Chapter 12
12
Why the fuck did they agree to this? Why did Montgomery say it was okay to take Nina to see the others who were held in the house with her? Why did Zeke let it happen?
The women had been under Rose Protection Agency protection for a week. Zeke had hoped Nina would forget about them, but she pestered Montgomery for days before he made some calls and made it happen. Zeke stood in the corner of the room with Samuel and wished it had never happened.
The two women Samuel and Austin were protecting were among the lucky ones, the ones who didn’t need rehab or a longer hospital stay. Not that they were okay. None of them were okay. And they were clearly not happy to see Nina.
“Are you safe here?” Nina asked one of them. Samuel introduced the woman as Star, but Zeke wasn’t sure if that was actually her name.
“We were.”
“Star, I’m not here to threaten you,” Nina said.
“How could we possibly believe that? You were right there every time that horrible bitch said anything to us. You stood beside her and did nothing to help us.”
“I was one of you,” Nina whispered.
Star laughed mirthlessly, cruelly. “You were not one of us. You were her favorite. Her sister. Her pet. I never knew what was worse. If it was worse to be a prisoner of hers or to be her pet.”
“I was a prisoner, too!” Nina shouted.
Star snorted. “Yeah, I see you’re struggling right now.” Her gaze slid to Zeke. “Screwing the protector? Tough life.”
“He has nothing to do with this.”
“No?” Star tilted her head and glared at Nina. “Does he know who you really are? Does he know how many men you fucked? Does he know about the ones you would scream for? The ones you waited for like they were going to save you? The ones you said were good men and nice to you?”
“Enough,” Zeke said. It was taking all of his control to not rip the woman a new one.
Nina turned to him with tears in her eyes. “It’s okay, Zeke. She’s right. You deserve better than me.”
Zeke glared at Star. “She was right there with you. She was held captive just like you. Why are you attacking her?”
Star laughed again. She flung her arm toward the woman who sat in silence on the couch, watching the exchange. “Do you see Monica? Monica, who is so scared she can barely move. Who was just starting to leave a room alone, and now she’s cowering again because Nina showed up. Nina, who was a sister to the bitch who held us all captive. Who got to choose the men she fucked instead of getting whatever drugged up scum paid for us. Who escaped and ended up with you in some cushy place with new clothes and a personal protector who thinks she’s some gift brought back from the dead.”
“She is a gift,” Zeke argued. “What you all went through was horrible. What Gwendolyn Lennox did to all of you was not okay. But none of it was Nina’s fault. She knew what would happen if she left.”
Star raised a brow. “Really? Because it looks to me like she’s fine. Not dead. How is it everyone else who tried to run ended up in the ground and she’s walking around the city free as a fucking bird? You really think you can trust her? Because from where I’m standing, she’s no different from her ‘sister.’ She’s going to turn on you. She’s going to show her true colors. Just wait.”
“You’re wrong.” Zeke knew it was anger and fear fueling Star. He also knew Nina had been through the same hell, and they were all dealing with it in their own way.
Star shrugged. “You can believe that, but I don’t. I know that whore. And I know what she’s capable of.” She turned to Samuel. “We need to get the fuck out of here. And if you let her near either of us again, you better believe we will disappear, and when we show up again, it’ll be with lawyers and a hell of a lawsuit for emotional trauma and reckless endangerment. Because that bitch is going to tell her sister where we are. And we’re all going to end up dead.”
“No, I won’t,” Nina murmured.
Star scowled at Nina. “I don’t believe it. I don’t believe you. Get us the hell out of here. Now. And don’t tell him where we are. I don’t trust him either.”
Samuel nodded and held his hands out to direct Zeke and Nina toward the door. Samuel walked outside with them. Zeke opened the door for Nina to get in the SUV, then walked around to the other side, where Samuel was waiting.
“Nina is not working with Gwendolyn still,” Zeke assured Samuel.
Samuel nodded. He was a man Zeke had a mountain of respect for. A former Delta, Samuel was smart and ruthless when he had to be. Zeke had never once doubted Samuel’s ability to do a job or his commitment to the team. He would die for any of them, but with a wife and grown daughter, Zeke hoped it never came to that.
“You wouldn’t have brought her here if you were worried. Unfortunately, we have a shitstorm brewing. She never really trusted Austin or me, and now she’s going to have an even harder time. I think we might need to turn these two over to another organization.”
Zeke sighed heavily. “You’re probably right. I’ll get in touch with Lorelei and Adam and see what the FBI can do.”
“Thanks.” Samuel turned to go back, but stopped before he got far. “Was she right about you and Nina?”
Zeke looked at the older man and nodded.
Samuel’s brows shot up. “Does the boss know about you two?”
Zeke shook his head. “No one knows. I’m not sure how she knew.”
“Probably because you were looking at Nina like you wanted to wrap her up and never let her go.”
Zeke exhaled a laugh. “Guess I’m not so good at hiding my feelings.”
Samuel shrugged one shoulder. “None of us are when it comes to love.”
“I guess that’s good to know.”
