Chapter 6 #2
Alaska didn’t respond, too lost in her thoughts, trying to decide if his eyes reminded her more of the waters in the Caribbean or the blue sky over the Alps.
“Right…so here’s what’s going to happen.
Tonka’s picking us up at the airport, and he’ll bring us back to The Refuge.
While you’re showering, I’ll grab something for us to eat.
We’ll have dinner in my cabin, then you can rest. I’m sure you’ll feel a lot better in the morning.
I’ll introduce you to the rest of the guys tomorrow. Okay?”
The only thing that registered was that Drake was going to leave her alone while he went to get dinner. The thought of being alone was absolutely terrifying. She could be grabbed, and she knew, just knew if she was taken again, she wouldn’t be as lucky the second time.
She grasped his wrist with both hands and shook her head. Every violent shake made her migraine worse, but she couldn’t care.
“Stop, Alaska,” Drake ordered. “You’re hurting yourself. What’s wrong?”
“Don’t leave me,” she whispered harshly, suddenly afraid the Russian man would hear her.
One part of her knew the man was dead; Drake had said so, and she could trust him.
But another part was sure it was a ruse.
That he’d tricked Drake and his friends.
The evil monster was simply waiting until she was alone to make his move.
She couldn’t forget the determination in his gaze to get her to the buyer in China.
How happy he was with the amount of money he was being paid to deliver her.
Drake stared at her for a moment, then nodded.
“You’ll be safe at The Refuge, Al. You think I’m gonna let anyone put their hand on you again?
Not gonna happen. Not only that, but Tonka, Spike, Pipe, Owl, Stone, and Tiny won’t allow it either.
When you’re in my cabin, you are absolutely safe, whether I’m there or not. ”
Alaska shook her head again. “I’m not! He’ll find me. Put me back in that box!” she insisted. Her memories threatened to overwhelm her, but Alaska fought hard. She needed to make Drake understand.
“I can bring food to your cabin,” Tiny said softly.
Drake didn’t take his eyes from hers, just nodded. “Thanks. All right, Al, I’ll stay while you get cleaned up.”
“Clothes?” Tiny asked.
Alaska didn’t pay attention to Drake’s response.
She was too relieved that he wasn’t going to leave her.
She did want a shower. Needed to wash the filth off.
There hadn’t been time between her rescue, her interview, and getting on a plane.
She knew she smelled. She also knew she shouldn’t care, given what she’d been through. But she did. She needed to get clean.
Her eyes closed once more, and when Drake’s arms didn’t drop from around her, she did her best to relax.
Tomorrow she’d be stronger. Tomorrow, she’d put on her big girl panties and get on with her life.
But for right now, all she could do was hold on to the one person she’d looked up to for decades.
For the rest of the trip, Alaska kept her eyes shut, trusting Drake to get her where she needed to go.
When she stumbled after exiting the plane, he picked her up.
The feeling of being carried was foreign.
She wasn’t a small woman. She wasn’t exactly large either.
She was simply average. None of the few men she’d dated had ever picked her up like this.
They weren’t strong enough. But of course, her Drake was.
Deep down, Alaska knew she shouldn’t be thinking of him as “hers.” Eventually she’d be back to her normal self, and she’d have to get down to the business of figuring out her life.
Getting her stuff sent from overseas back to the States, finding a job, opening a bank account…
all those mundane little things. For the moment, she was content to let Drake take over.
She felt the vehicle moving under her as they made their way toward The Refuge, but again, Alaska felt disconnected.
She had a feeling she should be worried about her current apathy, but she couldn’t muster the energy.
She was tired, so damn tired, yet she couldn’t sleep.
She’d be too vulnerable. The Russian or his buyer could get to her if she let down her guard.
The car stopped, and Alaska heard voices around them when Drake exited the vehicle, still cradling her in his arms.
“Is she all right?”
“She will be.”
“What do you need from us?”
“Pipe, can you come with us to my cabin? Her head hurts, and I think it’s just everything catching up to her, but I want to be sure.”
“Of course.”
“Everything okay with the guests?”
“Yeah.”
“Good. Where’s Mutt?”
“He’s been staying with me at night, but morosely sitting on your deck during the day. He’s gonna be thrilled you’re home.”
“You want me to call Henley?” an unfamiliar voice asked.
“Tiny’s got it. I’m going to play things by ear. See how she is in the morning.”
