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I looked up at Aria and read the intent in her face. Her fist shot out, but I was ready and pulled the guy out of the way just in time.
“Shai,” Aria thundered, eyes snapping.
“You can’t kill him,” I reminded her. The guy wasn’t exactly on his death bed, but the wrong punch to the wrong place could end his life. Especially when it packed the kind of power Aria’s fist does.
“He licked my face, Shai,” she said quietly. At that I nearly turned the guy back over to her. He did what? My stomach turned in disgust.
I threw the man to the ground before I could change my mind. He might deserve worse, but Aria didn’t. It was one thing to incapacitate these guys, but I knew that hurting them when they were unable to fight back would haunt Aria. It wasn’t how we did things.
The screech of tires filled the night air and moments later we were joined by Ella, Nadia, and Charity.
“There were only two of them?” Ella asked, glancing around as if looking for more kidnappers. Meanwhile Nadia pulled Aria into a tight hug. Ella quickly followed and I realized I hadn’t even thought to hug my teammate when I found her. I’m not the touchiest of people, but even I knew Aria deserved a hug after her ordeal.
“And they were little ones,” Aria joked as we pulled away from our quick hug. I smiled. It wasn’t really all that funny, but the fact that she could joke told me she’d released some of her rage and trauma. Those guys didn’t deserve Aria’s forgiveness, but letting go would help her healing process. I knew she had some major healing to do. Even without all the details, I knew her experience had to have been harrowing.
“I don’t even see why you called for backup,” Nadia said with a wink. At that, the tension filling our group started to ease. Aria was back. We’d found her. She was safe.
Several cop cars skidded to a stop behind Nadia’s car. Officers jumped out and ran toward us, ready for anything.
My eyes met Colt’s gaze as he headed toward me at a sprint.
He looked from me to the two cuffed men.
“You okay?” he mouthed as soon as he was close enough.
I nodded, knowing that he’d probably spent every minute we’d been apart worrying about me. I only knew because even as I worked and fought, that same thought had been in the back of my mind about him.
His long strides ate up the distance between us. As he reached us, his attention turned from me to Aria.
“Good to see you,” he said, holding out a hand to Aria. She shook it absently, her eyes still on the guys we’d beat up.
“It’s also good to see those guys . . . like that,” Colt added, lifting his eyebrows in the direction we were all watching. His colleagues hauled the men to their feet and hustled them toward the cop cars. “Although you probably should have just gotten out of here and let us handle them.” That was Colt, ever the protector. But sometimes a woman needed more than protecting. Thankfully, Colt understood that. Hence, even as he berated me for putting myself in harm’s way, his eyes were full of pride.
Colt looked at Aria as if he was about to say more, but he kept his mouth shut. That was partly what first drew me to Colt. He’d come to visit me after that night he found me almost beaten to death by my ex. I’d been wrapped up like a mummy and barely had any will to live as I laid in that hospital bed. It felt like I’d been living for a fantasy, and when I was forced to wake up from that fantasy, the pain was too much to endure.
Everyone else had asked me how I was doing. Some had even asked if I was okay. Of course I wasn’t okay. The man who’d promised to protect and provide had beaten me almost to the point of no return. He’d killed our unborn child.
The memory pierced my empty uterus, and pain filled me.
I drew in a deep breath, pulling myself out of my desperate thoughts.
Instead of asking questions, Colt had taught me chess. He’d just been there, the same way he had ever since.
I knew he wouldn’t ask Aria if she was okay either, and for that I sent my unspoken gratitude.
Colt glanced at me as if he understood the look I was giving him. He probably did. No one has ever known me like Colt.
“One of us has to take your statement and then you can go,” Colt said gently as Nadia, Ella, and Charity stepped away.
Nadia pulled out her phone—I was sure she was calling Susie—and Ella and Charity fell into quiet conversation. They all knew that the last thing Aria would want was for us to hear the details before she was ready to share them in her own way.
I was about to step away as well, when Aria’s hand grabbed my arm.
“Can you stay?” she asked in a small voice, far from her usual confident tone.
I glanced at Colt and he gave me a tiny nod.
“Sure.” I stepped close to her, offering her my unspoken support.
