“Hate seeing her like this,” he admitted. It wasn’t something he probably would have said to the guys, but this wasn't one of the guys, it was Rose, and she was different. She’d survived hell all on her own, living with her deranged brother her entire childhood, he trusted her perspective in a way he didn't with his teammates. “Makes me feel helpless.”
“I hate that feeling,” Rose agreed. “Makes me angry.”
“Same. I wish I could just break something, hurt someone, make it better for her. Kills me that I can't.” For reasons hewasn't going to go into with Rose, helplessness was a feeling he despised from childhood and was the reason he’d joined the military in the first place. Still, after all these years, his first instinct was to use his fists to fix his problems.
“You will kill something to make it better for her. My brother,” Rose said with dead seriousness, her green eyes filled with the same need for vengeance he felt.
That they all felt.
They all deserved justice, including the nameless woman lying in the bed.
“You're not going to like my suggestion,” she warned him, the coldness leaving her gaze replaced by empathy.
“Go ahead.”
“She needs space. You're keeping vigil because you think she needs to know she’s not alone. But I'm pretty sure alone is her safe place. When she’s alone, she knows she doesn’t have to worry about someone hurting her. We all know you're not going to hurt her, but she doesn’t know that yet. She’ll realize it in time, but give her that time. Let her wake up alone, experience some freedom, come to understand in her own time that no one here is a threat to her.”
It was good advice, but damn, the thought of leaving this woman alone when she was already so vulnerable made him feel nauseous.
“Sometimes helping someone means taking a step back and seeing things from their perspective. From her point of view, you're not a good guy, not someone she trusts, you're someone she thinks is going to hurt her. I know it sucks, especially with how my brother made you all believe you're monsters, but right now you are a monster to her. Let her get some space and time to clear her head and think clearly. You're not a monster, Thunder. None of you are, and she’ll see that if you give her a chance. Ifyou keep pushing her, keep forcing her to confront things she’s not ready for, then you're trapping both of you in this cycle.”
“When did you get to be so smart?” he teased with a somewhat forced chuckle.
“I've always been smart. Make sure you remind Steel of that,” she teased back, offering him an encouraging smile.
It took more effort than it should, but Rose was right, they were stuck in a cycle, and if he didn't change something, then nothing would change. So he released his hold on the woman’s hand, and stood to stretch his back.
Then he leaned down and brushed his lips to her forehead, before resolutely turning his back and walking away, praying that Rose was right, and this was a way to break the cycle, and give the mystery woman a chance to get her bearings.
February 24th
7:02 A.M.
Panic lit her chest on fire the second consciousness returned.
Maya bolted upright, scanning the room for the men she knew would be there.
Watching.
Waiting.
Ready to hurt her.
It didn’t matter that so far all they seemed to do was stick another needle in her the second she woke up and tried to escape, sooner or later, they would do something to hurt her.
What else would they do?
What else would she expect?
For years now, her life only went from bad to worse. She’d managed to lock herself away, deep in her mind, existing only in the sense that she obeyed known orders so she could avoid unnecessary pain.
But now things had changed.
That door she’d locked behind her, that key she’d thought she’d long since tossed away, the two were back and they’d joined together. The key was in the lock, it had turned, and the door was edging open, allowing the rest of the world back in.
Now she wanted to escape.
Wanted to fight.
