Page 50 of Wounded Hearts

“And Brayden?”

“What about Brayden?”

“Do you hate him or love him?”

Rhea laughed softly and with her head thrown back and Mara saw in another life this woman would’ve been beautiful, but the years and her evilness had stripped that beauty from her. “Brayden is my oldest friend. I would do anything for him, even help him have a child with a woman who wasn’t worthy of him. A woman who’d already murdered two babies.” The words came out of left-field and were so vicious and vile, Mara was stunned silent. “Do you deny your pregnancies?”

Mara locked her jaw and fought back tears at the hurt in her chest. “I did not kill my babies. He killed them when he laid his hands on me.” Rhea waved her hand as if it was irrelevant. “How can any woman say that to me, unless she has no heart and hasn’t felt the joy of carrying a child?”

Rhea was on her feet in a second, her face close to Mara, eyes sparking with unstable fury. “Do not speak to me of loss. I have lost. I lost my child. A child carried in my body, a child I loved and bore and that was taken from me by a god that isn’t merciful.”

Mara felt her pain, it was real and there was no doubt it had shaped the person she was now. “I’m sorry for your loss.” Mara’s words were said with feeling and it must have shown because it took the fire out of Rhea in a second. Mara couldn’t help but think nobody had ever given this woman sympathy or compassion for the loss she’d suffered.

“Thank you,” Rhea said softly as she backed away and sat, obviously trying to regain her composure.

“What was his or her name?”

“It was a girl and her name was Aeronwen. It means gift.”

“That’s beautiful,” Mara said softly into the silence.

“Brayden would be a good father.” Rhea looked at Mara, her eyes gentle and full of love for the man she spoke of.

“I’m not sure who he is to you, but he wasn’t that man to me. He was cruel and cold. He hurt me and he killed our babies with his fists before they had a chance to draw breath.”

Mara saw Rhea flinch at her words and wondered if perhaps she was getting through to her in some way. Then, before her eyes, she closed down.

Standing, Rhea crossed her hands in front of her and looked down at Mara. “He isn’t what you say he is. He saved me, and for that, he will always have my love and my loyalty.” Rhea moved towards the door, then stopped and turned. “Drew has twenty-four hours to deliver what I ask, or you’ll be given to Brayden and we know Drew won’t allow that.”

“Drew is your family,” Mara choked out.

“Drew is nothing to me now.”

On those words she walked away, closing the door and leaving Mara to her thoughts. The beautiful room built for comfort and relaxation was torture as she waited to see what the next few hours would bring. Would she see Drew again and have the chance to tell him how much he meant to her? How every second spent with him was a gift that she treasured. That he’d given her back her life when she’d thought it lost. Showed her she was worthy of love still and giving her back her confidence. That she’d still not managed to face her family was something else she’d have to live with. Would she get the chance to tell them what had happened and share her grief with her mother or was this the end for her?

One thing she’d learned over the last few days being surrounded by people like Lizzie and Smithy, who’d been all but destroyed by this woman and still had fought to come back from it, was that these people would fight to the death for those they cared about.

Then there was her beloved Drew, a man she wanted to spend her life with, to have children with, and to grow old with. He’d been through more than anyone should ever have to suffer. Yet, he’d done more than survive, he’d excelled in life. His heart was as big as the man himself.

Full of love and kindness, Drew was always willing to do whatever he could to show those he cared about how he felt. He protected those he loved with a ferociousness greater than any lion, and that was what scared her the most.

Drew would come for her; he wouldn’t leave her there to suffer. He’d do everything in his power to save her, and if that meant risking his life, he’d do so without thought or regard for his own safety. But he’d something else. He had people who would step up and protect him when he wasn’t willing to do it himself. People who loved him and would stand beside him and fight this evil with him.

It was only that thought that allowed her to breathe slightly easier. She could face Brayden if she had too. She’d face Rhea and even that Nazareli woman, scary as she might be. But a life without Drew in it wasn’t something she wanted to consider, because although she hadn’t said the words outright, she loved him.

It wasn’t a rebound, or the result of intense situations. It was true and like nothing she’d ever felt before. So, she’d endure whatever she faced if it meant she got to spend eternity with Drew. At the thought, the door opened, and her worst nightmare walked in wearing a three-thousand-pound suit, a look of pure victory on his face.

“Hello, darling, have you missed me?” The evil smile on his face told her just how painful this would be. Mara pulled up Drew’s image and held on to it as the first blow came.