Page 27 of Stolen

She’d never had anyone she could trust that much.

Ariana pulled away from him slightly, wiping her eyes. “Lo siento,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

That made him angry, though not at her. “You have nothing to be sorry for. Here. Sit up. Boomer made you tea.”

That distracted her, as he’d hoped it would.

“Boomer made me tea?”

“Apparently. Sometime between him arriving at the house and now, you must have charmed the hell out of him.”

“He offered to teach me to make bombs.”

Hawk gave a snort of laughter. “Wow. You really charmed him.” He helped her sit up, piling pillows behind her. Then he opened the thermos and handed it to her, holding it until he was sure she had it. “It’s Boomer, so I’m not promising it’s drinkable, but it’s hot and sweet. Good for shock.”

She sipped at the tea. “Not bad.” She took another sip, but she barely swallowed, and he had the feeling that she was keeping the thermos at her mouth so she wouldn’t have to answer any questions. Questions that he had to ask.

After a few minutes, he said, “Can you tell me what happened?”

She didn’t say anything.

“Ariana.” He gently took the thermos back. “If your brother reached into your mind from wherever he is, I have to know what he said. What he did.” He paused. “What he threatened.”

In the dim light of the bedside lamp, her eyes grew dark and haunted. “It doesn’t matter. He’s angry, and he wants to punish me. That’s all.”

It wasn’t all. “You’ve been out of it for over half an hour,” he told her. “If he’s going to be able to do that to you, you’ll be defenseless during an attack. We have to make sure someone’s with you, and you’re in a secure place, or you and whoever’s guarding you will be sitting ducks.”

She closed her eyes. “I already know I’ve put everyone here in danger. Boomer’s brother made me see that.”

Hawk made a mental note to punch out Boomer’s brother. “He shouldn’t have done that.”

“Yes, he should.” She turned to him. “You should have done that. You should never have brought me here, endangering all these people. I should never have come.”

His heart felt like it was tearing open. “Tell me,” he said. “You can’t carry all this alone. Let me help you.” When she still remained silent, he said, “Please, querida. Trust me.”

He held out his hand to her. They’d gone too long, denying their feelings, afraid to bond, afraid of what that would do. But it was their fear of bonding that would destroy them. Alone, they were vulnerable. Only together could they be strong.

She gazed into his eyes as if she could hear his thoughts, and then slowly, slowly, she reached out and took his hand.

And began to speak.

She spoke in Spanish, unable to tell him everything she needed to say in English. How years ago, before Hawk had come to the compound, Ricardo had been engaged to a very beautiful, very haughty young lady whose father owned a coffee plantation.

Ricardo was besotted with her—or perhaps obsessed would have been a better word. He wooed her, won her, and they were planning the wedding.

And then he found out she’d been cheating on him.

“He took his men to the plantation,” she said. “He—he hurt her father, her brother, because they didn’t stop her from betraying him. He cut her hair off—beautiful long hair, and beat her. And then he burned down the plantation. They all left—we never saw them again.”

She turned her face away from him then, dropping her gaze. “Tonight he said—he said, if I didn’t come back to him and kneel to him as alpha, he’d do to me what he’d done to her. He would beat me, and burn this town.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And then he said he would torture you, the way he hurt Marcella’s father and brother, only worse. He would make me watch. He put the images in my mind. He made me feel the pain, somehow. I can’t let that happen to you.”

Hawk listened to her story, his stomach feeling like hot lava. Ricardo hadn’t shown Ariana all that to get to her, although if it scared her back to him, that would be a bonus.

He’d done it to get to Hawk, knowing Ariana would tell him. Because as bad as the images were that he’d shown Ariana, it was infinitely better than what had really happened to Ricardo’s fiancée. Hawk had worked with Ricardo’s men for eighteen months, and he’d heard the stories of that night.

Ricardo knew that if he did to Ariana what he’d done to Marcella, it would drive Hawk’s wolf over the edge. That would be his revenge.

But Hawk wasn’t going to be the one to tell her that.

Hawk said, “It’s not going to happen. Any of it. We’re going to stop him. When we’re through with him, he’s not going to hurt anyone else. Ever.

“But first, we’re going to get that bastard out of our heads.”