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But God help him if Josh got physical, tried to use Georgie as a shield, or went after Gunner. If that happened, Riggs' oath compelled him to intervene, and it wasn't against the code to kill a bad person to save a good one.
Riggs had plenty of experience with that and wouldn't hesitate to put his skills to work if the need arose.
He almost hoped it would.
"Hey, did Georgie or Naomie ever tell you how Georgie lost her leg?
"Not the details. Just that she, her parents, and her sister were in a car that went over a bridge. The parents drown, Georgie saved her sister and, in doing so, lost her leg."
"And she was just a kid." Gunner shook his head. "Man, can you imagine? We face that shit, and maybe we're concerned, but we go in with the attitude that we will persevere and survive, that we're badasses and won't be beaten. She was a child. I can't imagine her fear or horror. It's a wonder she's sane."
"Tell me about it. She's amazing, Gun. Her strength and resolve are something to admire and envy. I couldn't believe she jumped off that bridge after me."
"And yet she did, which tells you she's brave and strong. Hold onto that. She's a survivor."
Riggs nodded and looked out of the side window, trying to calm his mind and settle his rage and fear for her. He needed a cool head when they arrived because a wrong move could mean the loss of life, and he wasn't about to lose Georgie. It'd taken his entire life to find the right woman.
No one was taking her from him. He’d kill anyone who tried.
Without remorse.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Georgie jolted awake. The room had no windows, so she couldn't tell the time. Was it morning yet? She yanked on the rope knotted around her wrists to no avail. It trailed from her wrists and then three feet away to a thick metal rack where it was wrapped around one support and tied in a complex knot.
Please come, please come, please come.
It was her mantra, and at this point in the game, all she had left. After beating and raping her, Josh chained her up and prepared to leave. He said he was going to make sure she couldn't ever walk away from him.
He had a new woman to play with, and this time, instead of her recording the events, he was going to man the camera, and she was going to take his place. Georgie argued that she couldn't, and he laughed. "You'll either do it or change places with her, and I bet you a million dollars she'll do it to you to save her hide."
Either way, Georgie was screwed. She'd either have to turn into a murderer or be murdered. Unless Riggs came and saved her.
Please come, please come, please…A sudden thought interrupted her litany. What would he say when he saw her. Last night, Josh had chopped off almost all her hair. He'd made her watch as he hacked at it with a knife.
If she hadn't been so afraid, she'd have cried or struggled, but she wouldn't put anything past him now. Chances are, he'd slit her throat.
Please come.
She lost track of how long she lay on the floor, mentally chanting, but at some point, it dawned on her that there had to be a way to get the rope off. She looked around. What could she use to cut the rope?
Her gaze swept the room and fell upon a pair of gardening clippers next to the metal rack. Just seeing those things made her squeamish. She'd witnessed what Josh liked to do with those. He'd threatened her more than once with cutting off fingers or toes.
Could she get to it? Moving wasn't easy, particularly since he'd removed her prosthesis and hurled it across the room. If she could slither over to it, maybe she could put it on.
With nothing to lose and needing to feel that she was doing something that would help get her out of this mess, she started inching across the floor, trying not to cry as raw and abraded skin rubbed over the concrete floor.
*****
This wasn't like any mission he'd ever experienced. When he was on a mission, he was part of a team, everyone laying their lives on the line for a goal. He'd always liked to think they were, in a small way, heroes who did more than walk the wall, guarding and protecting. They were the angels sent to beat back whatever hell tossed at them.
Riggs knew that was a fanciful way of viewing it. He didn't care. When you witness first-hand what men and women will risk in service to something bigger than themselves, it makes you believe there's a little of the divine in those brave souls.
This wasn't the same. It was a given that Georgie was an angel all her own. She'd pulled him back from a deep, dark hole that no one but her realized he was about to topple into. The gratitude he felt for the doctors, surgeons, and BioNow team couldn't be quantified. It was too large, and he'd never forget what they did for him.
But Georgie? She saved him. She saved him from himself and showed him that he could beat the odds and deserved to be as physically functional as he was before the explosion. She believed he'd get there.
He'd not believed her for a long time, but her smile and encouragement lifted him out of his fear and anger. Sometimes she was kind and gentle, and sometimes, worse than any drill instructor he'd faced. She and her determination and belief carried him until he could carry himself.
