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I walk over to the bed and climb on behind the girl, placing Rémy’s shirt over her to cover her nakedness. Before I can question the pros and cons, I wrap my arm around her and bury my head in her hair and tell her a story. The story of a little girl who lost everything, but instead of giving up, she transformed herself from victim into a warrior, helping all the other little girls who were just like her. By the end, we’re both crying.
She turns toward me with a painful hiss and looks up at my face as I rearrange the shirt back over her. “What happens now?” she asks me in an American accent, which shocks the shit out of me. I hide my reaction as I reach up and smooth the hair from her face.
“We get you strong, and then we get you home.”
Tears slip freely down her cheeks, leaving tracks across her bruised skin. “I don’t have a home anymore. He took that away.”
I close my eyes and keep stroking her hair. “He took that from me too, but I found another family, another home, filled with people who love me.”
She’s quiet—so quiet that I think she’s fallen asleep. When I look down, I see her eyes still on me. “I’m scared.”
“I know, but you’re not alone anymore. You’ll never be alone again.”
She buries her head under my jaw and grips the front of my shirt tightly in her fists so I can’t leave, and that’s where we stay until the paramedics arrive.
* * *
I sitin the private room where I’ve been waiting for news for the past fifteen hours as Calix keeps guard. Rémy and Maxim have disappeared to make some calls, so when the door slams open, I assume it’s them until I hear a familiar voice cursing.
“Is she dead? She better not be because I’m going to kill her.” My head whips around at the sound of Dulce’s voice. And there she is, standing beside Lollie and Reece.
I climb to my feet and take a few steps toward them before my legs give out, and I collapse to the floor. Calix reaches for me, but my girls get there first. They’re on me like mother hens, stroking my hair and wrapping their arms around me, promising me everything will be okay.
Once I have a better handle on my emotions, I look up into Lollie’s wet eyes. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t put any of you at risk. You guys are everything. I wouldn’t survive if something happened to you because of me.”
“We’re a team, dammit, but more than that, we’re a family, Sugar. Don’t you ever do that shit to us again.”
I bite my lip and nod as Dulce pulls back and scowls at me. She yanks my hair hard enough to make me swear before letting go.
“Finley and Dove miss their auntie.”
“God, you’re killing me.”
“Not yet, but the day is still young. I swear, Sugar, if you pull this shit again, I’ll…I’ll…cover all your sex toys with itching powder.”
“I missed how evil you are.”
She grins, and though I hurt her, I know I’m forgiven. I turn to Reese, who looks pissed, but before I can speak, she holds up her hand.
“I’m so fucking angry at you. I’ll get over it, but I reserve the right to be a bitch for the next few weeks and to throw this in your face whenever we argue.”
“Deal,” I whisper.
She hugs me again before standing.
Lollie reaches over and squeezes my hand, and we sit there like that for a minute, neither of us speaking. She holds my hand like I once did for her in another hospital in another life. When the door slams open again, I jump as Lollie and Reese spin around.
Rémy and Maxim storm into the room, ignoring my girls, both focused solely on me. Maxim holds his hand out to me to help me up, and I take it, my eyes on his face and the anger on it.
“What’s wrong?”
“Later, okay?”
I nod and let it go, figuring it might just be Bratva related.
“They are keeping everyone for the next few days to run more tests and observe them,” Rémy tells me as I look up at him.
“What aren’t you telling me?”
