Page 53 of Strangers in Love

“Freedom won’t be surprised,” Aline said tightly. “She didn’t like him from the start.”

I wondered if that meant Alinehadliked him at some point, but it wasn’t my place to ask. Maybe she sensed I was curious, or maybe she just needed to talk about it. Either way, she answered my question.

“I try not to be rude to anyone, even people who are completely obnoxious. I figured he couldn’t really be that bad if he was working with Neutral Ground, you know?” She sighed. “I don’t understand how people can treat each other like that.”

I could’ve told her that what Serle had done wasn’t even close to the shit I’d seen people do to each other. It wasn’t just the stuff I’d seen when I was in the army either. The girl Lumen mentored had been brutalized by a corrupt cop and his buddies, and it’d taken a sting to take him down. Helping do that had been one of the best things I’d ever done in my life.

I wasn’t going to talk about any of that, though. Aline wasn’t telling me this because we were sharing about our lives or comparing stories. She was trying to work out what’d been done to her. So I listened to her talking about how Serle had kept flirting with her, pushing her, and I kept telling myself that it wasn’t a good idea to go back to Neutral Ground and kick his ass.

I ate the rest of the sandwiches while she talked, and by the time I was done, she was struggling to keep her eyes open. She didn’t argue when I suggested she go to bed. She was already half-asleep as she pulled the blanket up around her chin. I turned off the light and gave my eyes a moment to adjust before moving around the room to set things up for me to keep watch.

As I settled in the chair, my mind kept going round and round about the promise I’d made to go after her friends. Well, not exactly a promise, but it was close enough for me. While I kept an eye on the door, I started going through different possibilities, ways I could get back inside that building.

An hour, maybe two had passed in silence when Aline suddenly started thrashing around, making sounds. Scared sounds.

Shit.

It wasn’t surprising that she was having a nightmare after what she’d gone through. I’d been on the other end of those in the hospital and then a couple times since I’d been home. As the soft sounds turned into louder whimpers, I stood up.

“Aline.” I went to the bed, leaning over her, hands already reaching for her. “Aline.”

I touched her shoulder, still keeping my distance.

“Aline. Wake up.”

She jerked upright, eyes wide, gasping as her mind processed the sudden transition. For a second, I thought she was going to see me and scream. Seeing a strange man next to her bed would’ve been scary enough. Between my scar, how big I was, and what she’d been through, I honestly wouldn’t have been surprised if she flat-out hit me.

But she didn’t scream or hit. She threw her arms around me, knocking me off balance enough that I had to sit on the bed. My arms went around her automatically, and she curled against my chest.

Well, shit.

Thirty-Seven

Aline

I was cold.So cold. The sort that burned as it froze. My teeth chattered, and my body shook.

I was naked, and the room was icy. Wind blew through, but there weren’t any windows.

It was dark. No sun and no artificial light. I shouldn’t have been able to see anything. The blackness around me should have been my entire world, but all it wasn’t. I could see everything all too clearly.

The colors bright and stark.

The details of each and every horror.

Hammond laid curled on the floor, his fingers and hands broken, blood pooled around his head. He wasn’t moving, wasn’t breathing. His eyes were open, but they didn’t see anything. He’d never see anything anymore.

Dana was next to him. She’d been crying and screaming at them the whole time they’d been killing the doctor, but now she was quiet. She was still alive, but the look in her eyes said something was dead inside her. They’d tried all kinds of terrible things to get her to stop yelling, and something had finally worked.

I’d screamed until my throat was raw, but they hadn’t done anything to me. They hadn’t even told me to shut up. In fact, they’d laughed the entire time they’d tortured Hammond and Dana. They told me it was my fault. All of it was my fault.

It was Gia’s turn now. Audric would be next.

The man who’d called me a bitch kept up a running commentary of what they were going to do to Gia and Audric. All the horrible things he and his men had planned for them both. And they were going to make me watch. Helpless to do anything.

I wasn’t tied up or restrained. I just couldn’t move. Every time I tried, nothing happened. All I could do was scream and watch. I couldn’t close my eyes. Couldn’t stop myself from seeing or hearing.

And then he said they had a surprise for me.

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