Page 79 of Rescuing Rebel
As my sobs subside, he guides us gently to the edge of the bed. He sits, drawing me onto his lap, and wraps his arms around me. I nestle against his broad chest, eyes closed, focusing only on the comfort of his embrace. His hand smooths my hair back from my damp cheeks. I feel his lips press softly to my temple.
“I’m here,” he murmurs. “I’m not going anywhere.”
My eyes fill with fresh tears at his quiet promise. After everything I’ve done, all the secrets and lies between us, he still reaffirms his loyalty.
“Talk to me,” Ethan implores, his voice achingly gentle. “Don’t carry this alone.”
“Just hold me.” I burrow closer with a shattered sigh, soaking up his warmth. “Please, just hold me.”
Ethan presses his cheek to my hair, pulling me tight against his chest. “Always,” he vows.
We stay entwined as the minutes tick by in silence. The demons can’t reach me in his arms. I know this is only temporary, but feeling his steadfast heartbeat renews my fraying strength.
Tomorrow, I’ll don my cloak of lies, but tonight, I cling to Ethan. It’s time to confess my sins and tell him the horrible truth. I push away from his embrace and meet his gaze, determined to get through what I must say.
He’ll hate me.
He’ll despise me.
He’s likely to walk away from me.
I try to convince myself that the ends justify the means, but I know it’s a filthy lie.
The truth is, I’m selfish.
I’ve hurt others.
And I’ll continue to hurt them to achieve my goal.
“I’m looking for Violet.” My voice rasps now that I’m sharing my terrible secret.
“Who’s Violet?” His brows furrow.
“She’s my sister.Wasmy sister.” I watch him closely, gauging his reaction.
It takes a moment before understanding dawns in his eyes.
Taking his silence as encouragement, I continue, bracing for the moment when the love in his eyes turns to disgust.
“That story I told you about my abduction. It wasn’t mine. It was hers. Violet was taken years ago. Almost ten years. She was bought and sold and forced to be a surrogate, but she escaped in the chaos following the birth.” I have to look away. The pain is still too raw. “They caught her. Then, they killed her, but I never stopped searching.
“Searching?”
“Her child is out there, in the hands of madmen.”
“Rebel…”
I place a hand on his chest. “Don’t speak. Let me get this off my chest. My sister is gone. When she escaped, she called me, terrified and so alone. She told me what happened, but they found her before she could tell mewhohad her.”
My hands fist as old anger surges through me. “I didn’t know where to begin hunting for her, but I put my ear to the ground, looking for organizations that trafficked women.”
Ethan absorbs this, though some confusion lingers on his face. “Is that how you wound up in Nicaragua?”
I grimace. The bitter taste of failure is still fresh.
“I was desperate, arrogant, and incredibly naïve back then. A lead pointed me to Nicaragua, to a man named Artemus Gonzales. I believed he was someone who might have information about Violet. I thought I could use him as an influential trafficker in my search.”
I take a shaky breath. “I approached him with a proposal, a way I could make myself useful. I told him I could train and groom captive women to be more docile and compliant. Make them obedient companions instead of unwilling slaves.”