Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
DALILA
S itting in the car with the heater blasting over my legs, my mind recovers from the survival panic it has been clinging to for the past hour.
The relief I felt when I saw Nevio looking over that slope, down towards me, I can’t even describe it.
I wanted to cry out to him, call his name, but my lips wouldn’t move.
Fear and cold had sunken too deep into my skin at that point.
And only now - on the way home - is it releasing its grip from me.
Nevio has his arm wrapped around my shoulder. I am almost lying on his lap while we drive. I close my eyes and count to ten, soothing my heart, easing away the fear.
I hear the familiar sound of the house gate opening and the crunch of gravel beneath the tire that tells me we are home.
I sit up, looking out of the window and my heart pulls tight when I feel this strange sense of relief and safety — thinking — I’m home.
My mind is happy to think of Nevio’s place as home .
My door opens and Nevio is standing there with his hand outreached. He pulls me out of the car and lifts me into his arms to cradle me against his chest.
I lean my face against his warm jersey, not wanting to meet the eyes of the security guards all staring in wonder at me.
I hear the front door close behind us. Nevio carries me up the stairs to our bedroom, and through to the bathroom. He sits me down on the edge of the bath, then leans over it to turn on the hot water.
I watch him as he pours salts and into the rushing water. Steams fills the bathroom and fog the mirror.
“Get undressed.” He whispers.
I look down at my clothes, covered in mud and dirt.
I don’t move.
“Come on, baby girl.” He pulls me to my feet and while I stand there feeling bewildered, he peels my clothes off. Layer by layer until I am standing there shivering, staring up at him with wide eyes, wondering why he just killed three men for me.
“Dalila?” He asks, looking down at me. “Are you ok?”
I reach up and touch his cheek. His skin is warm. My hands are like ice against him.
He doesn’t flinch, though. He reaches up and threads his fingers through mine, pressing my icy fingers against his cheek.
I lift myself onto my tiptoes and kiss him.
I don’t know why I did it.
I just wanted to feel him.
He pulls my naked body up against him. His hand is resting on my lower back as he returns the kiss. Slow and deep. Our lips moving together as though we are dancing.
Then he stops.
“You’re shivering. Come on.” He lifts me in his arms and into the bath, lowering me slowly as the hot water stings my skin.
I sink into the aromatic steam and let the heat eases my stiff body.
Nevio kneels next to the bath. Picking up a sponge, he strokes it over me.
He works and with care.
I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths, finally able to accept that I am safe now.
I should never have tried to leave.
“I’m sorry.” I mutter in the quiet silence that is drifting between us.
I open my eyes and look into his. So blue they look like rare diamonds.
“It’s ok, Dalila. I know there is a lot going on, but — please—”
“I won’t do it again.” I interrupt him, knowing he is going to ask that of me.
He nods, still rubbing the sponge over my skin.
“Why did you try to leave?”
“I hate being kept in the dark. I hate being controlled.” I say, feeling guilty for making him come and rescue me and having to kill those men.
“I went out this morning to meet with your brother.” He says.
“You did?” I sit up a little.
“I wanted to get some answers for you. I know you’ve been struggling without knowing what’s going on, and I don’t blame you.”
“What did he say?” I ask eagerly.
“Your father sold you off to one of his rivals.” He says, his voice tight with anger.
“Lenny Malone?” I say, putting the pieces together. “Why would he ever do that? That man is the darkest type of monster known to man.”
Nevio nods, his eyes drifting over my body.
“Your father told your brother that the family was in some kind of trouble and he had to make a deal with Malone to keep them safe. He sold you - you were the deal.”
My chest feels so tight it’s getting harder to breathe. I sit up in the bath and press my hand against my heart.
“My father sold me to that man - “ I whisper, trying to process what it means. “But Mas — “
“Mas bet you in that poker game on purpose. He thought that if he could drunkenly ‘lose’ you, then at least you would end up married and out of Malone’s reach.”
I nod, but the tears are streaming down my cheeks. I understand why my brother did what he did - it was the only thing he could think to do in that situation - but the idea of my father trading me off like I was stock - it makes me sick inside.
How can someone do that to their own family?
He could have asked me. He could have told me what was going on and I might have gone willingly. But to do it behind my back as though I meant nothing. And he still hasn’t spoken to me since then. No explanation, no words of comfort -
“Where is my father?” I snap, feeling heated anger flood me and replace the self-pity.
“No one knows. He is in hiding. Or - or Malone found him.” Nevio shrugs.
I sink back into the water, needing the warm embrace again. My thoughts are racing.
“I want to speak to him. I need to know why. I need to know what was so worth it for him to sell me to a man that he knew would kill me. My life. He traded something for his own daughter’s life.” My words choke in the back of my throat and I can’t speak anymore.
Suddenly I am sobbing, heart wrenching, painful sobs of misery that flood out of me in loud cries.
Nevio hesitates, unsure what to do, but then he leans into the water, lifts me back into his arms and pulls me onto his lap, dripping wet, soaking his clothes.
He wraps a warm, soft white towel around me and rocks me back and forth as he sits on the bathroom floor.
I cry until I can’t cry anymore. Nevio doesn’t stop comforting me.
Finally, when my tears are no longer falling, he stands up, lifting me with him, and carries me to the bedroom.
He finds comfortable clothing for me to wear and dresses me, his hands brushing against my naked skin, his eyes wandering over me the entire time he is moving and my heart beginning to pulse with a new fever.
I grab his wrist.
He pauses, looking concerned or confused.
Then, without warning, I slam my lips against his and start pulling his wet clothes off.
Layer by layer, I strip him down because all I want to do is feel his skin against mine. I want the touch of his body. Nothing between us.
He lifts me and throws me onto the bed when we are both naked again.
He grabs the blankets and wraps them over both of us, lying his body over mine, his hands beginning to explore me.