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“Mi amor, where are you?” I call out, but instead of hearing Eset, I hear a child crying. A fucking baby? Is that the girl Eset’s been looking for all this time? Fuck, how old is this child?
“Go to her, then come find me!” Eset calls out from down the hallway.
I do as my wife wants and follow the crying until I’m in a kitchen, and there’s a small, crappy crib right next to a table. There’s a little girl in the crib who can’t be older than two. She has straight, icy blonde hair and the fairest skin I’ve ever seen. Her hair and skin almost blend together because that’s how fair she is.
The little girl has big, gray eyes, and tears pour out of the corners of them, rolling down her cheeks in an effortless flow. “Ssssh, little one.” I try to coax her as I hold my hands out for her, but she only begins crying more. This poor child has probably never known true love, especially for however long she’s been in this house.
Meryem continues crying, but I finally scoop her into my arms and hold her against my chest. One hand is on the small of her back, while the other is against the back of her neck, rubbing her gently. “It’s okay, little one. You are safe now. I promise,” I tell her, not even sure if she speaks English, but it’s all I can do to give her a bit of reassurance at the moment.
Meryem continues crying, and I walk back into the hallway where I heard Eset’s voice coming from earlier. Eventually, deadbolts and locks come into view, so I rush over to them and turn every deadbolt, so they’re unlocked. Fortunately, the other locks Goran had on the door aren’t even locked. They’re simply hanging through holes. I take the hand that I have behind Meryem’s neck and begin pulling the locks off one by one before yanking the door open.
Eset puts her hand over her eyes as soon as I open the door, and then she rises to her feet. “Fuck, how did you find me?” For the first time ever, I hear the slightest bit of emotion in my wife’s voice.
“Anzor put tracking devices in you and Nazyr when you were little. We were able to get Nazyr’s ID, and then we looked at the numbers before and after. One of them pinged here.”
Eset has tears slipping from the corners of her eyes, and then she begins to sob. She’s in shock, and I know it, so I close the distance between us and wrap my arm around her. She cries against my chest, naturally terrified from everything she’s endured.
“Tell me he’s alive, please,” Eset manages to get out. Why the fuck would she want the man who abducted her alive?
“He isn’t, Eset. He tried to kill me, so I was forced to put him down.” I keep it plain and simple, and Eset pulls away from me, looking right into my eyes.
“He gave me so much information, Santos. He… fuck! He confirmed everything Guerrero said in his dying moments and gave me more information that I never even knew about. He had all of the identities of the people in support of my mother, and now he’s dead. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Eset storms past me, and I know my wife isn’t angry with me. She’s angry at the situation because she wants to know who these people are. If I were her, I’d want to know as well.
I walk out of the small room Eset was forced to stay in and see Eset walking barefoot across the hardwood floors out toward the small porch. She pushes open the door, and I finally catch up with her. Her eyes immediately drift to Goran, who has a gun in his hand. “I wanted him to pay for what he did. He… he fucked with me, Santos. He lied to me and then told me he lied. I tried to keep a clear head while I was here, but there were moments when I didn’t know what to trust.
“He told me things… things that might be true, or they could be a lie as well. Fuck, he told me he killed Meryem, and then he came and told me he lied to me about killing her. Who the fuck does that? Who jokes about killing a precious child?” Eset’s crying once more, and now she’s looking back at the baby girl in my arms, who somehow has turned her head to look at Eset. “God, she’s beautiful.” Meryem is no longer crying, and the little girl furrows her tiny brows and holds her arms out to Eset.
“I think she wants you,mi amor,” I say lowly.
Eset swallows hard and takes Meryem into her arms. “Hey there, sweet girl,” she coos lightly to the baby, and the corner of Meryem’s lips pull upward.
“What will you do now that you have her?” I question, really curious as to what Eset has planned for her.
“Take care of her. I… I couldn’t bear to let anyone else. I promised Kirill I’d make sure she’s safe, that I’d make sure she’s provided for. I can’t simply hand her off like she’s a stray dog in need of a home. If you ask me, this little girl has been through so much hell, and she shouldn’t have to go through any more of it.”
I nod, understanding where my wife is coming from. “I have a contact in Mexico who can get us a birth certificate. He works for the government, so it would be legitimate. It can say she was born in Cancun two years ago, and we’re the parents.” I don’t know how far she wants to take this, but I do know she doesn’t want anything else to happen to this little one.
Eset takes a moment and then nods. “Yes. Let’s get it done as soon as possible. Her name will be Meryem Khaso Umarova-Ramirez since she was born before we were married,” Eset gives me a playful wink through her tears, and I nod. I’ll do anything this woman wants whenever she wants me to do it.
God, she’s a fucking survivor, and I’ve never been surer of that in my life. I honestly feel bad for those who aren’t close with my wife because they’ll never understand the lengths she’ll go to do what’s right and protect those she cares about.
We were married not too long ago, and now we’re parents.
I guess the two of us can’t help but move fast.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Eset
We got the hell away from Goran’s property as soon as we could. Ruslan called a clean-up crew to deal with Goran’s body, and Ruslan said he’s having a team go through the home, then they’ll burn it to the ground. He wants it to be like the place never existed, and I didn’t fight him in the least bit on that.
We stopped for a car seat in Prague for Meryem, plus some clothes for her, diapers, food, and pretty much anything we might need while we’re flying. Then we headed straight to the private airstrip. Ruslan already had a jet there, waiting for us to return. So by the time we arrived, the jet was already refueled, and everything was checked again before take-off.
Now we’re on the plane, and Santos was smart enough to bring me a bag of my clothes. Ruslan’s jet has a bedroom and a beautiful bathroom, so I left Meryem sitting next to Santos. She’s fast asleep, so while she’s dozing off, I decide I need to shower. It’s been days, and I feel horrible. I’m sticky all over, my skin feels itchy, and my hair is a frazzled mess. The bag’s already back in the bedroom, so I open it up and see Santos grabbed my hairbrush, blow dryer, and even my make-up bag, shampoo, and anything else I’d need to shower.
I strip out of the old, sweaty clothes I’ve had on for the past few days and turn the shower on. After a few minutes, I stand under the warm water, grab my fresh bar of soap, and lather it against my entire body. Since I’m by myself, all I can think about is how lucky I was to not have been hit or raped while with Goran. I was terrified it was going to happen, and the longer I stayed there, the more likely I knew the possibility was.
After I scrub my entire body thoroughly, I take my bottle of shampoo and pour some into my hand. I lather it into my hair until the suds are overzealous, then wash it out slowly. It’s been a couple of days, so I repeat the process again and then open my conditioner. I opt for leaving the conditioner in for at least five minutes, and in the meantime, I take the bar of soap and rub it across my entire body again. I want every spec of grime and dirt to be gone by the time I’m done. Ten more minutes pass, and there isn’t one soap sud on my body or a bit of conditioner left in my hair. I grab the towel on the heated rack and run it across my skin, then rub my hair, so I’m not dripping onto the floor.
