Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
Emi woke with a start when the plane touched down.
“We’re here,” George’s voice said into her headset. “We’ve landed on the Big Island.”
Emi nodded, blinked and stared out at the landing lights lining the runway, her chest tight. Had she made a mistake by coming here? If Sara was on Kauai, shouldn’t she be there?
The plane taxied to a stop near a hangar. Kalea shut off the engine, and silence descended.
Emi removed her headset and seatbelt. A large black SUV drove out onto the tarmac and stopped beside the plane.
Hawk left the copilot’s seat and hurried past Emi and George to open the hatch and lower the steps.
Almost too tired to hold her head up, Emi twisted her hair and shoved it up into the cap. She forced some starch into her backbone and pushed to her feet.
George’s hand slipped around her to steady her. He descended the steps first, reached up to help her from the plane to the ground and hustled her into the waiting SUV.
Emi frowned at the driver.
Kalea slid into the passenger seat of the SUV. “Emi, our chauffeur tonight is my father, John Parkman.”
The gray-haired man driving raised a hand and looked at her in the rearview mirror. “Hi, Emi. Don’t worry, we’ll get you to the ranch house in two shakes of a lamb’s tail.”
She gave the man a weak smile. “Thank you.”
Once they were all in, Mr. Parkman drove away from the landing strip.
A few minutes later, they pulled through a gate, crossed a cattle guard and followed a road until they arrived at a sprawling ranch house with wide porches and lights shining from the windows.
Another vehicle stood in front of the house.
“Oh, good,” Kalea said. “Dr. Rhodes is here.”
Emi frowned. She wasn’t sure she was ready to see a doctor. George was right. What Fallon had done to her wasn’t her fault.
Still...she felt ashamed. Embarrassed.
It was too soon.
George came around to help her out of her side of the SUV. “It’ll be all right. The doctor only wants to make sure you’re as healthy as you can be.” He added, “For Sara.”
For Sara.
She nodded and braced herself. These people already knew what she’d endured. She already felt completely exposed, as if she stood before them naked. One more person wasn’t going to make a difference.
George slipped an arm around her back as she climbed the stairs to the porch. On the last step, she stumbled.
His arm tightened, and he pulled her against him, her back pressing against his chest and torso.
He was so solid, like a brick wall no one could crash through to get to her. Fortified by his strength, she regained her balance and entered the house.
Kalea was ahead of her. “Dr. Rhodes, thank you for meeting us here on such short notice.”
“I’m glad to help,” he said, his gaze going to Emi. “Is this my patient?”
Emi’s cheeks burned.
Kalea answered for her. “Yes. Dr. Rhodes. This is Emi.”
“Emi,” he said and turned to a young woman standing beside him. “This is Ava, my nurse. We’ll take good care of you.”
Emi nodded without responding.
“Don’t worry,” Dr. Rhodes said. “Ms. Parkman briefed us on the need for confidentiality. We won’t share anything about this visit with anyone nor document your name in our computer system.”
“Thank you,” Emi said.
“I’m sure Emi’s tired,” Kalea said. “Let me show you to the guest suite on this floor. It has a sitting room and an ensuite bathroom.”
She led the way through the entrance, down a long hall and opened a door at the end.
“Do you want me to stay?” Kalea asked Emi.
Emi’s face was still burning, and she shook her head. “No, thank you.”
Kalea took her hands. “You’re safe now. I know Dr. Rhodes and Ava. They’re good people and only want what’s best for you. You can trust them to give you the care you need and to keep your secret.”
Emi’s eyes filled. She nodded, the lump in her throat making it impossible to speak. This woman and her fiancé had bent over backward to help her.
Dr. Rhodes stood aside and allowed Emi and Ava to enter first. Once the three were through the door, he closed it behind them, then turned to say, “This shouldn’t take long. We can do as much or as little as you like. We’re not here to make you uncomfortable but to make sure you’re okay.”
Emi’s body shook, and tears flowed down her cheeks. “Do everything you think I need. I want to know if he gave me any STDs. I need to be healthy for my child. What happened to me doesn’t matter. It’s over. My daughter is my life. My future.” More tears flowed. She lifted the hem of her T-shirt to wipe the moisture from her face. “I’m sorry. I haven’t cried like this in years.”
Nurse Ava looped her arm around Emi’s shoulders and guided her to a chair. “Sit before you fall.”
Dr. Rhodes followed, carrying his bag. “Emi, what happened to you matters. You matter.”
Ava patted Emi’s back, her touch gentle and caring. “You’ve experienced eight years of trauma. You’re allowed tears.”
