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“Button…”
I covered my face with my hand and kept crying, knowing I was overreacting to good news. I should be happy. I should be smiling. But the emotion was more powerful than a tsunami. It swept over me with the force of nature, drowning me as I sank to the bottom of the ocean.
Crow patiently waited for me to calm down. He stayed on the line, silent.
I listened to my own tears for minutes, reminding myself this was real. This wasn’t a dream. My husband was okay. My husband was safe. My family was safe.
“Shh,” he whispered. “Take three deep breaths, okay?”
“Okay…” One. Two. Three. I stopped crying and felt my soaked cheeks. Without looking into a mirror, I knew my face was puffy, red, and hideous. “I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“I was just so scared…”
“It’s over. No reason to be scared anymore.”
“If I’d lost you—”
“You didn’t. I’m here.”
Cane and Adelina didn’t even cross my mind until then. All I cared about was Crow. “Is Cane okay?”
“He’s fine. Adelina is home with him. Everything went well.”
“That’s great… I’m so glad to hear that.”
“We lost a few men, but casualties are always expected.”
I was relieved he was okay, but I wished I could touch him. I wished I didn’t have to only hear his voice through the phone. “I want to see you.”
“I want to see you too.”
“Can I come home now? Can I leave now?”
He paused for a long time. “You have to stay there.”
“What?”
“Just for a little while longer.”
“Why?”
“We killed everyone in the compound, but we aren’t sure what happened to Tristan. He got away on a boat. It was dark, and we couldn’t see. Until I have a confirmation that he’s dead, you can’t come back.”
“But, Crow—”
“It’s not up for discussion, Button.”
My hand went to my stomach, knowing I couldn’t risk the life growing inside me. My life never had seemed valuable to me, but now that I was going to be a mother, everything was different. My life was invaluable because I had to take care of someone else. I had to protect the little person inside me at all costs. “How long will it be?”
“I don’t know. Hopefully, not too long.”
I was disappointed, but Crow was alive, so I should only feel grateful right now.
“It’s beautiful there, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, it is…”
“How do you like the house?”
“Empty without you.”
“It’ll be over soon, Button. You know I can’t take any risks…not when it comes to the two of you.”
“I know,” I whispered.
“How’s Lars?”
“He’s been keeping me calm. He’ll be happy to hear that you’re okay.”
“I’m assuming you haven’t slept much?”
“No…”
“Then go get some sleep, Button.”
“Where are you going to be?”
“At the house. No one will expect me to be there.”
“Please be careful.”
“I’m always careful, Button. You know that.”
I didn’t have anything else to say, but I wanted to keep him on the line. His silence was better than his absence.
“Cane and I had transmitters inserted inside us, the same thing that you have. I’m gonna send you the tracking details. That way you can see where I am at all times on your phone.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Thank you.” We would still be apart, but at least I had a piece of him. Anytime I was uneasy, all I had to do was pull up his location on my phone. It would curb my anxiety. “That’ll help…”
“Now you can keep an eye on me just how I keep an eye on you.”
“Payback,” I teased.
He chuckled. “Yeah, payback.”
16
Adelina
I had a lot of cuts and bruises. But what I had more than anything else was pain.
I hurt everywhere.
The doctor examined me and gave me antibiotics. I had a wound in my leg, and it was beginning to show signs of infection. I also had a UTI because I’d lived in such unsanitary conditions. My head was pounding from dehydration, and my entire body hurt. Tristan hurt me more than he did last time.
That was how much he missed me.
I’d only been there a week, but it felt like a lifetime. It was so much worse than the first time I was there. He was more aggressive than before, and I also remembered exactly how it felt to be pampered and adored.
It was such a drastic change.
The only reason why I hadn’t taken those pills was because I lost them. I had them stashed between the mattress and the floor, but Tristan decided to keep me in his room on the floor. When I was finally returned to the cot soaked in urine, the room had been changed around.
And the pills were gone.
If Cane hadn’t come for me, I would have miserable for a long time.
I never expected him to come to my rescue. Thoughts of him were the only thing that kept me going, the only thing that stopped me from collapsing. When Tristan raped me, I tried to pretend Cane was there with me. I pictured his handsome face and the comforting words he would normally say.
