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The four of us were mostly silent on the half-hour drive, but the tension was so thick it felt palpable. While I was relieved beyond measure that Luisa was safe and the man we believed was behind the bounty for her was dead, there were still so many unknowns. He couldn’t have acted alone, and even though Varilla said he knew she’d been targeted specifically but not by whom, I didn’t believe him.
Worse in immediacy was where Jada had been taken and what her condition was. There was a chance that a decision had been made en route to transport her to a different medical center. Once we reached Butler Ranch, I prayed, as much for Luisa’s sake as my own, there would be an update.
“Did you know Onyx was in town?” Ridge asked Brix.
“Yeah. He and his wife flew in to spend the holidays with his mom and siblings. They’re staying with my mom.”
Brix, Onyx, and his siblings were cousins, which meant he had to be equally torn up about Jada. I reached over the seat and squeezed his shoulder. He put his hand on mine. “Thanks, man.”
After Ridge pulled through the gate of the ranch and we crested the hill, I was stunned to see the Akicita.
“They brought her here?” Luisa gasped. “Why would they do that?”
I put my hand on hers. “We’ll soon find out.”
“Doc is a physician’s assistant. He wouldn’t have allowed it if it wasn’t safe to do so,” said Brix.
Luisa turned to me. “Yousawthe video.”
“Dalton is here,” said Ridge, pointing to a vehicle when he pulled up in front of the main house.
“Was he in Felixstowe?” she asked.
“He was responsible for the entire triage.”
“That makes me feel a little better.”
I nodded. I’d witnessed the organized and disciplined way the man we called Bones navigated and oversaw the medical treatment for over five hundred victims. As Brix had said about Doc, if Ridge’s brother believed it was unsafe for Jada to be here rather than in a hospital, she wouldn’t be.
I got out of the SUV when Ridge parked, and walked around to open Luisa’s door. Rather than get out, she remained seated, looking off in the distance.
“Luisa?”
She shook her head, and tears ran down her cheeks. “What happened to her is my fault.”
“The fault lies solely with the man who abducted her, my darling.”
“He wantedme. I don’t know if I can face her.”
“She needs you, Luisa,” I heard a voice say from behind me. I spun around and embraced Zin.
“How is she?” I asked.
“Her injuries aren’t life-threatening. Bones said she wasn’t drugged.” He looked away, and like Luisa, his eyes filled with tears. “But she’s catatonic.”
When I heard Luisa’s anguished cry, I spun back around and gathered her in my arms. I held her as she clung to me and sobbed. Tears ran down my own cheeks, and I had no doubt Zin was crying equally as hard.
I looked up at the porch when I saw someone come outside. Sorcha and Laird stood with their arms around each other.
“What about Esmeralda?” I asked.
“Onyx is with Jada now and will ask his siblings to meet him at his mother’s house soon. He wants to tell her as well as his brothers and sisters what happened in person,” said Zin.
The front door of the main house opened again, and Ridge came out with Seraphina and Leah. Both women ran over to us. Luisa let go of me, and I helped her out of the SUV before taking a step back. While they embraced, I put my arm around Zin’s shoulders.
“I don’t know what to say.”
He shook his head. “You knew where she was.”
