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“I had to do it. Vinny couldn’t manage,” Daniel said with a bitterness that made my skin prickle.
“Who’s Vinny?” I asked.
“No one you ever need to worry about.”
The finality in his tone had M and me looking at one another, but neither of us pushed.
“The light burned when it reached the back where I was. I tried to open my eyes, but it took me holding them open as the voices got closer before they would finally stay open on their own.” She closed her lids briefly as if she were still there.
I shot across the short distance between us and put an arm around her waist, resting my head on her shoulder. She hugged me back and put her cheek on the crown of my head.
“That man who was with you, he was talking loudly. I couldn’t understand anything. They kept coming closer. I’d backed up until there was nowhere else for me to go, but my foot got tangled in my bag and made a scraping noise.”
Muriella shuddered in my arms.
“I can’t imagine how terrified you were,” I said, scared for her even though it was a lifetime ago.
“Daniel had been quiet the whole time the other man spoke. He diverted his gaze toward me without drawing attention. When he saw me, I froze. I had no idea what he would do. But I noticed he purposely tried to keep that man from seeing me, and I knew. In that moment, I just knew.” Her voice cracked on the last part, and I blinked rapidly to keep from crying.
Daniel’s face was stoic, but he was staring at us now.
“What happened? How did you end up with him?” I asked.
Her cheek swelled against my head. “He and the man left. I didn’t move.” A strange sound escaped her. “That’s crazy, right? They both looked dangerous. I’d been around men like them all of my life. But I didn’t move a muscle.”
“I was only gone for four minutes.” I lifted a brow at Daniel. This was a long time ago, yet he knew the details of that day down to the minute. “I couldn’t believe she was still there.”
“Daniel came back, and it was like breathing for the first time.” That statement from any other woman would have had my claws coming out. But not this one. It was definitely about love, but not the romantic kind. This was life or death.
“We couldn’t communicate, but she understood when I offered my hand.”
“I must have smelled awful,” she said, a note of shame in her voice.
“We did okay, didn’t we?” The fondness in Daniel’s voice took me by surprise. His emotions were hardly ever at the surface, yet there was no mistaking he was as affected by Muriella coming into his life as she had been to find him.
“We did.” She squeezed me one more time and let go.
“Why were you in that shipping container anyway?” I asked.
“Not today,” Daniel said sharply.
“Not today,” M echoed more gently with a sad smile before she brightened. “You two should get on your way.”
Daniel took my hand, threading our fingers together. “Ready to do this?”
A flurry of excitement swirled in my stomach. I grinned at him. “Absolutely.”
Chapter Sixteen
Daniel
Present
Pulse pounding.Sweat-slicked skin. Air sucked in and forced out in clipped breaths.
I amped up the treadmill and pushed my feet to move faster. Mile six clicked off. I hardly blinked, focused on the mirror in front of me. On the man fighting his best to do the right thing and losing.
I punished my body with a rapid pace, yet it didn’t atone for my sins. Didn’t distract me from the shitshow that I’d let my life become.
