Chapter 5 #4
“The stuff in my apartment…” she began.
The thought of dropping her off in some apartment in Europe, by herself, while dealing with the aftereffects of her ordeal was repugnant. He wouldn’t do it. “We’ll arrange for your things to be shipped,” he said firmly.
For a second, he thought she was going to protest. He could feel her entire body shaking…but finally, she took a deep breath and nodded slightly.
“That’a girl,” he praised. “There are a lot of people out there. But you don’t have to be afraid of them. They’re all here for you. To find you. But again—your only job is to keep your eyes on me. No matter what. Can you do that?”
“I’ll try.”
“Okay. I’m going to go backward. Keep hold of me and we’ll do it together.”
They slowly and awkwardly shuffled along the space, and when they got to the hole, Brick said, “I need to let go of you for a quick moment, but I don’t want you to let go of me. Understand?”
She nodded.
Brick backed out of the hole on his hands and knees. He felt Alaska’s hand on his wrist the entire time. He was crouched in front of the hole when he reached for her free hand. “You’re doing really good, Al. Just a little farther.”
He helped her crawl out of the hole and into the cavernous container. Her sensitive eyes closed against the comparatively brighter light.
“I’ve got you,” he said, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her against him as he stood. They were plastered together, chest-to-chest. His six-feet height was only about four inches taller than she was, so they fit against one another perfectly. He felt her entire body trembling.
Her eyes opened into slits and she immediately turned her head to look around.
“No, Al. Me. Look at me.”
Still trembling, she immediately obeyed.
Brick didn’t want her to see the prison where she’d been kept. Didn’t want her to be afraid of the Russian military all around them. He didn’t want this rescue to add one iota of angst to her already battered psyche.
He backed up to the door of the container and was relieved when Tiny and Gray were there to help him out of the Conex, so he didn’t have to let go of Alaska for even one second.
“It’s so damn good to see you,” Gray said quietly.
Brick felt her flinch at the other man’s voice.
“Easy, Alaska. You’re good. That’s Gray. He’s a friend. He and his teammates came all the way from Colorado to find you.”
She nodded and kept her narrowed gaze on him. Fuck, he was so proud of her.
“Thank you for coming,” she whispered, then pressed her forehead against him…and a funny feeling spread through his chest. Her immediate trust, after everything she’d been through, meant the world to him.
“The chopper’s waiting. It’ll bring us straight to the airport,” Tiny said.
He felt Alaska’s muscles tense against him once more.
“That’s Tiny. He’s one of the other owners of The Refuge,” Brick told her.
“Which one? The biker guy, the one who wears glasses, the Ed Sheeran lookalike, Jake Ryan, or one of the other two?” she whispered.
Tiny burst out laughing. “Oh, I like her,” he said.
Brick didn’t laugh, but he did allow his lips to quirk upward. “Jake Ryan,” he told her.
Alaska nodded against him.
At that moment, one of the Russian soldiers called out something to one of his teammates. Alaska jerked violently in his arms.
“You’re okay. You’re safe,” he reassured her, bending slightly and picking her up.
Alaska clung to him as he carried her away from the chaos toward a helicopter. It had landed in a field not too far from the train tracks. She didn’t open her eyes, simply wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tightly.
“She’s going to need to talk to the Russian authorities before we leave,” Gray said, materializing next to them as he walked.
“No,” Brick said.
“Okay,” Alaska said at the same time.
Glancing down at her, Brick saw her eyes were slitted open once more. But her dark gaze remained on him, as he’d requested.
“If it will help other women from ending up where I did, I have to do it,” she implored quietly.
Brick shook his head. “He’s dead, Al. I promise you, he won’t be selling any other women.”
“But are all the people who worked with him dead? What about Igor?”
“Who’s Igor?” Gray asked.
“The driver. The guide. I thought he was nice enough. But obviously that was fake. And the guys he picked up with me on that second day? The goons who restrained me and made sure I didn’t run off?
How about the guy who bought me? There are so many other people involved, Drake.
If I don’t tell them what I know, they could still be out there, kidnapping others. ”
She was right. Brick knew it. But he still hated the idea that she wouldn’t have a chance to decompress before she met with the authorities.
“Okay,” he reluctantly agreed.
“Will you stay with me?” she asked in a small voice.
“Wasn’t planning on letting you out of my sight for a long fucking time.
” The answer was raw and rough. It was startling how much this woman had come to mean to him, despite the miles between them.
Her constant emails and messages over the last four years had sunk into his psyche, giving him more strength than she’d ever know, and just the thought of her not being there for him to chat with, to be his daily anchor, shook him to the core.
Her eyes closed again and she lay her head on his shoulder.
Brick’s arms tightened around her and he sent a thankful prayer upward as he headed for the chopper.
So many things had gone right for Alaska to be in his arms at this moment.
All it would’ve taken is one piece of faulty intel and he would’ve lost her.
She would’ve been across the border and living in hell.
He hadn’t been able to save Vader and his other teammates, but he felt them watching over him now.
As he well knew, this was only the beginning of Alaska’s journey.
She might think as soon as she got back to the States, she could go back to her normal routine, but he and his friends knew better than most how difficult that might be.
Brick hoped she’d be able to bounce back without much difficulty…
but given the way she flinched every time someone spoke, the way she trembled nonstop in his arms, he had a feeling his brave friend was in for a rough road ahead.
Brick was more than thankful that he had the perfect place for Alaska to heal.
Her mom wasn’t in the picture, and she didn’t have anywhere else to go, anyone else to turn to.
He prayed that she’d find The Refuge as soothing and calming as he did.
Once she’d worked through the demons in her head, she’d be free to go wherever she wanted.
He already hated to think about her leaving, but he’d never hold her back. His Alaska was a free spirit…and right now, his only goal was to help her return to the open, friendly woman she’d been before some asshole had tried to crush her under his boot.