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When we reached the bottom, Delfino was standing next to the old woman but hadn’t restrained her.
“Nonna,” Bexli said, twisting out of my arms and rushing over to her. “Thank you,” she cried, embracing her. I watched the woman cup Bex’s cheek with her palm.
“She said you’ll be safe now,” Delfino told her when Bexli’s head cocked at the woman’s foreign words.
“Thank you,” she repeated, kissing the woman’s cheek before turning back to me.
“Transport has arrived,” said Delfino, motioning to the back door.
I looked down at Bexli’s feet. While she wore socks, she had no shoes. Rather than waste precious time asking her about them, I put one arm behind her knees and gathered her into my arms. She rested her head against my chest, and I carried her outside. Z got out of the vehicle and opened the back passenger door. I set Bexli on the seat and was about to go around to the other side when she grabbed my arm. She shifted to the center, and I climbed in next to her.
I put my arm around her shoulders and drew her close to me.
“How did you find me?”
I rested my head against hers. “There’s time for us to talk about all of that later. For now, let me hold you.”
“Of course.” She stiffened, and I eased my grip but didn’t let go.
“We received intelligence that a man we’ve been looking for was believed to be holding an auction. I recognized him as the one in the photo you sent to me. From there, we traced the dark website to Gozo.”
“An auction?” she whispered in a ragged voice.
“Shh, my darling,” I soothed.
“What kind of auction?”
“Bex…”
She tried to pull away, but I wouldn’t let her.
“What kind of auction, Cay?” she demanded.
“We discovered the man who lured you to Milan is a known human trafficker.” Did I really need to say the rest? It was horrific enough to think it. I didn’t want to utter the words I knew would only terrify her more.
“I was to be a s-slave?”
I raised my other hand and cupped her cheek, similar to the way the old woman had. “You’re safe now. That’s all that matters.”
“What about Moretti?”
“We’re tracking him.” It was as close to the truth as I could get.
She turned her face toward me. “I should’ve killed him. He…he…”
“Shh,” I soothed again.
“Where are we going?” she asked when Z, who’d remained silent during the drive, pulled through the gates of the compound.
“We brought a team to the island. This has served as our base of operation.”
When she nodded, the coarseness of her hair abraded my cheek.
“Cay—”
The dampness from her tears mixed with my own. I couldn’t speak, even to comfort her.
Z pulled up to the portico of the compound’s main house. I gathered Bexli in my arms, then approached the front door, where Delfino was waiting for us.
