CIARA
My body is shivering uncontrollably, and my heart thunders against my ribs.
The lid on the trunk lifts. “I’m sorry, Ciara. I didn’t want to upset you.”
My mind keeps jumping all over the place, my emotions a turbulent mess. I wrap my arms tighter around myself and squeeze my eyes tightly shut.
I don’t want Grace anywhere near this…whatever this is. I want her far away from me, where she’s safe.
I don’t want her to see me like this. I’ve changed too much, and it will break her heart. Just thinking about how horrified Grace will be makes a whimper escape.
It takes a while for my mind to quiet down, and only then am I able to wonder how Santiago knows Grace.
I turn my head slightly and see him sitting with his back leaning against the trunk. His hair is ruffled, and he looks tired.
Because of me.
My eyebrows narrow when I think about the fact that he hasn’t done anything to hurt me. Not once has he been aggressive.
My curiosity gets the better of me, and I climb out of the trunk. When I sit down beside him, I wrap my arms around my shins.
My fingers brush over the rough scars around my ankles, and it reminds me I haven’t been restrained since I’ve been here.
Everything Santiago does is the opposite of Nolan.
When I glance at him, he turns his head and meets my gaze.
“Do you feel better, mi pequeño sol?”
I nod, my tongue darting out to wet my dry lips. I hesitate a little longer before gathering the courage to ask, “How do you know about Grace?”
My attention is drawn to the ring on his pointer finger. The diamond is massive, and I watch as he twirls it around. He’s done it often, and I wonder why he has a ring meant for a woman.
“I’m in an alliance with Dominik Varga.”
Confused, my eyes lift to his face again.
“Your brother-in-law.”
It takes a moment before I realize who he’s talking about.
The arms dealer Grace married.
Santiago watches me closely. “Why did you get so upset when I mentioned Grace?”
I turn my face away from him and rest my chin on my arm. He waits patiently while I struggle to organize my thoughts. “I don’t want her in any danger because of me.” My bottom lip quivers, and I can’t stop the tears from falling. “I don’t want to hurt her.”
“None of that will happen,” he whispers, his tone reassuring. “But I want you to be ready before you see her again. I’ll never force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”
My eyebrows pull together again, and desperately needing to believe him, I turn my head to meet his hazel gaze that’s becoming more and more intense as the days pass.
I give him a pleading look. “Promise?”
“I promise, Ciara.” There’s an affectionate expression on his face, then he asks, “Would you like to see a photo of Grace?”
My eyes widen, and I quickly move onto my knees as hope trickles into my chest.
I don’t care what price I’ll have to pay Santiago for showing me the photo. If he wants to masturbate on me, I’ll endure it for Grace.
“You don’t have to kneel, mi sol.” He climbs to his feet. “But the floor is hard. Let’s move to the window seat.”
Bracing myself for whatever he’ll demand of me, I get up. I walk closer to where he’s waiting on the seat and leave a small space between us before sitting down.
My gaze lowers to his hands, and I watch as he presses his thumb to the screen to unlock it with his fingerprint. He opens the gallery, and I see photos of a baby.
He scrolls down and taps on the screen. The next second, I’m staring at Grace. Her hair is all over the place, and she looks exhausted, but there’s a happy smile on her face. She’s holding a baby.
I’m bombarded with emotions, and they rip the air from my lungs.
Grace has a baby?
I stare at her eyes, seeing happiness sparkling in them. I’m filled with relief, but at the same time, the loneliest feeling I’ve ever had wraps heavy around me.
I don’t fit into her life. Where she’s happy, I’m a shell.
The longer I stare at her, the more I notice little things. Her face is plumper, but that’s probably because she was pregnant. She’s wearing a wedding ring, and her nails are manicured into a short, neat style.
Even though it’s clear from the photo that she just gave birth, she looks really good.
Grace has a baby.
I have a niece or nephew.
I keep looking at the photo, drinking in Grace’s beautiful face for as long as Santiago will allow me.
Suddenly, the phone beeps, and knowing my time is up, I lower my head and wrap my arms around my middle, waiting for Santiago to demand that I thank him.
Instead of telling me to kiss him, he asks, “Are you done looking?”
My eyes dart to him before lowering to the photo of Grace again. “I can look longer?”
“For as long as you want. I can print the photo for you.”
The tiny seed of hope sprouts in my heart. “Really?”
He tips his head toward the door. “Let’s go to my office. I have a printer there.”
Santiago stands up, and I quickly rise to my feet. I follow him to the office that’s on the same floor and watch as he taps on his phone. I take in the black desk and the comfortable leather chair. On one wall, there are bookshelves, with some titles in English and others in a language I don’t recognize. Screens cover the opposite wall, but none of them are on, and there’s also a black couch that looks like it’s been sat on a lot.
The printer starts to work, drawing my attention to it. When a page showing Grace and the baby appears, I step a little closer.
Santiago takes the paper from the printer and holds it out to me. I give him a cautious look before I take the photo, and when he doesn’t yank it away, I quickly press it to my chest.
“I’ll get the photo framed for you and ask Dominik to send more.”
My eyes meet Santiago’s, and my voice is hoarse with fear when I dare to ask, “How will I have to thank you?”
A frown forms on his forehead. “The words thank you will be enough.”
