Page 36 of Her Defiant Warrior

“Cages? Not actual cages. You mean they were locked up separately and… and…”

Jase’s jaw was granite.

“Cages, Bonnie. Five fucking cages.”

Her eyes began to sting. She prayed God that she could keep her food down.

“The three of us knew we had to do something. Then I saw two young children abusing Angelica. I rescued her.”

“What do you mean abusing her?”

Jase lifted his eyebrow and shook his head. “Trust me, you don’t want to know. I got her away from them before they could do permanent damage.”

I’m going to be sick.

For long moments they both were silent. “Are you okay?” Jase asked.

Bonnie shook her head. Then nodded. “I’m fine. Keep going. I want to know what happened next. How old were you?”

“I was thirteen.”

“What happened after you rescued her?”

“A lot happened, but I didn’t pay much attention. I went off into a corner and rocked my little angel…”

Bonnie waited for him to continue.

“She was so quiet, Bonnie. She wasn’t crying or anything. She was covered in bruises. I started singing a lullaby.”

She pictured the big man across from her as a gangly thirteen-year-old, rocking a catatonic baby, singing a lullaby. It about broke her heart.

Jase looked up at her. “She finally reached out to me, Bonnie. She reached out and touched my face. That’s the very instant I knew she was going to come home with me.”

“And she did,” Bonnie whispered.

Jase nodded.

“Renzo and Malik came and saw her. They thought the same thing. Even if Mom fixed things at the orphanage, Angel would come home with us. We were going to adopt her.”

“And now she’s Angelica.” Bonnie gave a wobbly grin.

Jase smiled indulgently. “Yep, that’s my girl. She was nominated for a Golden Globe two years ago. Of course, she ends up on the front page of every tabloid, and occasionally needs rescuing because she has shit taste in men. But what are you going to do?” Jase gave a heavy sigh. But despite the bullshit, Bonnie heard the pride in Jase’s voice.

“What happened to the other kids? The ones in cages?”

“I asked Mom about that. The weasel ended up in jail. They couldn’t close the orphanage, otherwise where would all the kids go, you know?”

Bonnie nodded.

“They turned the running of the orphanage over to a church. Mom arranged for enough donations so that they could put a clinic on-site. She still gets reports on that orphanage to this day.”

“I love your mother,” Bonnie grinned.

“We all do.”

“Farah told me that there are seventeen children in your family. Are you the oldest?”

“No. Mom and Dad had one natural child. Her name is Eleni. Then they found out they couldn’t have any more and started adopting. Eleni is the bomb. She lives in California with her husband and four kids. Every time I have to go to Coronado in Southern California, I try to visit her.”