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“Once I realized exactly what was happening, I tried to escape several times. I knew if I didn’t, I was going to die or be trafficked until IwishedI was dead. I wasn’t sure I cared if they shot me. So they took my boots. I had to walk through the jungle without them. It was daylight before we got to their makeshift camp,” I explained, the terror I’d felt rushing back to me. “When they tried to tie me up before tossing me into a tent, I tried to make my escape again, boots or no boots. I knew it was my last chance. It didn’t take them long to catch me and yank my arms together to finish tying me up. That’s when my shoulder got dislocated. They beat me until I lost consciousness. When I came to after that, they started to drug me. I’d wake up occasionally, but the moment they knew I was conscious, they’d kick me around and drug me again. Other than those brief moments when I woke up so thirsty I was ready to beg for water, everything else is a blank. They gave me just enough water to stay alive, and I started losing track of time. By the time you and Wyatt came, I was so confused that I wasn’t sure if you were there to help me or to finish me off.”
“It’s not unusual for you to think that,” he replied as I cuddled closer to his warmth. “Captives are often kept as weak and confused as possible so they don’t resist.”
“Will I ever remember more?” I asked apprehensively. “I hate not knowing what happened. It’s like I lost an entire week of my life. I don’t even know if they sexually assaulted me. The doctor said he saw no evidence that it happened, but he wasn’t one hundred percent certain. They gave me preventative drugs and I’m still on antibiotics, but it will be a few months before they can definitively rule out HIV or hepatitis from a possible assault or dirty needles.”
“I don’t know if you’ll remember anything else. Because of the large amount of drugs they gave you, it’s possible that you won’t,” he said frankly. “And it’s unlikely that you were sexually assaulted by those assholes if it wasn’t evident. The way they treated you was brutal.”
I was quiet as I let his words sink in.
“Thank you for being honest,” I finally answered.
Ugly or not, I could count on Chase to be truthful. He’d been that way since day one, which was a huge relief to me because I preferred brutal honesty to bullshit right now.
“I told you I wouldn’t lie to you,” he reminded me. “Sometimes not knowing is scarier than getting the truth.”
Exactly!
“Honestly,” I said, my voice cracking with emotion. “I’ve never been so terrified. I’ve stepped into some of the most dangerous situations on the planet, but this is the first time I had no idea what to do.”
It wasn’t easy for me to admit that, but I knew Chase wasn’t going to judge.
“Which is exactly why you need an advisor,” he interjected. “It won’t be this way forever, Vanna. It will just take a while to get back on your feet again. You’re intelligent and entirely capable of taking care of yourself, but it’s difficult to reason things out alone after you’ve been through something like this. That’s why Last Hope has support services available long after a rescue is healed physically.”
I had to admit that I was still having a hard time wrapping my head around a private rescue organization as sophisticated as Last Hope.
Or the fact that five filthy rich billionaires chose to dedicate most of their spare time to running that rescue organization.
Then again, maybe I shouldn’t be all that surprised.
I didn’t know the Montgomerys well, but the Durand family had never been pretentious or selfish. They’d always chosen love, duty, and family over money.
There had been absolutely no reason for Chase and Wyatt to go into the military. They’d always known that they would take over Durand Industries someday.
They’d gone simply because they wanted to serve their country.
Torie’s father had been uneasy about his sons’ safety, but he’d also never stopped talking about how proud he was of both of them.
“I think I’m pretty lucky to have you as my advisor,” I said sincerely.
This side of Chase was utterly unfamiliar to me, but it was one I really wanted to get to know, attraction or no attraction.
For years, I’d tried to keep things superficial and light between the two of us.
I’d avoided getting to really know the man he’d become after we’d both grown up.
Now, I regretted not allowing myself to get any closer to a guy who was obviously worth knowing, even if it was difficult because I was attracted to him.
Maybe that’s what happened when you got within a hair’s breadth of dying. I knew I was probably going to start rethinking a lot of choices I’d made.
“You might say you’re lucky to have me as an advisornow, but you may think I’m a pain in your ass in the future,” he warned jokingly. “I’ll be checking in with you a lot.”
I yawned against his shoulder, suddenly feeling completely exhausted.
Chase slid off the headboard until his head was on the pillow, gently taking me down with him until my head was on his chest. “Sleep, Vanna,” he rumbled. “Rest is your number one priority right now. Do you need something for pain?”
I shook my head as I closed my eyes. “No. Not right now.”
I almost purred like a contented cat as Chase stroked a hand over my hair.
