“Not really, it was all these guys, I just remembered a comment he made one day about living where the sun always shone,” Indigo piped up, offering the woman a warm smile. “They’re good guys, I swear to you that they are. I've dealt with enough bad ones to be able to tell the difference. They will never hurt you, and they’ll kill anyone who tries.”
That sentiment was obviously shared by the others because they all nodded.
“The rest of my team wants to officially meet you when you're ready,” he told the woman. “But for now, maybe you’d like to go with the girls for a bit, you might feel more comfortable with them. You can go back to your room and take a shower or a bath.Or you can go down to the kitchen and cook whatever you're craving. If you want, you can take a walk around the grounds. Whatever you want, all you need to do is tell us, and we’ll make it happen. If that’s just calling your family so you can go home to them, then that’s okay too.”
There was no way he wouldn't make that offer. The woman needed people around her she could trust to begin her journey of healing, and her trust in them was maybe a whopping one percent. But he didn't like the idea of sending her away, even if it was just home to her family, the people who had probably been searching for her and praying for her from the moment she disappeared.
Shifting his hold on her so that his hands covered her shoulders, Thunder kneaded gently. “Whatever happens next is up to you. You're in control here. No one is ever going to steal your control from you again.”
February 24th
7:47 A.M.
Control.
Maya knew she had zero control over herself or what happened to her.
And yet … the man—Thunder—wasn't holding her in a restrictive way. If she wanted, she could pull away from him, and she was pretty sure he’d let her. Pretty sure the only reason he maintained contact with her at all was because he was sure that if he didn't, she might decide to still throw herself out the window.
Would she?
Maybe.
Death still seemed like the safest option. It didn't require her to put her trust in strangers, especially ones who all seemed to be tied to the same man who had kept her in a cage for years and tortured her mercilessly.
But what other choice did she have but to trust these people?
So far, they hadn't done a single thing to hurt her. Maybe they were playing mind games, and they’d punish her the second she gave in, but that seemed like an elaborate way to hurt her when she was already at their mercy. If they wanted to rape her, nothing was stopping them, certainly not her. If they wanted to hurt her, or cut her, or wrap their hands around her neck and squeeze until she passed out, they could.
One thing Maya knew for certain was that she wasn't ready to confront her past yet. Loving her family didn't mean she was ready to see them again. If she’d been found earlier, when she was still a kid, then all she would have wanted was to be back in her parents’ arms. But a lot of time had passed since then. Not only was she not the same person they had once known, but she had long ago made her peace with never seeing them again. Perhaps that was one wound that shouldn’t be reopened.
The four women all gave her encouraging smiles, and they seemed nice. More than that, they seemed confident. They weren't afraid of these men, that much was sure, and from what Thunder had told her, they were actually dating them.
Surely, if nothing else, she could trust these women.
They wouldn't lead her into a trap, at least she prayed they wouldn't. Only her mind could conjure up a million scenarios where it would be in their best interest to side with captors over her. After all, she’d spent many years not just wondering if the worst was going to happen, but having the worst happen time and time again, getting even worse each time.
If she just stood there, she was going to spiral again.
Plummet back inside the safety of her mind, and the little world in there that she’d created.
For once, that didn't hold quite the same appeal as it used to.
What if they were all telling the truth?
What if she really was safe now?
What if she had control again?
Before she could second-guess herself, Maya took a quick step toward the women.
Almost immediately, she wanted to take her choice back. Stepping away from Thunder, out of his hold, made her feel like she’d left behind her only lifeline, and now she was adrift alone in a vast ocean.
When had he become a lifeline?
Was it when he carried her out of her cage? Was it when he gave her the first gentle touches she’d experienced since she’d been taken? Was it when he saved her life by following her over the edge of that cliff? Was it when he was there every time she opened her eyes, offering her promises of safety and reassurances that no one would hurt her?
Looking over her shoulder at him, she found him smiling. “You did good, babydoll.”
