Page 51 of Her Passionate Hero

“He told me exactly where my mom lived. He threatened to kill her. He knew the facility and even what room she was in. Then he cut off my shirt and bra. The end.” There, she got it out without breaking down. Her lips tilted up in a semblance of a smile.

“Try that again, Alia.” Hunter looked exactly like he had under the bleachers. She could feel the rage pouring off him.

“The details don’t matter.”

“They matter. Tell me.”

She rubbed her chest and winced. He pulled her hand away and pulled her into his arms, just like she’d asked him to at the start.

“Please tell me, mi Cielieto,” he coaxed. “You have no idea what I’m imagining.”

“I was scared,” she said quietly. “I didn’t want to be. I wanted to be strong.”

He stroked her hair, and she pressed tighter against him.

“One of them, he said…he said I had ‘nice tits’, I prayed I wouldn’t be raped.”

“Motherfucker,” he whispered fiercely into her hair. Somehow that made her feel better, and she continued.

“Mateo kept saying I had to stop giving Nicolas motivation. He said that his family was the gang.”

Hunter laid his cheek on her head. “And you disagreed.”

“I had to, Hunter.”

“Of course you did. Then what happened?”

“He threatened to kill my mother. I told you he knew where she lived, even knew there was a tree right outside her window. And then…”

“Then what?”

“That’s when he used the tip of his knife to cut the buttons off my blouse.”

“How did he end up cutting your chest, mi Cariña?”

“He slipped the knife under my bra, I don’t think he meant to cut my chest, but one of the other boys―”

“Men,” Hunter interrupted. “They were men, Alia.”

“One of the others said they heard a siren, and Mateo ended up cutting the bra and my chest. Then they shoved me into my car, and they all ran away.”

“Mother, mother, fuckers.”

She didn’t tell him about the medal. She just couldn’t. That was private. She swallowed.

“Cariña, I have to go. I have a friend who’s due to arrive soon. He’s going to spell me, and now that I know about this, I’ll go check in on your mom.”

“Can I go with you?”

“You’ve been rubbing the back of your neck and your temple for the last half hour. Why don’t you take a nap and see how you feel afterward? If you feel up to a drive to Glendale after that, then sure.”

He searched her eyes and must have seen something that assured him because he leaned over and kissed her forehead. He smelled good. She wrapped her arms around him. He felt good.

“I’ll call you.”

“You don’t have my number.”

“Yes, I do,” he winked at her, then left.