Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 42863 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42863 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 214(@200wpm)___ 171(@250wpm)___ 143(@300wpm)
I couldn’t really blame the kid. They’d both gone through hell—her enduring the trauma and him being forced to watch while trying to come up with a plan to save her.
I angled out of the SUV before leaning back in and looking at Beck. “Carefully hand her to me,” I instructed. “We don’t want to wake her—just get her inside and put to bed.”
He tightened his hold on Clarke for a moment before reluctantly sliding across the seat and letting me gently scoop her from his arms. Alejandro already had the door open as I turned and headed toward the front porch that spanned the front of the house. I turned sideways and angled inside before heading for the master bedroom. There were only two rooms I could see and a bathroom, which meant Clarke and Beck would have to share… not that I thought they would mind that anyway.
The master bedroom had a bathroom attached, which meant they would also have their privacy, something I knew Clarke, at least, desperately needed after all the months she’d spent naked—being raped and tortured over and over again. I might not be able to get her and Beck settled into a home yet, but I could at least give them this—privacy and safety.
Beck followed behind me, his footsteps barely audible. When I laid Clarke on the bed, Beck immediately rounded the frame before sliding in on the other side and curling his arms around her. I stepped back, ignoring the way my fingers twitched with the urge to slide my fingers through their hair, whisper sweet nothings to them, and make promises I wasn’t sure if I could keep.
How had these two come to mean so much to me in such a little amount of time? How was I falling this goddamn hard this fast?
“If you need me, come find me,” I quietly spoke, making Beck open his eyes to look at me over Clarke’s head. “I’ll probably be in my room. You won’t be disturbing me; I promise.”
He nodded once before shutting his eyes again and burrowing his face in Clarke’s hair. I turned on my heel then, forcing my feet to carry me out of the room, even if all I wanted to do was sit on the floor, my back against the bed, and guard them like that for the rest of the night.
But I wouldn’t. We were safe here—at least for now. And they needed their privacy.
After quietly shutting the door behind me, I made my way back up the hall. Alejandro was standing in the middle of the living room, his hands stuffed in the pockets of his pressed slacks. “They settled?” he asked.
I nodded once. He cleared his throat before handing me a set of keys. “This is for the house,” he explained. “You’re the only one with these keys. My men do not even have copies. They’re under orders not to enter this house unless it is under dire circumstances.” I imagined dire circumstances would be if our safe house was compromised and we were under attack. “If your location is compromised,” Alejandro continued, reading my mind, “you will need to get those two to safety until I can get to you to get you somewhere new. If you cannot get them to safety for whatever reason,” which I assumed meant I was physically unable to do so, “my men will infiltrate the house at whatever point is closest to Beck and Clarke, and they will remove them and get them to safety, even if it means leaving you behind.”
I nodded. “Good,” I gruffly answered. I could handle being tortured, and I wasn’t afraid of dying. I knew my brothers—my family—would continue to protect Clarke and Beck, even if I had to be buried six feet beneath the ground before all this mess was taken care of.
My life was a small price to pay in the grand scheme of things.
“When I take them into town, will we have protection?”
Alejandro nodded. “Yes. Some men will remain stationed around the house, and others will go into town with you, though you won’t notice them.”
I chuckled. I would notice them. I’d noticed five of them already just when we were walking into the house. A man with a history of abuse like me was good at picking people out of their hiding places. I no doubt would soon spot all of his men by the end of the day tomorrow.
“I hope I am not overstepping boundaries when I suggest this,” Alejandro added, “but Elaina suffered as well from her own history of abuse, and normalcy helps. Even though Clarke and Beck know and understand they are not in Mexico for some lavish vacation, try to give them the normalcy they need. They both have a lot of healing ahead of them.”