Their kindness broke her. Emi sank into a cushioned chair and bent over, sobbing as quietly as she could into a throw pillow.
Dr. Rhodes and Nurse Ava removed items from the leather satchel, spreading them out on a table.
Nurse Ava helped Emi strip out of the oversized clothing and lie on the bed, covering her with a sheet.
Emi went to that place she’d gone so many times, where she stepped out of her body and let them do what needed to be done. She didn’t allow herself to feel or react to the poking and prodding.
The doctor and nurse examined her from head to toe, performed a pelvic exam and took blood, urine and tissue samples.
When they were done, Nurse Ava tucked Emi into the bed and pulled the sheets and comforter up to her chin. She smiled down at her. “I know that wasn’t easy. You’re a trooper for hanging in there.”
“I hate being so weak,” Emi said.
“Oh, honey.” Ava touched her arm. “You’re a survivor. Not many people could survive in the ocean overnight like you did. I think that’s pretty badass.”
“You’ve been through a lot,” the doctor said. “Your body needs time to recover.”
Emi shook her head. “I don’t have time. Sara doesn’t have time.”
The doctor’s lips pressed together. “If you don’t get some rest, your body will force you to get that rest. You’re fortunate to have landed with the Parkmans and the Brotherhood Protectors. Let them help you find your daughter. In the meantime, I’ll leave you with some vitamins and electrolytes. You’re dehydrated and need to refill your body’s moisture content. Drink the electrolytes, take the vitamins and, when you get the chance, go to a hospital and have them get images of your internal organs and bones.”
“I will,” Emi said. “Thank you both for being so kind and understanding.”
While the doctor packed his satchel. Nurse Ava handed Emi a little paper cup with pills and a bottle of water. “These are some vitamins that will help your body recover.”
Emi half-sat up in the bed, holding the sheet over her breasts. She took the tiny cup and tossed the pills to the back of her throat. Tipping the bottle, she swallowed the pills and drank half the liquid, remembering how thirsty she’d been floating in an ocean full of water.
Dr. Rhodes closed his bag and held out his hand for her to shake. His fingers curled around hers, warm and gentle. “We’ll get your results back from the samples we took and let you know if you need additional follow-up besides the images. I hope you get your daughter back soon.”
Emi nodded, her throat tightening. “Thank you.”
“You’re amazing and strong, Ms. Emi,” Nurse Ava said. “A true survivor.” She leaned in and gave Emi a hug. “Good luck.”
As the doctor and nurse left the room, Kalea entered, carrying a stack of folded clothes. “Thank you, Ava and Dr. Rhodes,” she called over her shoulder. She kicked the door shut behind her and advanced into the bedroom, where Emi lay with the sheet pulled up to her neck.
“I thought you might like some clothes that fit a little better,” she said. “You’re a little smaller than I am, but I think these will fit better than what you arrived in.”
She laid the items on the bed. “There’s a nightgown, some panties, jeans and T-shirts. Do you need help getting into anything?”
Emi gave the other woman an apologetic smile. “I didn’t mean to cause you any trouble.”
“No trouble at all. I’d planned on donating them to a women’s shelter, but I think you could use them as much, if not more.”
“Thank you,” Emi said.
“Some of these items no longer fit me.” Kalea grimaced. “I might have to lose a few pounds at this rate. Anyway, they’re yours to keep. If they don’t fit, I’m sure I can find something else.”
“I’m sure they’ll be fine,” Emi said softly.
Kalea laid the pile on the end of the bed. “Is there anything else I can help you with?”
Though she wanted to ask Kalea to get George, Emi shook her head. “No, thank you. You’ve done so much already.”
Kalea shook her head. “I want to do so much more. I can’t imagine how you must feel about your little girl. You know, if anyone can find her and get her out, it’s the Brotherhood Protectors. They have the skills, training and technical support. You’re lucky it was George who found you.”
Emi’s cheeks heated. He’d found a naked drowned rat of a woman in the ocean and had literally brought her back to life. Since he’d found her, she’d been with him and now missed his presence. He made her feel safe.
Emi glanced up at Kalea and opened her mouth to ask the other woman where George was. Instead, she said, “I am very lucky.”
“I’ll leave you to rest. Our chef baked a ham earlier. The guys are making sandwiches. I can have someone bring one to you.”
“I don’t want to be any trouble,” Emi said.
“I’ll have a sandwich sent your way,” Kalea said with a determined nod. “Now, rest. You look like you’re about to pass out.”
Emi gave her a wan smile. “Thank you for all you’ve done. I hope I can repay you someday.”
