Chapter 34
Vee
The room smells like antiseptic and clean cotton. It’s too bright. Too quiet. My body feels heavy and wrong, like it doesn’t belong to me anymore. But I’m free. I’m not being held captive and I’m somewhere familiar.
Josh smiles sweetly at me as he lifts the warm, damp cloth in his hand to my cheek. Pain radiates with his touch, and before I can stop myself, I flinch. I see the hurt in his eyes and I know I hurt him. He must think I don’t want him touching me.
“I’m sorry,” he murmurs immediately, his voice soft, careful, like every word might bruise me if he says it wrong. “I didn’t mean to hurt you more. I know you’re in pain.”
“It’s okay,” I whisper, though my throat feels raw. It makes me feel better that his reaction wasn’t because he thought I didn’t want him to touch me.
He starts again, his large hands gentle as he wipes away the dried blood from my face. He’s careful with every touch, making sure not to cause any more pain than necessary. The cloth drags lightly across the cut at my lip and I suck in a sharp breath. His jaw tightens.
“Almost done,” he says quietly. “I just need to feel the bones around your nose and eyes.” He sets the cloth to the side on the little table he has with supplies on it.
I nod.
I take a deep breath, whimpering as he presses his fingers to my face. He’s being cautious as he moves his fingers across my skin, but it still hurts, and as much as I want to hold back, I can’t help but show that it hurts.
“Nothing feels broken. But you’re going to have a lot of pain. If you want to be sure, we can go to the hospital and get some x-rays taken.”
“No, I’m okay if you say I’m good.” There’s no way I want to go to the hospital right now. Too many people, and I know I’ll get stared at. I also don’t want to have to tell anyone I don’t know what happened. I’m not sure I want to tell the people I do know.
“Luca?” I ask.
“He’s with them,” he tells me. “He’ll be here to see you once he has them handled.”
I nod and let out a sigh. Josh reaches out, picking up a bottle and shakes out a couple of pills into his hand.
“You need to take these,” he says.
I shake my head immediately. “No.”
“It’s just pain medication. It’ll help with the pain and help you to sleep.”
“I don’t…” My voice breaks. “I don’t want it.” Memories of being drugged and not in control are too overwhelming right now. And it hurts too much to think.
His eyes meet mine, steady and patient.
“You shouldn’t have to suffer,” he says gently. “We’re going to be right here with you. Luke and I are not going to leave your side.”
I stare at the pills in his palm. The idea of swallowing anything makes my stomach twist, but everything hurts—my face, my ribs, my wrists, my ankles.
Finally, I sigh and nod once. He’s right. Luke and Josh won’t let anything happen. They are not the bad guys.
“Okay.”
Relief shows on his face as he hands me the pills and a glass of water. My fingers tremble as I take them from him. The glass clinks against my teeth as I swallow.
A soft knock sounds at the door, but before Josh can answer, the door cracks open.
“I’m coming in.”
My heart flutters. I’d know that voice anywhere.
The door swings open and Luke steps inside, his eyes locking on me instantly. The moment he sees me, he smiles. He doesn’t waste any time heading straight to me.
“Hey baby girl.” He drags a chair to the bed right beside me, sits down, and reaches for my hand. His fingers graze along the tender flesh of my wrist and I wince. He freezes at my reaction.
“Did I hurt you?”
I shake my head quickly. “No. It’s my… wrist.”
His eyes move to my wrists, taking in the angry raw flesh circling it. He leans down and presses his lips against the tender skin with heartbreaking care.
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers against my wrist. “I should’ve been there.”
My heart breaks at him blaming himself. That either one of them feels responsible for what Abraham and his son did guts me.
Josh’s voice pulls me from my thoughts. “Do you think you can tell us what happened?”
My stomach knots. Do I want to relive what happened?
I bite the inside of my lip and squeeze my eyes shut. The images come rushing back the second I let them.
“It’s okay, baby,” Luke’s calm voice tells me, squeezing my fingers lightly. “If it’s too hard right now, you don’t have to. The important thing is you’re okay.”
I shake my head. I need to do this. Face what happened to me and tell the men who say they love me. Who risked themselves to rescue me.
“No…I’ll tell you.” My voice comes out hoarse, broken. “He seemed so nice,” I whisper. “Just…some random guy at my counter. Quiet. Lonely. Looking for someone to talk to.” I swallow hard. “I was so wrong.”
Both of them stay completely still, giving me time to tell my story.
“He’d been watching me the whole time,” I continue. “I didn’t know. Not until he told me. No, he gloated about it. How stupid was I for not noticing?”
I can feel my eyes watering, and I pull my hand free from them to wipe my face. I make sure to be careful not to cause anymore pain.
“He started leaving roses on my car. And notes.” I can see both of them look at the other in question. “I thought they were from you, Josh. It just seemed like something you would do. And the note said he was tired of waiting. Something you’ve told me a few times.”
Josh gives me a faint, sad smile. “I’ll give you a million roses,” he says softly. “A million love letters. For the rest of your life. I want to erase what he did to you and fill it with good memories.”
He picks up my hand and lifts it to his mouth, kissing my knuckles.