“You love her?”
Zeke glanced at Nina through the window. Her head was down, her face hidden behind her curtain of hair. Zeke nodded. “Have for years.”
“And you never told Mont?”
“No. She was seventeen… And there was no reason to when she was gone.”
“But she’s back.”
Zeke nodded. “I’m not going to let anything happen to her again.”
“Don’t hold on too tight. That doesn’t always work.”
“I let go before, and we all know what happened.”
“Yeah. She came back.”
Zeke sucked in a breath. He looked at Samuel, then again at Nina. He was right. She did come back. But she wasn’t the same. Neither was he. But they had a chance.
“You might want to find a way to tell Mont you’re in love with her. All of this has really messed him up.”
“What do you mean?” Zeke asked.
Samuel regarded him closely. “He’s not himself right now, Zeke. I’m not sure what’s going on, but he’s not okay.”
“Shit.” Zeke hadn’t noticed. He’d been so wrapped up in Nina he didn’t think to check in with his best friend.
“You have your hands full. I have a feeling I’ll be free soon. I’ll check in on him.”
“Thanks, Samuel. I… I’ve fucked everything up with both of them, and I need to make it right.”
“One Rose at a time.” Samuel clapped Zeke on the back. “Go take care of the red one.”
Zeke breathed a laugh. “I’m going to try.”
“Good luck.”
“Thanks, man.”
Samuel went back to the house, and Zeke climbed in the SUV. He turned to Nina.
“Are you okay?”
Nina shook her head without looking up. “She’s right. About everything. I didn’t do anything to make things better. I didn’t stop Gwendolyn. I didn’t help any of them.”
“You couldn’t. You would have gotten even worse treatment.”
Nina rubbed her neck. The bruises had faded over the last week, but they were still visible. Nina wore tops that covered her neck, but the purple and blue colors told the truth.
“There was nothing rational about her. Or the situation you were in. You did the best you could.”
“I should have done more.”
Zeke shifted in his seat to face her and tilted her chin until she lifted her gaze to his. Tears streaked her cheeks and red rimmed her eyes. “How many times have you told me letting you walk out that night was not my fault? That everything you went through wasn’t my fault? That I couldn’t have stopped you and that you chose your path?”
“It’s different.”
“How is it different? Why is it different? If you can forgive me for deleting twelve years of your life, why are you blaming yourself for what they went through? You weren’t calling the shots. You weren’t sending men to them. You were trying to survive so you could come back to me.”
Nina inhaled a shaky breath. “Star doesn’t have someone like you waiting for her. Neither does Monica.”
Zeke shook his head. “That’s not on you either. I hate that they went through the same things you did, but you are not to blame. You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Nina swallowed roughly and nodded slightly. “Everything else she said… About the men?—”
“You do not owe me any explanation.”
Nina sniffed. “I… She wasn’t wrong. I created fantasies in my mind about those men. About them saving me or helping me. I told myself they cared. Some of them, especially the last few years, I accepted my fate and enjoyed it.”
“You had no idea if you would ever be free, angel. No clue what the future would hold. You had to find a way to survive.”
“But it was wrong!”
“Why? Yes, what happened to you was wrong. What was happening to all of you was wrong. If you chose that life, if you were safe and everything was your choice, there would be nothing wrong with it. You didn’t, though. That’s the part that’s not okay. You making the most of it, I’m not going to judge you for that. I wasn’t there. I don’t know what you went through. And even if I was, only you know what you had to do to survive. To cope. To hold on until you could get away or be rescued.”
“Do you really believe that?” she whispered.
Zeke nodded. “I do. It kills me that another man has touched you. That you went through all the things you did. But I would never say you, or any of the women who were held there, did something wrong. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I’m not perfect. But I did what I felt I had to do to survive.”
“You did?”
Zeke nodded, thinking back to the worst deployment he had. The lifeless eyes of the people he killed. The stink of death. The pain of war. “You deserve better than me, Nina. So much better.”
“There’s no one else I want.”
Zeke smiled. “Good. Let’s get out of here before Star comes out of the house at us.”
Nina glanced at the house and nodded.
Nina was raw, exposed, hurt. All the things Gwendolyn did came back to her as Zeke drove through the city. She wasn’t sure why she thought Star and Monica would be happy to see her, but she was dead wrong. Star was furious, and Monica was terrified.
Nina was an asshole. She didn’t mean to hurt them. But Star meant to hurt Nina. Nina wanted to be angry about it, but Star was right. Nina was the favorite. At times, she used it to her advantage. She got to shower more than the other girls. She got to choose her men. She got to go upstairs with Gwendolyn.
Nina never told the others about Gwendolyn’s abuse. She never told anyone about it. Nina knew it wasn’t okay, but she also couldn’t shake that it only happened when she did something wrong. When she pushed back too hard.
Maybe Nina got comfortable. She thought she could have a normal life. She expected certain things. Things the others never got. Things Nina saw as rewards for not fighting everything.