Kalea waved her suggestion aside. “No repayment necessary. You’ve already lost eight years of your life.” The beautiful Hawaiian woman, with her dark skin, brown eyes and long, wavy hair, bent and brushed a strand of Emi’s hair back from her forehead. “We just want you to get your child and your strength back and get on with living a truly happy life.”
“That’s all I want,” Emi said.
“Then get some rest. You’ll need all your strength to keep up with your daughter.” Kalea smiled once more, then turned and left the room, pulling the door closed.
As tired as Emi was, she couldn’t lie there naked. What if Kalea’s man, the boss of the Brotherhood Protectors Hawaii, strode in while Emi lay naked and asleep? The blanket could fall off and expose her to whoever wanted to come into the room.
She shivered.
Clutching the sheet to her chest, she sat up and reached for the stack of clothes, a lump forming in her throat.
Over the past eight years, she’d had to make do with the clothes she’d arrived in and whatever items Fallon had given her. They had all seemed to be hand-me-downs, a little worn and stained.
The stack Kalea had given her included a couple of pullover shirts, one in a lovely shade of moss green. The other was a rich mustard yellow. Two T-shirts, a pair of almost new blue jeans, crisply ironed and folded neatly, socks, panties, a silky nightgown and a sports bra that looked two sizes too large for her. At the bottom of the stack was a pair of pretty leather sandals.
When she got to the sandals, her eyes welled, and tears slipped down her cheeks. She brushed them aside, angry at herself for all the waterworks. Why was she getting emotional about a pair of sandals?
After setting aside the sandals, she selected the nightgown and a pair of panties and eased out of the bed onto the floor.
She dressed as quickly as she could, leaning against the mattress to maintain her balance. Once she was fully clothed, she ran her hands over the gown, loving the way the silky fabric slid across her skin.
A soft knock sounded on the door. “Emi, it’s me,” George’s muffled voice called out. “May I come in?”
A flash of dread and excitement warred for top billing in her gut. Hadn’t she wanted Kalea to bring him to her only minutes before? He’d made her feel safe.
With butterflies beating their wings against her insides, safe wasn’t what she was feeling at that moment.
The former marine, with his broad shoulders, friendly blue eyes and sexy smile, had her pulse pounding through her veins.
Was she afraid of him?
Her pulse wasn’t pounding because she was frightened.
No.
It was pounding because he’d stirred in her something she’d thought long dead after years of being under Fallon’s control, her body used, her soul crushed.
George made her feel human. Worthy of care and concern. And maybe...someday...loved.
“Emi?” George’s voice sounded louder. “Are you okay?”
The doorknob turned.
Emi stood transfixed. A flashback of dread froze her feet to the floor as the door opened slowly.
Her heartbeat banged inside her chest, and her breathing became erratic.
Every time the door opened to the cell she and Sara had shared in the compound, she’d dreaded what came next. Most often, it was one of the staff bringing their meals. But in those weeks when Fallon had stayed at the compound, it was often a guard there to lead her to his boss.
A head appeared around the edge of the door. Instead of a guard, it was the ruggedly handsome face of the blue-eyed man who’d dragged her out of the cold ocean water and up onto his boat and had brought her back to life when her body had given up.
He frowned when he spotted her standing there. “Emi?”
She pressed a hand to her chest, willing her pulse to slow.
When she didn’t answer, he entered the room, carrying a tray. He set it on a table and hurried over to where she stood, still unable to move.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, coming to stand in front of her. His hand rose to brush a strand of her hair away from her cheek.
His touch was so gentle that she barely felt it. At the same time, she was hyper-aware of his fingers on her skin and the electric sparks shooting across her cheek and throughout her body.
“Are you still with me?” he whispered the same phrase he’d used before when she’d been lying on the bench in the boat, half-drowned and nearly unconscious.
With her voice still locked in her throat, she nodded.
His knuckles brushed across the line of her jaw. “Did I scare you?”
She forced a shrug, even as her body trembled.
“I’m sorry. When you didn’t answer, I worried you were hurt.” He started to drop his hand.
Emi captured the hand in hers and pressed it to her heated face, his cool touch immediately calming and, at the same time, causing a surge of excitement through her.
How could she even be interested in a man after the eight years of hell she’s spent in Fallon’s compound?
Because George had never demanded anything from her. He hadn’t forced her to do anything. She was free.
Free to choose where she went.
Free to choose who she wanted to be with.
Free to choose her future.
“I’m okay,” she murmured, finally able to push air past her vocal cords, yet unable to release her hold on his hand, she pressed it to her cheek.
