Page 95 of Dangerous Mission
“Whatever you need.”
When she leans away from me, I’m hesitant to let her go. But then I realize she needs to see me. Wants to watch my reaction to whatever she’s about to say.
I get that.
The split second reaction is one of the biggest indicators of character. And right now, she needs to know who I am.
Licking her bruised lips, her lashes dip down for a second. Then Aria pins me with her luminous brown gaze. “I told him I didn’t want to see him again. He drugged me under the premise of having a drink to talk things through. I guess he carried me home to his house, or something. I woke up cuffed. Naked.”
Her soft voice breaks. Pinpricks erupt all over my skin and I’m not sure if I want her to continue.
She swallows, never looking away. “While I was drugged, he’d raped me. There was a lot of blood. My wrists were mangled. It looked like I had struggled, or he had been so violent. My…my…”
Grimacing, she tries to inhale, but her chest shudders.
“Stop,” I rasp. “It’s okay, baby. You do not have to relive this.”
Glancing down, she inhales deliberately hard for a few seconds. “It’s embarrassing.”
“You have nothing to be embarrassed about, baby. You are not responsible for that man’s actions.”
Tears glistening, forehead drawn, she covers her mouth with her hand. “He convinced me I wanted it.”
“He’s a monster.” My words are growled.
Visions of Aria hurt, bleeding, and terrorized burn into the deepest recesses of my soul. Something dark and dangerous awakens inside of me.
I haven’t felt this particular beast before. And that’s coming from a man that’s got plenty of demons inside him.
Aria’s face flushes red, her pulse racing below the thin skin of her neck. “He cleaned me up, drove me home. Kissed me and told me how amazing our night was.”
That sick bastard.
“Goddamn, Aria.” I close the distance and wrap my hand around her skull bringing her to my neck again, tucking her into the place I’m beginning to know was made for her. “Baby, I’m so mad right now, I want to burn cities. That monster deserves to sit in prison for the rest of his life.”
Or face a fate worse than what he did to her. Far worse.
With soul crushing sadness, she says, “That won’t happen.”
“Why?”
The sheen in her eyes builds until it threatens to overflow her lashes and I want to kiss every damned tear away.
“Scout, I never told anyone. Not until now. It’s dangerous. Things could go horribly wrong because his father’s some kind of federal prosecutor. He’ll spin the story. Something could happen to Griff, I can’t take that chance because I know how truly evil he and his father are. I overheard some of the things they talk about.”
“Where do they live?”
She pulls away and lunges off the bed, clutching her chest, her expression wild.
“What’s his name, baby girl?”
As if the reality of confessing this is too much to bear, fisting her hair, she sinks to the floor on her knees. “I shouldn’t have said so much. You have to leave this alone. Someone could die. You promised me you’d give me what I need if I told you.”
Chapter Forty-Six
Scout stands and moves to me, dragging a blanket off of the bed as he does. Silent but clearly angry he wraps me up like a child and scoops me off the floor into his arms.
I lean my head on his shoulder as he walks into the kitchen, where he deposits me in a chair. After making sure I’m cinched in tight in the blanket he kisses my forehead and steps back.