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“His fist,” Pearl says quietly. Beau and I turn toward her. “He would have punched her in the side of the head. It’s the quickest, most effective way to disable someone.”
I stare at Pearl in horror. How almost blasé she is about it. And I remember the exact same numbness as I look at my arms. The scars.
“No, Rose,” Beau says quietly. “No.”
I shake myself away from those memories. Away from the punches in the gut, the constant times he forced himself on me. Nox Dimitri was pure evil. But he’s dead. And I’m not. I’m living. Sometimes my life feels like a psychological thriller, but I’m living.
Ella stirs, her eyes clenching even though they’re already closed. Relief gets me. “Ella,” Beau says, getting closer, holding her hand. “Ella, it’s Beau, can you hear me?”
Pearl comes to the bed and joins us, taking Ella’s other hand while Doc continues his assessment. “Ella,” he says. “How are you feeling?”
“Like a boulder hit me in the side of my head.” She reaches up and winces, touching the side of her head, and Pearl flicks a look at me. Then Ella seems to register where she is and with who, and her eyes snap open, looking around. “Nolan,” she says. “Where’s Nolan?”
“They’re looking for him,” Pearl says. “Everyone is looking for him.”
“Why? Where is he?” She tries to sit up. “Oh my God.”
“Easy now,” Doc says gently, encouraging her back down to the bed. “Tell me if anything else hurts.”
“Where is he?” she murmurs, her eyes welling.
“What can you remember?” Pearl asks, eager for information. “Tell me.”
Ella scowls at thin air before her, straining to remember. “Brad said Nolan was in the green container, to give him fifteen minutes.” A shake of her head, probably to clear the fog. “I waited thirty and was getting worried. It was dark, and I called for him, but he didn’t answer.” She turns a watery gaze onto Pearl, her lip trembling. “So I used my cell to see. My ex was in there. Shot. And Nolan was on the floor. That’s the last I remember.”
Her ex? What? I look at Beau, and she shrugs. I have to pull myself together. These girls, too young to be here, are depending on us. I clear my throat and move in, but before I make it to Ella, before I even try and attempt to reassure her, Beau intercepts me and jerks her head toward the door. I go with her, letting her close the door behind her. I exhale, my palm on my forehead. “What the fuck is this nightmare?” I whisper. “Have you seen Pearl’s face? How fucking terrified she is of that man, whoever the hell he is.” I start pacing, breathing, shoving back the wretched memories that I honestly thought I had under control.
“Rose, I know what’s going on up there,” Beau says, pointing to my head. “You have to stop letting this fuck with your head.” I laugh but stop when she gets up in my face, her expression stern and determined. “Nox Dimitri might be dead, but he’s winning every second you give your mind to him.” She squeezes my hands. “Do not give your emotions to a ghost. I need you to focus.”
I don’t have a chance to listen to Beau and work on that focus. We both hear the sound of ringing. Both look at the door. I burst in and see Pearl staring down at a cell. Not hers. Brad has that. Beau’s.
“Is it him?” I ask.
I’ve never seen a woman shake so much. She latches onto her lip ring, and the scale of her trembles might rip the damn thing out. Her glazed eyes turn to us, her nod jerky. “Withheld number.”
“Who?” Ella asks, forcing Beau to go to her and settle her.
“Do not answer.” I claim the cell from Pearl and give it back to Beau, taking her in a hug and trying to squeeze her shakes away. I can’t bear seeing her like this. All vibrancy lost. Happiness in the gutter. “You need to take my word for it, Pearl,” I whisper. “Everything will be fine.” I release her, wiping her tears.
“I need to talk to Brad.” She snivels over her words. “Tell him everything.”
“He doesn’t know everything?”
“We started to talk but news of the spa exploding and Nolan being taken—” She shakes her head. “I don’t think he’ll release Nolan even if he gets me back.”
God, I can’t even consider that. “You must tell Brad everything. Every little detail, no matter how unimportant you think it is.” Fucking hell. I remember Danny’s face when I shared my dismal past. Murderous. I can’t imagine Brad will feel any different. He loves her. I’m so fucking happy for him, but at the same time, terrified. We’re all fucked up. Some more than others. He’ll struggle to accept the terrible things that have happened to Pearl, and it’ll affect their relationship. But he will have to get past it. Or just pretend to get past it.
“It’s ugly, Rose,” Pearl whispers.
“He’ll take it,” I assure her. “But you must be patient with him.” Brad’s never loved a woman before. And I know the whole virginity thing would have fucked with his head. My question is, did he know she was a virgin? And is that why he was so fucking tetchy for so long? His moral compass must have been spinning. “I remember when I told Danny about Dimitri,” I say, his name like tar on my tongue. “I saw the monsters inside him stirring, his mind conjuring up all the ways he would kill him. Brad will be the same because he and Danny are so similar.” I smile softly, but it falters when Pearl blinks, her forehead crinkling. “Pearl?”
“Dimitri?” she whispers.
“Yes,” I confirm, every hair on my body standing on end. She knows the story. I’ve told her. “He was the man who bought me.”
Her eyes drop to the carpet and dart, and Beau is soon with us, obviously sharing my deep unease. “You never told me his name.”
I didn’t? “Pearl?” I press. “What is it?”
