Chapter 13 #2
But he wasn't going to get a chance to spend more time with Makayla, to get to know her, to be a person who looked out for her while she was always looking out for everyone else.
He wasn't going to get to have the chance to uncover himself, to stop pretending that he didn't feel, and relearn what it was like to experience the whole gamut of human emotions.
Because he was about to lose her.
“I promise you I can,” Makayla continued, those fingers of hers stroking across his. “I don’t want you to worry about me. I want you to do what you're here to do. I want you to find what you need to bring Azure down so no one else suffers.”
A growl ripped from his chest before he even realized it, making Makayla startle. “I'm sorry, I'm not angry at you. I just …”
“Just what?” she asked gently.
“I just want you to stop worrying about everyone else and focus on yourself.”
From the look on her face the idea was clearly foreign to her. “I don’t need to worry about myself, because you're going to be sending in people after me, right?”
“Yes, of course yes. I will get the intel to Prey as soon as I can, and they will send people in after you. You’ll be rescued and they’ll take you someplace safe.
You won't be able to go back to your life for a while, not until Azure is taken care of, but my boss will make sure you have everything you need until that happens.”
“It’s okay, Van, I trust you. You don’t have to try to convince me.”
It was obvious from the look in her eyes that was true. She did trust him even though he hadn't really given her any reason to. She fully believed that he could do exactly as he said he would and save her, while he was full of doubts.
So full of doubts it was hard to function, to not let them takeover.
This was why he didn't let himself feel, why he didn't let himself get attached to anyone. It was too much. This fear reminded him of all the times in his childhood when he’d been helpless and at the mercy of people who took pleasure in hurting him.
Just like Makayla was going to be shortly.
Whoever this Japanese guy was who had found out about her and decided to buy her would relish every second of her pain. And if he couldn’t break her, he’d probably have even more fun trying. Making things worse for her until maybe she really would wind up cracking under the pressure.
“I'm sorry,” he whispered, letting his head tip forward until his forehead rested on hers.
“For what?”
“I should have let you run that day, either time. I should have made up an excuse, stalled the guys, whatever it took to let you get away.”
“That sounds lovely in theory, Van, but we both know it wouldn't have worked in practice. You’ve done what you could to protect me these last few days, and you're sending in people to rescue me. You’ve done more than enough.”
Another growl tumbled from his lips, and he was all too aware that he was wasting time, that if Marvin returned while he had Makayla in his arms like this, he was going to have a hard time coming up with a plausible explanation.
But he didn't care. He liked holding her, liked feeling her warmth against him. It seemed to seep inside him, thawing the ice he’d encased his entire body, heart, and mind in. He wasn't the one saving her, she was the one saving him, and he hadn't even thought he needed saving.
“Have a little faith, Van. The light always shines through the dark. It’s just the way it’s designed to happen.”
“I’ll make sure you get out,” he said, a little frantically, but he was running out of time, and he needed her to know she wasn't on her own.
Those words felt wrong, though. There were Prey teams that could go in and rescue her.
There was a Delta Force team who had helped Nathan save Emma, and Mateo save Ally, they could go in and rescue her.
Or Prey had contacts all throughout the special forces world.
There were more than enough people who could save Makayla.
So why did it feel like it had to be him?
“You better put me down, let me get cleaned up,” she said, gently pushing at his shoulders.
She was right, he knew she was, yet he couldn’t seem to let her go.
“Before he comes back, Van, I don’t want you to get into trouble,” she urged, and it was only because he felt her fear for him that he reluctantly carried her over to the small shower area in the corner of the room.
Just as he set her on her feet, and reached around her to turn on the water, the door behind them opened.
“Got the sedatives and some clothes,” Marvin announced.
“Since there were no specifics in what he wanted her dressed in, I just chose a white cotton sundress. It’s simple and most of our clients seem to like them.
It’s short and low cut, but it won't show off anything inappropriate at the airfield.
The last thing we need is to be grabbing any unwanted attention.
Too bad she sold so quickly. I wish Griffin had decided to keep her a little longer, I wasn't finished enjoying playing with her.”
Too bad he couldn’t rip the man apart with his bare hands.
Van might have done it just to soothe the growing anger inside him, but a small hand reached out and brushed across the small of his back, and he knew Makayla had sensed what he was thinking and was reminding him that it was a terrible idea.
“Fine. Go organize a vehicle. I’ll have her up there in ten minutes.”
Expecting Marvin to argue, instead, the man nodded. “I'm driving, though,” he announced, which was fine by Van, it meant he’d sit in the back and hold Makayla, who would be unconscious by then.
When Marvin was gone, he turned his attention back to Makayla, watching as she methodically shampooed and then conditioned her hair, before scrubbing every inch of her body.
By the time she shut off the water, he was second-guessing everything.
It would only be him and Marvin in the car.
He could easily kill the man and run with Makayla, disappear off the face of the earth.
He had more than enough money to take care of them both.
“Whatever you're thinking, stop it,” Makayla said, reaching for the rough, crusty towel hanging by the crude shower and drying herself off. “This is happening. Don’t ruin everything you’ve worked for because of me. In the big picture, I'm not worth it.”
What was with this woman and making him growl? Because another growl rumbled through his chest, and he was on her before he even realized it. His hand around her neck, gently, stroking a finger over her pulse point, he backed her into the wall.
“Don’t ever want to hear you say that again, understood?”
Wide eyes stared up at him, but she nodded.
“You are worth everything.”
Those eyes softened, and she smiled. “Thank you, it’s nice to hear that. But, Van, you have to go through with this. You have to stop them from doing this.”
She was right, but she was wrong. Still, he released her, let her walk over to where Marvin had left the dress, and slipped it over her head. Then she picked up the syringe and vial of sedatives, carrying them back over to him.
There was nothing more to say, she was right, this had to be done. So he prepped the syringe, hesitated as he held it to her bicep before depressing the plunger and delivering the drugs to her system.
They took effect almost immediately. She swayed, and he scooped her up and into his arms. Touching a kiss to her forehead as her eyes fluttered closed.
“Not abandoning you, Makayla. You’ll never be alone again.”