Bonus Content! #3
Looking down at the page, I can’t bring myself to answer as my eyes take in the list of names before me. It’s Jade’s life work staring back at me, and while it’s impressive, I can’t help but feel my anger surge at seeing it.
This list shouldn’t be needed; little girls shouldn’t need saving from these fucking monsters. But they do, and Jade has given everything to do it.
Even so, I know the names not on the list are the only ones she feels the weight of—those she couldn’t save. The list is much smaller, but she knows every name and sees every face when she closes her eyes at night.
She lives in a hell I can’t imagine, but the demons that haunt her aren’t the men that paw at her body.
No.
The demons that come for her in the night are the innocent souls she couldn’t save, even if not from a lack of trying.
I feel her behind me a moment before the floral scent hits me, and I know it’s her even before she opens her mouth.
“It’s a list of all the girls who have been in my care.”
Fuck.
When was the last time we were this close? It’s been at least a year now. Somehow, it feels like forever and just yesterday at the same time.
I stand with my eyes still on the paper, but I don’t actually see it anymore.
My mind is back to that night all those years ago when she saved me.
I blink, and another memory assaults me as I fall down the rabbit hole that is Jade.
Years and years of memories, some more painful than others, but all of them lead us to this point.
To her freedom.
“Jade.”
Rick’s voice rings with a warning, but it sounds far away in my ears as if he's far away and not sitting at the table in front of me.
Pulling my eyes from the paper takes effort, but I manage, pushing back the memories that weigh heavy on my shoulders. No matter how heavy they might feel for me, I know it’s nothing compared to how they feel for her.
“Do you want answers or not?”
The slight bite in her tone settles something inside me that's been clawing at the surface, begging me to hold her close and keep her safe.
I’ve watched her walk away too many times. It never gets easier, but I’m not sure I can survive it again.
Jade steps around me, and I can feel her presence next to me, feel her gaze as she looks up at me.
Fuck, she never fails to take my breath away.
She’s always been pretty. It’s what got her so much attention, but now, as a woman, she’s stunning.
Strong, even with the weight she carries.
I know scars cover her body the same as my own.
I can see them even in the low light as it catches on her arms. Yet they don’t diminish her beauty.
Her long, once-blonde hair is dyed now. I’d noticed it the moment she walked in, but up close, I really see the color. Her roots are dark, the color fading into green as it gets lower. I’d thought it was a trick of the lights before.
It suits her, matches her eyes and name, and suddenly, I can’t imagine her looking any different.
Our eyes meet, and a million things pass between us.
A silent conversation happens with just our eyes, something we can do purely based on our history. When you know someone in and out, understand their horror, and see them at their lowest, it’s almost impossible not to form a connection.
Trauma has a funny way of pulling people together, and we’ve been through more than most could think up in their nightmares.
I can’t pull away. I’m trapped in her beautiful green eyes, feeling like I’m drowning in her, in all she’s seen since we last met face to face. It’s agony and bliss all wrapped up so tightly that I can’t tell one from the other, but I don’t want to.
I’d gladly stay here with her forever if she asked me to.
The pain in her eyes is still there, but it doesn’t seem as consuming as it once was on days when her demons are close to the surface, close to pulling her under. As crazy as life might be, she looks happier and healthier.
A smile tugs at my lips, and I let it. Unwilling to suppress the joy I feel seeing her here, like this, with me once again.
For years, I’ve begged her to leave the rings, and while I know she hadn’t planned to, I can't help but feel victorious knowing they found her, regardless of whether or not that’s what she wanted.
Her eyes narrow and I know her well enough to know she’s not happy with me, but she won’t call me out on it. At least not right now.
No, right now, we have other things to worry about, other people. Eventually, she’ll tell me how stupid I was for sending them after her and probably a thousand other things. I’ll take it, though, so long as she’s here to tell me, I’m okay with it.
“She can stay.”
I tell the others as I turn back to them, but not before I see her lips turn up in a smile full and happy, if not just a hint of viciousness.
The guys look between us, clearly lost at what happened, but we ignore them. Jade reaches out and snags the list from Spencer, and all he can do is stare at her, his mouth open and brow drawn.
If they think she’s something now, they're in for a treat when they learn that the big bad Froggie is a woman and has been hiding under their very noses.