again. She should despise him after how he treated her. “Please forgive me,” he whispered.
He sat there, holding her hand in the darkness, until his eye lids drooped. He didn’t want to risk hurting her by accidentally falling asleep on her, so he silently moved his chair back into the corner, leaned against the wall and closed his eyes. He’d be at her side when she woke.
Chapter 11
Have to run. Have to hide. Have to get away. Terror gripped Celine as she raced down the maze of hallways in the beautiful but deadly palace. Dodging left and right. Every time she turned the corner she was faced with the girl in the blue burka. She turned around again, her lungs locked down so tight she couldn't breathe. Solana appeared again, only this time a face floated in front of the blue mask. Caroline Cotter's face. Tears ran down Caroline's cheeks the color of blood, her mouth twisted into a wide, silent scream.
“No!” Celine ran only to slam into a solid chest. Mr. Mankel blocked her, only he wasn't speaking. He just stood there smiling down at her, frozen like the statues lining the hall. And then Celine's captor appeared. Suddenly, she was on the floor. He ripped her clothes from her, pawing at her naked body and she couldn’t lift her arms to fight him; invisible restraints held her down.
“No!”
Celine woke from the terrifying nightmare to a dark room, her body shaking and drenched in a cold sweat. She attempted to lift her arms only to have them held in place by soft, yet firm shackles around her wrists. She tried to get her breathing under control, but the air ratcheted in and out of her lungs like a huge piston. Cool sheets covered her naked body and a hard mattress lay underneath her.
Where was she? Her mind whirled in a frantic tumble searching for her last memory, but all she could come up with was a blurry name – Dmitri.
They'd sold her – Celine bolted upright and was yanked right back down by a wave of dizziness and her restraints. She bucked and kicked, twisting with panic as she tried to fight free. A sharp pain stung the inside of her elbow, and then something warm ran down her side and arm.
A loud beep sounded behind her and she realized with growing terror she'd been hooked up to some kind of alarm. Dmitri knew she was awake? Was he coming for her now? Her whole body went cold. She had to escape.
The door swung open and light filtered into the room. Celine looked up and saw the outline of a burka. She screamed.
Chapter 12
The room filled with florescent light and Celine slammed her eyes shut against the painful brightness. Fear gripped her in a tight fist and she twisted on the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest into a tight ball.
Open your eyes. Where was she?
“Celine, sweetheart, look at me.” A rough voice penetrated the fog around her brain and Celine peeked into the concerned brown eyes of Aaron Speirs.
No, how could he be here? She must be having another dream. “Not real.”
Aaron barked orders over his shoulder. “Give me something to stop the bleeding, dammit.” Then he turned back to her, still the same soft expression on his features. “I am real. You were unconscious. My team and I rescued you. You’re safe.”
The cold and shock gripped her on the inside, leaving her shaking. A bone deep kind of cold like she would never be warm again. It was too much to take in. “The girl in the blue burka. She was just here.”
Another voice, this one different yet distinctly female, filled the room, “I think she was having a nightmare.”
Celine looked past Aaron’s shoulder. A nun in a black robe, her face uncovered and filled with sympathy, gave him a hand towel.
“Celine, this is Sister Mary Catherine, she's been tending to your injuries.” As if scared he might break her, Aaron gently touched her right arm.
Celine jerked at the contact and he yanked his hand back, a flash of pain flickering across his gaze. “You ripped out your IV. I need to stop the bleeding.” He nodded toward her arm and Celine glanced down to see blood oozing out of her arm. And that she was naked from the waist up. She swallowed and stared up at Aaron as tears filled her eyes.
His gaze held hers as he gently answered her silent plea and raised the sheet.
“I'm – I'm sorry.”
“Shh, you don't have anything to be sorry for. You woke up in a strange place, scared and alone,” he said.
He looked at her with such understanding her chest squeezed and another wave of tears welled. Celine bit her lip, afraid to talk and not sure what she would say anyway.
“I’m going to take off these restraints. We were trying to make sure you didn’t wake up and accidentally fall from the bed until the drugs wore off.” He offered her a tight smile; one that didn’t reach his eyes at all.
“Okay,” she said.
His movements hesitant, Aaron pulled the Velcro bands from her wrists. His fingers brushed her skin for a whisper of a second and then he eased back. Celine felt the loss of that contact immediately.
Sister Mary Catherine came around to the other side of the bed and placed the stack of gauze near her hip. “I'm going to put pressure on the wound and then wrap it and get you cleaned up. Okay?”
The Sister waited for Celine’s nod of approval before tending to her arm. Her wrinkled hands moved with efficiency. The nun discarded the dirty gauze and then opened a metal cabinet right behind her and pulled out a gown. All the while Aaron hovered protectively to her left, not getting too close or too far away. His presence helped take the edge off her frayed nerves and she silently prayed he would stay.
“Sir, would you mind stepping from the room while I help her change?” Sister Mary Catherine s
aid.
Aaron stood, hesitating at her side.
Celine went cold. “No!”
He froze.
“I want him to stay.” Her panic didn't ease until he was back at her side, holding the demons at bay.
Sister Mary Catherine clucked her tongue and said, “My dear, I can change you, it will only be a few minutes.”
“He can do it.” Her mind was in a fog, unable to grasp anything that was real and only able to latch onto one truth – Aaron made her feel safe.
“I’ll help her. You can go now,” Aaron said, this time more insistently. If Celine didn’t want anyone but him in the room, he was going to make damn sure every one of her wants were met from this point forward.
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 need 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 drops, she eased one and then the other foot onto the floor, but the room tilted again. Strong, warm hands circled her waist. “I’ve 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 a tremor worked 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??? Somehow. not knowing whether or not she had been violated was worse than if it had happened while she was cognizant. To be so defenseless; so full of questions…
“Celine, 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 the marks of an aggressor who rendered her powerless, she didn’t want him to leave.
She couldn’t handle being alone.
Chapter 13
Celine was literally falling apart right before his eyes and he didn’t have a damn clue what to say or 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 it worse? Did he need to call the Sister back in here?
She shuddered and silent tears flowed from her closed eyes. Fuck, she might as well have stuck a blade in his chest and left it there to rust. He’d never been 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.
Celine finally let herself cry and 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 be there for her and right now he did what his instincts were screaming at him to do. He held her.
Sister Mary Catherine eased open the door, saw them together and slowly closed it.
Celine clutched his shirt, holding onto him like a lifeline. He embraced the fierce surge of protectiveness and eased onto the bed, settling her in his lap. Eventually, her sobs turned to 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 there.
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 was fully 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 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 humanity. He'd seen women beaten worse 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 there 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, but 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. “Caroline! Where is she?”
Aaron’s heart squeezed. “I don’t know. We haven’t found her yet, but the rest of the te
am’s still looking.”
“I-I have to go find her. I can’t leave her.” Celine shoved weakly against his chest. Aaron locked his arms in a gentle but firm grip.
“Sweetheart, the entire Team is looking, along with the CIA and the DOJ. You have to rest and get better.”
She struggled another second and then collapsed, panting for breath. “What about Kate – Did you find Kate? We never saw her, not after we woke. Is she okay? Did they get her, too?”
“No. We were able to rescue Kate during 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 again.
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.”
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 Caroline’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? Who rescued you?” Maybe the drugs were still in her system. They’d only narrowly rescued Celine before she was 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 registered 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.
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