“If you need anything, we’re gonna be pissed if you don’t tell us.”
“I will. Promise. Right now, she just needs sleep. And to feel safe.”
“She’s safe here.”
Alaska didn’t know the men who were talking, but she could hear how relaxed Drake was as he spoke to them.
He didn’t tense up, didn’t sound apprehensive in the least. If he trusted them, so could she.
Besides, she’d looked at the picture of Drake with his friends and fellow Refuge owners so many times, she could picture them all in her mind as they spoke.
She didn’t know who was who, of course, but it was still a comfort to feel as if she somehow already knew them.
“She looks done in,” the man with the English accent said.
Absently, Alaska realized it must be Pipe speaking. He’d been in the SAS, the British equivalent of special forces. She’d looked up his branch on the internet and had been impressed with what she’d read.
“She is. I’m gonna take her home now,” Drake said.
“I’ll be there in a few with something to eat,” Tiny offered.
“Appreciate it.”
Then they were moving again.
“She also seems out of it,” Pipe observed as they walked. “How long has she been that way?”
“Most of the trip. The plane…wasn’t good.
We found her in an eight-foot by two-foot space behind a hidden wall in a Conex container.
All that was in there was a fucking bucket to piss in and a contraption on the wall that held water, and she had to drink out of a tube like a damn gerbil,” Drake growled.
Alaska tensed at the anger in his voice.
“Sorry, honey,” he soothed in the calming tone she’d come to crave.
“Right, so she’s probably hungry, dehydrated, and I’m guessing after all that time in the dark, her eyes hurt.”
Alaska had the fleeting thought that Pipe was probably a damn good medic. He’d known her for minutes, and after hearing very little about her ordeal, had accurately summed up her condition.
“Yeah,” Drake agreed.
The men didn’t speak for a long moment, the only sound their footsteps on the ground as they walked. Then a dog barked.
“Hey, Mutt! I know, buddy. I’m home. I need to get Alaska inside and comfortable before I can pet you. Hang on…” He chuckled, and Alaska felt what had to be Drake’s dog sniffing her legs as she was carried into his cabin.
She tensed, waiting for Drake to put her down, for his arms to let her go, but to her surprise, he sat on something and kept her on his lap. The cushion next to her sank, and she felt a wet tongue sweep across her cheek.
It was impossible to keep her eyes closed after that, so she opened them slightly, relieved that the lights in the cabin hadn’t been turned on. It was still light enough outside to see just fine, but no sunlight shone through the many windows all around them.
She was on a couch, sitting sideways on Drake’s lap, and she had time to see a TV, a coffee table, a recliner, and a bookshelf before the dog put his face in hers once more.
It was impossible to tell what kind of dog Mutt was, but Alaska got an impression of long legs, a happy sort-of smile, and lots of white and tan fur before the dog had somehow wormed its way between her and Drake.
Mutt was probably around thirty pounds or so, not huge, but definitely not a little lap dog either.
To Alaska’s surprise, the dog didn’t turn to Drake, trying to commandeer his attention. Instead, he turned toward her, putting his head on her shoulder.
Alaska’s arm fell from Drake’s neck to close around the dog.
She still gripped the material of Drake’s shirt in one hand, even as she held the dog with the other.
She could feel Mutt’s fast heartbeat against her chest and his warm doggy breaths against her neck.
He didn’t move, seemed content to simply snuggle against her.
Emotion clogged Alaska’s throat but she ruthlessly held back her tears. She couldn’t fall apart. Not again.
“So that’s how it is, buddy?” Drake asked with a small chuckle. “I guess I can’t blame you. She’s pretty amazing.”
It took Alaska a second to realize he was talking about her.
She wasn’t amazing. She was a secretary, for crying out loud.
One who never held a job longer than a couple years.
She didn’t talk to her mother anymore. Hell, didn’t even know where the woman was right now.
And she’d somehow managed to get herself kidnapped by a lunatic who’d wanted to sell her into sexual slavery.
She definitely wasn’t amazing. Not even close.
Alaska shook her head and lowered her chin, burying her nose in the soft fur of Mutt’s neck. He smelled like…outside. Dirt, pine, and hound. It shouldn’t have been a comforting smell, but still was.
Somehow, Pipe managed to give her a cursory exam even as she sat on Drake’s lap and with Mutt in her arms. He declared her to be dehydrated, but with sleep and food, should feel more like herself in a few days.