“Just thank you?” I double-checked.
He tilts his head, his eyes narrowing slightly. “Did Nolan make you thank him?” When I nod, he asks, “What did you have to do?”
I lower my head, and my gaze locks on the sheet of paper. “He would undress me and masturbate.”
My muscles tense up even more, and the horrific memories knock me a step back.
Nolan slamming me down on the wooden floor and rubbing his cock over my breasts until he orgasmed.
Nolan rubbing his release into my skin.
Nolan beating me for not keeping still.
The trauma is too much to handle after getting to see Grace, and for the first time in a long while, I’m thrown into the trance where my mind shuts down.
SANTIAGO
Ciara’s words shudder through me, but I have no time to process them when her face goes blank.
Her breathing instantly slows down, and the paper drifts from her hands as they lower to her sides.
I move closer and lean down to see her eyes. She’s staring at nothing, and having seen women check out before, I realize Ciara’s taken her mind to a safe place.
I lift my arms to comfort her, but at the last moment, I take a step backward. It’s incredibly hard not to grab her to my chest, and I’m forced to watch as she stands frozen in front of me.
The fucker forced himself on her in different ways. I have no idea why he didn’t rape her, but I’m thankful she escaped that trauma.
I rub my palms over my face before I look at Ciara again.
Fuck. Seeing all her pain and trauma hurts like a motherfucking bitch.
Unable to think of anything else to do, I lower myself to my knees and beg, “Please, Ciara, come back. You’re safe with me. You don’t have to hide.”
When she blinks and sucks in a sharp breath, relief pours through me. I wait until she looks down at me, then say, “I’m so fucking sorry Nolan hurt you. I’ll never force myself on you in any way.”
Confusion flutters over her features, then the little spark of hope she had earlier returns to her eyes.
I pick up the page with the photo of Grace and Kristian and hold it out to her. “This is yours, and you can have whatever you want. I don’t expect anything in return. I only want you to heal and to be happy again.”
Ciara takes the page from me, then tilts her head. “You don’t want anything from me?”
I shake my head. “Nothing you’re not willing to give.”
Her lips part, but then she hesitates.
“You can ask me anything,” I say to encourage her.
Her tongue darts out and swipes over her lips. “Why are you kneeling?”
Because you’re worth kneeling for.
“I wanted you to know I’m not a threat.” I climb to my feet, then add, “And it’s something you seem to do when you want something. Like you did when I mentioned the photo.”
I pull my phone out and type a quick text to Dominik.
Santiago: Send me photos of Grace for Ciara. I’m making progress with her and think we’ll be able to arrange a call between them.
I don’t expect him to see the message because it’s four in the morning, but it shows he reads it.
Dominik: That’s good news. I’ll send the photos. I’m going to tell Grace so she can prepare herself for the call.
Santiago: I’ll speak to her before letting her talk with Ciara. There are things she can’t mention.
Dominik: Send me the list, and I’ll give it to her.
The man is just as fucking possessive as I am.
Santiago: No asking about her time in captivity. No putting pressure on Ciara to meet face-to-face. She needs to be patient when talking to her and give Ciara time to process things, so if there’s a pause for an hour, Grace just needs to go with it.
As I press send, photos start to come through.
Dominik: Can we schedule a call for later today?”
My eyes flick to Ciara, who’s staring at the page. “Would you like to talk to Grace on the phone?”
Her head snaps up, and her eyes widen. “A call? With Grace? Really?”
A smile tugs at my lips. “Yes, and I don’t expect anything in return.”
Ciara hesitates before she nods. “I’d like that.” A nervous expression tightens her features. “What must I say to her.”
“Whatever you want.”
She tugs her bottom lip between her teeth, then looks down at the page again. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Let’s schedule the call and see how it goes. Okay?” When she doesn’t respond, I say, “I need your permission to arrange the call, Ciara.”
She nods and presses the photo to her chest. “Okay.”
Santiago: I’ll call at 1 pm. We haven’t slept at all and need to get some rest.
Dominik: We’ll be ready.
I tuck the phone into my pocket and say, “You can call Grace later today. Let’s get some sleep.”
I walk out of the office and feel Ciara behind me. Walking into her bedroom, I ask, “Are you going to try sleeping on the bed?”
She moves closer, eyeing the rumpled covers. “Where are you sleeping?”
“In my bedroom.” I gesture with a jab of my thumb over my shoulder. “It’s the room at the end of the hallway. If you need me, you can just call or come to me.”
She nods, then climbs onto the bed, still gripping the photo to her chest.
I walk closer and pull the covers over her, then murmur, “Try to sleep, Ciara. You need your rest.”
She shuts her eyes and slowly exhales.
I switch off the light on the way out and walk to my bedroom. Leaving the door open, I head straight to my bed and fall down on it.
Christ, even though we made a lot of progress, it’s been a long day and night.
Letting out a groan, I turn onto my back and get comfortable before pulling my phone out of my pocket. I’m just about to set it down on the bedside table, but then I change my mind and unlock the device. I search for Ciara Devlin, and when article after article appears about her being a socialite, I greedily take in all the information.
I find out her birthday is on June tenth when I see a photo of a party that was held for her twenty-first.
She looks so happy, her eyes shining with life, and I keep staring at the photo until I finally fall asleep.
