Page 25 of Resisting Temptation (Men of Honor 3)
“Faith, wait!” Katelyn bolts out the door and grabs my arm just as I’m about to take off. Sadness washes over her worried expression when our eyes meet. “Oh, Faith, talk to me. What’s going on?”
“It’s him!” I sob out, “it’s all of them!” She watches me in confusion, not having any idea what I’m talking about. “Iraq!”
It takes a minute before shock and realization dawns in her eyes. “What? Oh my god. Oh, Faith, I’m so sorry. I never…”
I rip out of her grasp and start backing away. “It’s okay, it’s not your fault. I just… I need to get out of here.”
She nods. “Okay, just let me grab my keys…”
I shake my head and cut off her reply. “No, stay. Please, I just need to be by myself right now. I’m so sorry. Please understand.” She nods, but guilt plagues me as a tear slips down her face. “I’m so sorry. I’ll call you later.” I don’t wait for her response, in fear of someone else walking out, before turning around and taking off.
With my vision blurry from tears, I run toward the one place I’ve loved going to since coming here. The bright morning sun beats down on me, but my body is plagued with too many emotions to feel any of its warmth. They rush through my veins and crawl up my throat, trying to suffocate me, as memories from two years ago play through my head. Good ones, bad ones, they all hit me at once…
The unsuspecting smile of a beautiful but dark man, who captured my attention. The evenings of singing to him in the sunset. His hands and mouth exploring my body as I explored his. A man whose eyes held me captive, and made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, as he moved inside of me, not only claiming my body but also claiming my heart. The same man who’s shown me the only loving touch I would know for the next two years, and maybe the rest of my life.
Then come the ugly memories. The ones of rough, unwanted hands that delivered not only pain to my body, but shame to my soul. Ones that tore at my clothes, and took what was not offered to them. The sound of a little boy’s screams, as he begged them to stop, while he was forced to watch me be violated in the worst way.
This is what bitches are for, boy. Fucking, not singing. We will make a man out of you yet.
A sob of agony rips from my throat and I push myself harder and faster. The burn of my legs and lungs still not enough to quiet the evil running through my head.
“Do you still believe in your God, female?” he asks, holding my cross necklace over my beaten and naked body. When I don’t answer him, he sends another blow to my already battered face. “ANSWER ME!”
“Yes,” I choke out through the blood that pools in my mouth. The sounds of a little boy’s broken sobs fill the air, and rip through my already tortured heart.
“You are a stupid, stupid woman. I will teach you who the real God is. And before you leave this earth you will call me Allah.”
This disgusting person may have stolen my body and tortured my soul, but he would not take my faith. Not ever. I stare defiantly into his malevolent dark eyes, my fear long forgotten. “Over my dead body.”
He responds with a malicious smile, “So be it, bitch.”
Spotting the crystal blue waves in the near distance, I push myself harder as I race toward the beautiful, deserted beach. As soon as my feet hit the sand I slow only enough to toe off my running shoes and ankle socks before rushing into the ice-cold ocean. Once I’m far enough out, I dive in headfirst and let the fresh water steal my breath and cleanse my soul.
My lungs begin to burn so much it’s almost unbearable, but it does the trick. The dirty and ugly memories begin to wash away, but instead of being replaced with beautiful ones of the man who once held my heart, it holds the one of a man who was severely tortured and beaten… all because of me. The same man who saved my life then refused to ever see me again. And the worst part is, I still don’t know if it’s because he blames me, or because he can’t bear to look at me knowing what they did to me.
*
Cade
Shock has me completely rooted to my spot. My pulse races and blood roars in my ears. Emotions that I have fought hard to keep buried explode like a volcano, as my mind tries to process what I just saw, or rather who. I stare at the door that the girl I have thought about for the last two years, dreamt about and fucking craved like an addict, just ran out of. The same girl that I have had to use every bit of willpower I possess to stay away from.
“Jesus, Walker. Did you need to be so fucking harsh? She’s clearly just as surprised as we are.” Sawyer’s heated remark snaps me back into reality, making me remember the way Faith flinched at my tone, and how her emotional, wet, emerald eyes shone with hurt.
I grind my teeth against the tightness in my chest. Fuck… Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! What the hell is she doing here?
Katelyn walks back in with tears streaming down her shocked and pale face. “Oh my god. It was you guys. You’re the ones who pulled her out of hell.” The girls’ gasps of shock fills the deafening silence of the room. Katelyn shakes her head in disbelief and looks over at them, “I never said their names I always just referred to Jaxson and Sawyer as your husbands. I knew Navy SEALS pulled her out, but I would have never thought for a moment…” she trails off before looking over at me, her eyes narrowing angrily.