Then carefully he inspects the wounds on my wrist from the rope.
He reaches over to the cart and opens a bottle, placing some of the liquid onto a square gauze bandage and gently begins to clean the wound.
The antiseptic stings, but I need to finish my story, so I continue telling them what happened.
“He took me in the parking lot,” I whisper. “Tricked me by saying his battery was dead. I offered to help. I didn’t even see his son come up behind me until it was too late.”
My voice trembles.
“He grabbed me from behind. I thought Abraham was going to save me at first. But he didn’t. Then they injected something into my neck and everything went dark.” I sniffle, and Luke reaches out, grasping my free hand again, giving it a reassuring squeeze.
“You don’t have to tell us anymore.” Luke’s voice is soft and comforting.
“No, I need to get it out. To tell you what happened, or I’ll keep it bottled up forever.”
“Then we’re here to listen, Veronica,” Josh tells me as he finishes with my hand and moves down to check my feet, tending to the rope burns on my ankle.
“He said…he said I was going to bear his child.” My stomach churns remembering that.
At knowing how close I was to that happening.
“That he was going to share me with his son.” The words taste poisonous in my mouth.
“That he knew I was into it.” My hands begin to shake.
“What his son did to me…” My voice breaks completely, and I can’t say anymore.
“Shhh. Baby. It’s okay, take as much time as you need.” Luke raises up in his chair and kisses me softly on my lips.
It’s what I need to finish the story. I tell them about waking up in the room again.
The son being there and what he did to me.
Neither of them interrupts. Neither of them asks questions.
They just sit there, listening, letting me stop whenever the words get stuck in my throat or hard to say.
At some point Luke moves to the other side of the bed so that Josh can clean the wounds on my other wrist and ankle.
When I finally finish, the room feels suffocatingly quiet.
“Can I have some liquor?” I ask hoarsely. “I need to wash this vile taste from my mouth.”
Luke stands immediately. “I’ll get it.” He turns and heads to the door, making sure to close it behind him as he steps out of the room.
Josh finishes wrapping my ankle and sits down in the chair Luke was in, his eyes locked on me.
“I'm so sorry, baby. That you had to endure that. We should’ve had our heads out of our asses and been there for you.”
He pulls out his phone and looks at something on it. “Luca checking on you. Making sure you’re okay.”
“He’s here?” A part of me wished he was in the room with me. But another part doesn’t want him seeing me like this. I know he’ll feel guilty, as if he let me down in some way as well, since Abraham is from our past.
“Downstairs with the fuckers. Making sure they’re comfortable.” He smiles when he says the last word. I can only imagine their version of comfortable for the people they’re holding captive.
“Okay.”
“He wants you to know he’d rather be here. But he’s making sure the scum can’t get away. Then he’ll be up,” he says quietly.
I look at him. “He’s going to be the one to torture and kill them?”
“One of the people to do it. There’s a line forming.
” Something cold flickers in his eyes that I’ve never seen before.
A hint to a darker side he keeps hidden.
My stomach twists, but the thought doesn’t horrify me the way it should.
“If you want,” he continues gently, “you can have your own revenge.”
I stare at the blanket covering my legs.
Do I want to? Can I hurt someone the way they did me?
Help to kill them? I know Ash took revenge on the prick who hurt her.
She’s okay and hasn’t gone insane. She told me once that it helped her to move on.
But she endured more than I did. She suffered more than I did.
“Ohh.” I don’t know what to say.
“There’s something else,” he adds.
I glance up.
“Hank tried to see you.”
My chest tightens. Why would he want to see me after working so hard to push me away? Is he trying to ease some of the guilt he may have over what happened to make himself feel better?
“I don’t want to see him.”
“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”
I love that Josh doesn’t argue with me or pressure me to see him. How he leaves it up to me.
There’s a soft knock and the door opens again. Luke steps into the room carrying a bottle of liquor and a glass.
“Just one,” Josh tells both him and me. “She’s had pain medication.”
Luke gives him a curt nod and sets the glass down on his table, then opens the bottle and pours some of the clear liquid into the glass. I can smell it immediately. Tequila.
He hands the glass to me, and I swallow it down in one gulp. The liquid burns as it slides down my throat, scorching all the way to my stomach. But it helps. A little. I hand him the empty glass, and shift my gaze between the two of them.
“Can I go home now?”
Luke and Josh share a knowing look. Then Josh nods. “Yes, you can, sweetheart.” Relief crashes through me at being able to.
“Josh…can you keep him alive until later so that I can think about what you said?" I swallow as they both look at me.
Their expressions darken.
“Of course. I’ll let Luca know.”
“Vee, baby, there’s something you need to know, too.”
“What?” I know what’s coming. They don’t want to end things.
“We’re both coming home with you, Vee.”
For the first time since this nightmare started, something inside me loosens. They are choosing me. I’m not having to beg. Or justify. They’re just accepting.
“I wouldn’t want it any other way,” I tell them.
“Then let’s get out of here. Doc, message Luca. I think I know what you told her and what she's thinking about.”
“She’s right here.” I wink at him. “Now let’s go. I’m ready for my bed.”