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Again.
He just…held me in his arms.
Snatching comfort wherever I could find it, I pressed my cheek to his chest, soothing my soul, and slowly repairing the fractured pieces of my heart.
"¡No me importa un carajo!" Trigger barked, replying to something one of his guards had said. What, I couldn’t tell. I felt woozy and weak and was concentrating too hard on the steady rhythm of his heartbeat as it thudded against my ear to translate. "¡Haz que suceda! ¡Tiene que ser ahora!"
He strode off again, jostling me in his arms, and I winced in pain.
Unable to bear the sensation of his touch on my back, I hooked my arms around his neck and scrambled until we were chest to chest, with my legs hooked around his waist.
Sniffling, I buried my face in his neck and clung to his big body like a small child would cling to a parent.
Breathing in the smell of his familiar cologne, I clutched him tightly, unwilling to let go.
Whether we hated each other or not was irrelevant in this moment.
I had fucked up.
Again.
And Trigger had saved me.
Again.
Right now, in his arms, was the safest place I could be.
He tensed for a moment, stopping dead in his tracks, but recovered quickly. Smoothing my hair over my shoulder, he continued to speak in Spanish to his men, barking out orders and laying down the law, and he did all this while he gently swayed me.
I didn’t think he realized he was doing this – swaying me in his arms. Offering comfort to a woman wasn't a common thing for a man to do around here.Not ever.But he offered it to me anyway.
Publicly.
Unapologetically.
Without reservation.
I knew I was bleeding from the savage assault. I could feel the oozing droplets of blood weeping from the welts on my back and legs. My breasts and stomach were on fire, too. No part of my skin had escaped the cruel bite of Fabio's belt.
In fact, I was fairly certain that I had been beaten with multiple whips and belts. I couldn't be sure, though. I'd kept my eyes clenched shut the entire time, desperately trying to find a doorway in my own mind to escape through and disappear.
"Do not panic,"my father's voice from long ago swept through my mind, bringing with it a world of memories."Northwood's remain calm."
Clenching my eyes shut, I tried to block out all memories of the man who had given me to these monsters, but for some reason, his voice wouldn’t leave my mind.
Usually, I could block him out, but tonight, regrettably, I felt my mind slip back to my childhood…
"Ashton, come and sit with me."
Excitement bubbled inside of me at the sight of my father and I sprang forward, rushing into his office, desperate not to miss the window of opportunity.
I was six years old and all I wanted to do was spend time with my daddy in his office that looked like a library, and have one of our secret chats.
I loved our chats.
They were the best part of my day.
My father sat behind his huge desk, looking tired and scary.
