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“Come on, Nikki. You know me well enough to answer that for yourself. Quit stalling. I held up my end of the deal. Now it’s your turn.”
The reminder about Rafe's eyes prickling with tears when he'd bared his soul made Nikki feel about two inches tall for trying to weasel her way out of telling him about her time with the dragon hunters.
If he could talk about one of the most painful times of his life, she could, too.
After taking a deep breath, the words spilled from her lips. “A little over a year ago, Bram and Evie’s adopted son, Murray, was kidnapped by the dragon hunters, who were then based in Carlisle. Since Evie was one of the hunters’ targets, she was moved to a secure location and another female Protector named Charlie, along with myself, were assigned as her guards. You might have heard of some of the general details before.” Rafe nodded, and she continued, “Well, quite simply, Charlie and I fucked up. Bram said the area was secure and rather than double-check to ensure it was, we just accepted it. It was how the dragon hunters were able to catch us by surprise.”
Nikki had still been training at the time, but she should’ve spoken up about taking a second look around for threats to Bram or Charlie. Maybe if she had, Charlie might still be alive.
But she wasn’t going down that road again. If she didn’t get the entire episode out now, she might never do so.
Finding her voice, she continued, “The hunters drugged us with something that knocked Charlie and me unconscious for a while and prevented us from shifting for two or three days; I lost track of time. At any rate, being the
younger Protector with an injured shoulder, the hunters decided I would be easier to interrogate. As for Charlie...”
Nikki swallowed as the roars of pain reverberated in her ears. Even locked in a room far away from the laboratory, the dragon cries had reached her sensitive ears. And she’d been powerless to help her friend.
“Nikki.” Meeting Rafe’s gaze again, he said, “You don’t have to live the memory alone. Share it with me. Please?”
“You saying please makes me nervous.”
He grinned. “I’ll remember that.” His smile faded and he searched her eyes. “Whatever you say stays between us.”
She knew Rafe was telling the truth, although it didn’t make things easier. After keeping the whole ordeal bottled up for a year, it was hard to expose her raw vulnerabilities again.
Yet as Rafe stroked her side, she believed he wouldn’t think less of her regardless of what she told him. “They’d slated Charlie for blood draining. Once she could shift again, they kept her locked up in a cage and hooked up to draining tubes at all her main arteries. Right before they switched on the machine to pump out the blood, they took me to her. The man told me I could stop it all if I merely told him how to infiltrate Stonefire undetected.
“Charlie was awake. She met my eyes, and I could read the message there—protect the clan, always and forever. It’s the motto of the Protectors, and even with her impending death, Charlie held to it fast until the end.” Nikki briefly closed her eyes but forced them open again. She needed to get it all out before cowardice prevented her from sharing it all. “I told the man to fuck off and he nodded. His lackey turned on the machine. As it whirred, blood slowly made its way down the tube. I stared right into Charlie’s eyes, telling her how much I wanted to help. I swear she nodded in approval of me, keeping silent. Then the guard took me away to an interrogation room. Charlie was brave, but eventually, the pain was too much, and she roared in desperation.
“If that weren’t traumatic enough, they tied me to a chair and punched my injured shoulder a few times. When I still wouldn’t give up the information, another man brought out some of his torture instruments. I tried as hard as I could, but the electrocution was too much, and my screams joined Charlie’s dying ones. I don’t know how long the cycle of electrocution and punching my shoulder went on. To be honest, I’m surprised it healed at all. I eventually passed out from the pain and only came to when a team from Stonefire rescued me.”
She’d looked away while recounting the events. Nikki could keep her gaze averted, but hadn’t come this far just to be a coward. Looking at Rafe, she sucked in the breath at the anger there. His voice was controlled when he asked, “Are the bastards who hurt you and Charlie still alive? Because if they are, I will find a way to hunt them down and make them pay for their crimes.”
Smiling wryly, Nikki shook her head. “I have no idea. They weren’t amongst those captured in the rescue attempt, but with all the other attacks over the past year, they might’ve died in them.”
“I sort of hope they are alive. Anyone who hurts my woman will have to deal with me.”
She should leave it be, but Nikki wanted clarification. “Your woman?”
Tilting his head, he answered, “Should I say my dragonwoman?”
“Rafe, your future is uncertain and—”
“Forget about the laws and all the excuses for once.” He leaned in closer. “With just you and me in this room, would you like to call me your man?”
“Man is such a human term.” Rafe growled and she smiled. “But one more question first.”
“What?” he barked.
“My, my, someone’s temper is coming out to play.” At the intensity of his gaze, Nikki pushed aside her desire to tease and answered, “Given everything that happened with the dragon hunters, how do you know I won’t freeze up if we encounter them in Ireland?”
Rafe didn’t miss a beat. “Because you’re stubborn, brave, and out to get retribution for Charlie’s death. You made a rookie mistake whilst training. Who hasn’t? You have to learn from it and move on. Otherwise, you’ll never be able to do your duty or your job. If it triggers a memory, then I expect you to let me know and I will cover you. Together, we can watch each other’s backs. It happens in the army, but it can happen with lovers as well.”
Her dragon scratched a hole in her prison and said, He has faith in us. That should be enough.
True, Kai and Bram had never stopped believing in her. But as far as Nikki knew, neither of the dragonmen had gone through a similar traumatic experience and had to face the object of their nightmares. Rafe had.
Nikki stood on the precipice of something massive. Because after everything that had happened during their chat, she liked Rafe. Maybe even a little too much.