But she was still a prisoner. She was still ordered around by Gwendolyn. Left to rot with the others when Gwendolyn didn’t want her around and brought up to be praised when Gwendolyn needed someone to talk to.
She had it better than the others, but she didn’t have it good. Still, to Star and the rest of them, Nina was lucky. Nina had the chance to enjoy sex. She had the opportunity to pretend she chose that life. Even if she knew the truth was a choice meant she could have changed her mind. Gwendolyn made it clear that would never happen.
Zeke took a turn, and Nina glanced in the mirror, spotting a vehicle turn behind them. She tried to tell herself it was a coincidence, but fear slithered up her spine.
“Someone’s following us,” she breathed.
“What?” Zeke asked.
“There’s an SUV following us. Blue. Three cars back.”
“Are you sure?” Zeke asked, looking in his mirror and shifting in his seat. Both hands gripped the steering wheel. Tension filled the SUV.
“Yeah. They turned with you at the last light. Last minute, like they didn’t see you turn until they were right there.”
Zeke put on his blinker and changed lanes.
The SUV did the same.
Zeke took the next left.
The SUV followed.
“Shit,” Zeke breathed.
“They are following us,” Nina said. “Oh my God. It’s Gwendolyn. She found me. You have to warn Star and Monica. They could be in danger.”
“I have to get you to safety first. Samuel and Austin will take care of Star and Monica.”
“No, you have to call. You have to warn them. They already think I would turn them in. I wouldn’t do this. I didn’t. Zeke, you have to believe me.”
“I do believe you, angel. I know you wouldn’t do that. I know you. And Samuel and Austin will take care of whatever happens. But my priority has to be you. I have to make sure you’re safe.”
“Zeke, please!”
Zeke glanced over at her. He scanned her quickly, then tapped something on the screen in his car. A few seconds later, the sound of a phone ringing filled the SUV.
“Yeah.”
“Picked up a tail. Watch your six.”
“Copy.”
The line went dead, and Zeke’s attention returned to the road. “Samuel will take care of it. He’ll call for backup and make sure nothing happens to Star or Monica. I promise you.”
“Thank you, Zeke. I couldn’t… They’ve been through enough.”
“So have you. You need to be safe, too.”
“I know, but I have you.”
Zeke took a quick turn, sending Nina against the side of the SUV. “Hold on,” he growled.
Nina checked the mirror, the SUV still following them. Her pulse raced. Her throat tightened. The vehicle was closer, two cars back now. They were getting bolder, not caring that they were visible.
She did this. If something happened to Zeke, she would never forgive herself. She put him in danger. She risked his life to save her own.
She never should have called him. She should have just disappeared. Left town and never looked back.
She rubbed her chest at the thought. Being with Zeke the last week made her feel alive in a way she never knew was possible. It gave her hope for a future. Hope she could have a life.
Not to mention the way he looked at her and touched her and lit her up with both. She never dreamed of love. Not real love. She fantasized about one of her men saving her, but she knew it wasn’t love. She knew it would be more of the same. She would trade one prison for another.
But with Zeke?—
He jerked the wheel and turned into a parking lot.
Nina looked at the police vehicles filling the lot. The police station rose before them, a concrete monstrosity that overwhelmed the area.
She looked back just in time to see the vehicle drive right past the parking lot and keep going. The driver didn’t even look over, just stared straight ahead and kept going.
She didn’t recognize him.
“He’s gone,” Zeke said.
Nina nodded. “I didn’t recognize him. Did you?”
Zeke shook his head. “Doesn’t mean anything, though. Are you okay?”
Nina shrugged and clenched her hands together. They shook, her entire body trembling with the fear coursing through her.
“You’re safe now,” Zeke whispered, pulling her against him, the console restricting how close she could get.
“I’m sorry.”
“Nothing to be sorry for. I should have been watching more closely.”
“Star? Monica?”
“We’ll check with them when we get to the office. I need to make some calls and want to see your brother.”
“Do you think it’s safe?”
Zeke tapped his screen, calling Monty.
“Rose.”
“We just left station two. We believe someone was following us.”
“Where are you?”
“Police station.”
“Filing a report?”
“No, nothing definitive.”
“Are you coming here?”
“Hoping to. Need to do a few things. What do you think?”
“We’ll be waiting. And watching.”
“On the way.”
Zeke hung up and put the SUV in gear.
“Watching?” Nina asked.
“We all share our locations with each other. Security reasons. He’ll watch our trip and be able to tell within seconds if something goes off the rails.”
“Really?”
Zeke nodded and made another turn. “Yep. There will be a wall getting us inside. You’ll be safe.”
“I’m always safe with you,” she whispered.
Zeke put his hand on her thigh. “I will never let anyone touch you again.”
Nina nodded, knowing what he wasn’t saying. He would die before he let her die.
Which was part of what worried her. Gwendolyn would try. Nina wasn’t free. Star and Monica and the others, they were replaceable for Gwendolyn. They were just bodies. But Nina? Nina knew things the rest of them didn’t know. Nina was a risk.
And that meant Zeke was in danger.
And willing to die for her.
She could not let that happen.