Chapter Twenty Five #3
His eyes grew wide as Rebecca shoved him in the chest. It didn’t move him, making her madder.
“I didn’t know about the trackers until we got there,” he stuttered.
“I’m not talking about the damn trackers,” she shouted. “Why didn’t you tell me you planned to leave?” Tears glistened in her eyes as she swiftly blinked them away.
Julio rubbed his forehead, looking lost. “I told you, it came up fast. You haven’t wanted to talk to me. You said you didn’t feel comfortable with leaving the ranch before and I assumed you’d say you wanted to stay with Kara.”
“What if something happened to you? You’re a good-looking guy. If they captured you, I don’t know if I’d ever find you. What if they killed you?” she asked as her fists beat against his chest.
He let her batter him.
“You left me here alone,” she sobbed.
Julio gently took her hands as she struggled with the words.
“I left to bring back the survivors,” he told her softly. “I’m sorry it scared you.”
“They came after us again,” she cried. “What about the people who returned home already? Did they send someone to capture them again?”
“Matthew and Bear have already contacted the families. We found the app on Hassan’s phone.
Matthew sent a virus to destroy the damn thing.
No one will have access to hurt anyone. In the meantime, one of Kassie’s nurses and a doctor will visit the homes and remove them.
She’s also offered to fly them to Seattle and get it done if they didn’t feel like waiting,” he patiently explained.
Her shoulders deflated a bit with his news.
“Matthew and I discussed the ranch in some detail on the way home. It’s time I get my shit handled and we’re hiring more men.
Leo already vetted a few, but if we plan to take all these assholes down, we need a ton of staff,’ he informed her.
“But you’re my priority. It’s important you feel safe and secure. ”
“You left me,” she whispered.
“I didn’t know you’d feel this way. I’ll be sure to tell you next time,” he assured her.
“What do you mean by that? Do you think I’ve lost my edge?” she spat angrily, punching him in the arm. Julio winced, catching her attention. “What’s wrong?”
“I got grazed by a bullet. Patch has already stitched me up,” Julio admitted. “It’s a bit tender.”
Rebecca pulled off his coat and carefully rolled up his sleeve to see the wound, which was covered. Right beneath the piece of gaze, her fingers traced a mark she knew all too well.
“How did you get this?” she asked, horrified. They spent enough nights together, she knew he didn’t have the burn scar before her kidnapping.
“It doesn’t matter,” Julio brushed it off as he rolled down his shirt and shrugged his arm into his coat.
“You got hurt,” she said, with tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Not as bad as you,” he assured her.
“We’re not talking about me,” she said, shaking her head.
“I know. We never discuss you. It’s time we started to communicate, Rebecca. I can’t begin to imagine everything you went through or how you feel. But I’m trying to show up and let you know I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
Rebecca stepped back, crossed her arms, and licked her bottom lip. Her breath came out shaky. “I can’t.”
Julio took a step toward her.
“I’m not doing this,” she corrected herself. “I did my job and protected those people,” she said, sensing his intentions.
He stepped forward. “No, sweetheart. Those men hurt you like all those other victims. From what Kara told me, you took punishments for the rest of them.”
Rebecca backed up, appearing like a rabbit ready to bolt. Yet this time, he planned to catch her. Their future depended on it.
Shaking her head, her eyes moved in every direction, searching for an escape.
“They beat, starved, and raped you,” he said firmly. “Your job didn’t have anything to do with it.”
“Yes, it did. I got caught because I naively believed in people. You don’t know what happened to me,” she shouted as her arms crossed her tiny frame.
“Oh, but I do,” he murmured. “I sat in the underbelly of those clubs and stayed in the fanciest hotels, watching people get sold like cattle. The sick bastards enjoyed watching them cower in fear as they awaited their fate. Jameson called me when he saw too much and couldn’t bear it anymore and unburdened himself by telling me the gruesome details.
We stopped a few along the way, but it’ll never seem like enough. ”
“Hearing about it and living it are two different things,” she spat as her body trembled. “Where were you, Julio? Why did it take you this long to come for me? They hurt me,” she said as tears streamed down her face.
“I know they did, darlin’,” he acknowledged. “I’m sorry it took me forever. We did everything we could to locate you. Over the last couple of months, we heard some chatter about a woman who they never sold. Special men got to sample her, but they refused to sell her. I knew in my gut it was you.”
“Then you know why we can’t be together. They made me do things, disgusting things,” she stuttered.
“And none of it matters to me except how you feel right now. It’s why you insist everyone attends counseling, yet you don’t want to go yourself.
My love for you hasn’t changed, Rebecca.
I still hate being apart from you, even if you’re at the cabins.
I’ve taken extra guard duties to stay close to you.
It kills me they hurt you, and I didn’t get there in time to stop them,” he whispered.
“I don’t blame you,” she cried. “I won’t lie. I prayed every damn day and night you’d show up. I saw things…. It’s changed me, Julio. I killed Jim without any regard for the law.”
Julio wrapped her in his arms. “From what little I saw, he deserved it. When we stayed at the hospital, we held a meeting to discuss how far into the grey we planned to go. These people don’t play fair, and we can’t win by doing things the right way.
It didn’t matter, I’d break every damn law to get back to you. ”
Rebecca put her arms around his neck as she buried her head into his shoulder.
“Let’s go. It’s getting colder and we spin up in less than three hours. We can talk on the plane. I have something to show you,” he said, leading her to Satan.
Rebecca nodded. The heavy pain in her chest grew a bit lighter, knowing how he felt. She wondered if she’d ever forget what she did in order to survive.