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After I vomited my problems, I looked up to see I surprised Draven. His eyes were wide, unprepared for my verbal spew.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to be weird.”
“You don’t need to feel weird for wanting someone to listen, Sunshine.” Instead of my name, Draven made me feel important by using something more personal. After being called a generic ‘babe’ for so long, my heart warmed at his single word. “And if you ever need to talk, you’re more than welcome to schedule visits with me. Don’t worry, I can’t spread the juicy gossip in here about a man named Tim. It’ll be too boring unless he’s a good bottom.”
Making me laugh, I felt my smile return. “Thank you for that, and I just might.”
Draven stood for an extra second before speaking to me again. It felt like he struggled with my harsh judgment like I missed the important bit in his story. “By the way, the person I killed wasn’t for work. Well, the one that got me caught.”
“What do you mean?”
A mocking laugh fell from his misunderstood lips, and I had been the one who made him feel less because of his upbringing. “He was my sister’s rapist. He bragged to many friends about how he groomed my sister through texts and late-night calls to make her feel special… then he raped her, and I couldn’t let him keep breathing.”
“Oh my god,” I gasped.
He shrugged. “So sure, I’m a bad guy who killed someone and got caught because I was too irrational to think.” Pausing, he let the fierceness in his gaze settle within mine. “But no one ever hurts the women I love.”
Even though he didn’t love me, my heart sure liked the idea of his protection when he made the word plural. My unhealthy attachments would get me in trouble, but I loved how honest he was with me. “I’ve never been placed in those shoes, but I can say you have my gratitude for protecting her. No one ever protects the women in those situations.”
“He would’ve been a free man had I not. Alexander had his chats with her scrubbed clean from existence to not have a trail back to him, and he used a burner phone to reach out to keep his phone squeaky clean. The cops did nothing without proof, saying the rape kit didn’t prove anything either. My sister was a virgin, so that alone should’ve been enough evidence, but it wasn’t. She went through that whole process and examined to be told there wasn’t enough proof. Right now, my sixteen-year-old sister is a shell of her former self, and I had to see it every day before taking action.”
Beginning to cry, I knew what happened to girls like that. As a social worker myself, they struggled to come back to their normal selves. “Trauma never leaves someone unchanged,” I whispered.
“Seeing her suffer while he got away with it made me snap in a way I never have before, but I will be honest with you, Sunshine. I’d do it over and over again, even if that meant the same fate for me.”
Nodding my head, I knew those were the circumstances that would bring out the worst in me too. Hurting someone I loved would be the breaking point of my calm demeanor, but I still wasn’t sure I’d be capable of killing. Either way, Draven just saved many women the same trauma his sister suffered at the hands of a predator. Trying to rein in my sympathetic hurt, I blew out a hard breath. “Thank you for protecting us.”
His eyes darkened, taking my full length in like he’d devour me from still being a predator. My spine felt the need to stand taller for him to have a better look, but I knew not to readjust so brazenly. A near growl bubbled as he spoke directly in my direction. “Always, Sunshine.”
Turning his back to be guided out by the guard who heard us, he gave me one last glance over his shoulder. Gooseflesh pebbled down my arms, knowing this time his comment had been fully for me to feel his protection. After the horrible night I had at home, my body felt every word in every glance he spared me. But I knew I had to be careful because men like him used girls like me too. Yet would it be the worst thing in the world to feel important for a while? That thought began to plague me in ways I couldn’t fully understand.
seven
Costas
No matter how many times I tried to stretch, my limbs refused to lose the stiffness that claimed them on my flight here. Eleven hours in a seated position didn’t do anyone a favor. Standing before the luggage claim, everyone from my flight patiently waited for their bags to spit out, but I was saved from the daunting agony when my phone rang.
Now that I had it on and sent a text of my arrival, my boss phoned me. Mario didn’t call his other men to check in, but he had been like a father to me since I had been a young teen. Accepting the call, an inward smile gleamed that he’d check on me, but my stoic face never gave it away.
“Ciao,” I greeted him in our native tongue. Some women instantly looked at me like I might be the one to create their deepest, Italian fantasies, but they rushed to remove their gazes when they saw the scar following the left side of my face. Being used to the coldness of not being the most desired, their revolt didn’t hurt like it used to when my face first got marred. My disfiguration only taught me how superficial the world was.
“Did your flight go okay?” Mario drew my attention back to the call.
“As much as one can call that long of a flight okay,” I quipped, knowing I’d be doing it again when it came time to return to the compound.
“Good.” I could hear some papers rustling in the background, telling me he resided in his office for now even though it was the middle of the night in Italy. He stayed up to make sure I made it, even though he’d never say it. “Who is collecting you?”
“I sent word to Antonio, so I don’t know if he’ll send his guard or himself.” My eyes glanced around the area, being trained to scope out all my new surroundings.
“And you know your job?” He knew I did because I worked for him for the most part.
“Of course, sir. I’ll do what needs done, like I always have.”
“Keep me updated.” Mario hung up on his end after I confirmed my dedication to this line of work. My job would be to ensure both Antonio and Draven made it back to the compound in Mallorca, Spain. Their exit would include a jet for their departure to not sit in economy class as I had endured to look like a typical man.
Seeing my duffle bag, I snatched it quickly from the revolving belt and moved to the doors. Even if Antonio hadn’t sent someone yet, the fresh air would feel wonderful after being stuck in a metal bird. The cool breeze would’ve felt like too much for a man used to the warm climates of his home country, but I needed the shocking relief to ground me. Plus, the cold had been an obstacle I was forced to overcome forever ago.
Closing my eyes and breathing, I took in how this city smelled versus my home. Americans weren’t great with their pollution problems, but they didn’t have the fresh fish smell of our markets in their city.