George sighed. “Why do I feel like you’re not telling me the truth?”
Her lips twitched. “Because I’m not.”
His brow creased. “You looked terrified when I came through the door. Are you afraid of me?”
Again, she shook her head, unable to meet his gaze.
He touched a finger to her chin and tilted her head up so that she was looking into his eyes.
“Do you want me to leave?” he asked.
She shook her head. “I want you to stay.”
“I can do that,” he said. “But what had you spooked?”
Emi’s lips twisted. “The door.”
George’s brows rose up his forehead. “The door?”
She glanced over his shoulder at the offending door. “As it opened...” she shivered. “I don’t know... I thought it was him. I didn’t react that way when Kalea came in.”
“Oh, Emi.” George pulled her into his arms and rested his chin on her head, his hands rubbing up and down on her back. “You have PTSD,” he whispered against her ear. “It can flare up at any time over the most seemingly inconsequential events. I know. I’ve struggled with it for many years.”
Emi leaned back in his arms and stared up into his eyes. “I thought PTSD was only what military men and women had after a bad wartime experience.”
George shook his head. “Post-traumatic Stress Disorder can happen to anyone who has had a traumatic experience.”
“Like me,” she said.
“And here I am, holding you,” George said, his arms loose around her back. “Do you want me to let you go?”
Her gaze remained locked with his. “No.” Then she dared to lean her cheek against this chest. The solid wall of muscles grounded her. The rapid beat of his heart reassured her that he was still there and had the strength and training to keep her safe and to help her save Sara.
But it was the steady and rapid beat of his heart that captured her attention and took her mind off the flashback.
He held her in his arms for a long time.
Emi didn’t want to move. Though her legs were weak, she didn’t want the moment to end. Her trembling subsided as his body heat warmed her.
“You need to rest,” George said, his breath stirring tendrils of her hair.
Her fingers curled into the fabric of his shirt.
Stay with me.
She wanted to say the words but didn’t.
“Do you want me to stay?” he asked, echoing her thoughts.
“I don’t want to be a bother,” she said without lifting her cheek from his chest.
He chuckled, the sound rumbling through him. He tipped her chin up and stared down at her, his blue eyes dancing. “That was a yes or no question.”
The warmth in his smile and the way his arm still held her close gave her the courage to say, “Yes, please.”
He nodded. “Okay, then. Let’s get you back into bed.”
She didn’t want to move, afraid that when she did, it would break the spell he’d cast over her, and his arms would fall away.
“Still weak, I take it,” he murmured against her temple. “I can help with that.” Before she could protest, he scooped her up in his arms.
Her arm looped naturally around his neck, bringing her face close to his. “I could’ve walked,” she said.
George cocked an eyebrow. “And spoil my clumsy attempt at chivalry?”
“I wouldn’t want to damage your frail male ego, now would I?” As soon as the words left her lips, she clapped a hand across her mouth, her eyes widening. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that.”
He grinned. “Why would you be sorry? That was funny. It’s nice to know that, after all this time being held hostage, you still have a sense of humor.” His smile faded. “But, seriously, if this bothers you, I can set you on your feet.”
She shook her head. “No. Now that I’m here...”
George’s grin was back as he carried her to the bed, laid her gently against the mattress and tucked the sheet and blanket around her. “I’ll be right back,” he said.
No sooner had he released her, removing the warmth of his body from hers, than the chill she’d felt in the waters of the Pacific returned, along with the feeling of being alone and helpless.
A shiver shook her, followed by another. Soon, she was shaking violently beneath the covers.
George had gone back to the table where he’d left the tray. He lifted it and carried it into the bedroom, stopping when his gaze landed on her. His brow dipped low. “Geez, Emi, are you all right?”
She tried to nod, but her body was too tense, and her teeth chattered loudly.
George set the tray on the nightstand, leaned over her and tried tucking the blanket tighter around her.
When that didn’t slow the tremors, he toed off his shoes and slipped beneath the covers with her. He pulled her into his arms and held her, giving his body warmth to her. “I’m not trying to take advantage of you,” he said. “It was a choice between shared body heat or dunking you in a tub full of hot water.” He shook his head. “The tub would take longer, so body heat won.”
He lay beside her, his arm around her shoulders, his hand rubbing her bare arm, the friction and his nearness slowly dispelling the chill.
Emi burrowed into the curve of George’s arm, pressing her body as close to his as possible. Safe in his embrace, her eyelids drooped. Her last thought as she succumbed to a dreamless sleep was how would she ever be able to sleep alone again?