Sage awoke before the sun had fully risen. Swathed in the heat from Lochlan’s body as he held her back to his front, she took a moment to savor the serenity encasing them. Easing her way off the bed, she noticed he’d only removed her footwear the night before. She wondered he if understood her nervousness to their intimacy?

She loved everything he’d done to her body on their wedding night. Relished in the ways he made her come apart in his arms with such ease. The feeling of him taking pleasure in her body was an aphrodisiac in its own right. But in the light of day, she worried she’d been too vocal about some of the darker desires he’d pulled free from her.

Quickly washing up down the hall from his room, Sage went downstairs in search of tea and the sunrise. A light shining from the kitchen had her pausing until she heard soft sobbing. Entering the room quietly, not wanting to intrude but needing to make sure Lorraine was alright, Sage was shocked to see a girl younger than she was. Absorbed in whatever was troubling her, she startled when Sage sat beside her at the small breakfast bar.

“I’m sorry, I don’t mean to intrude,” Sage said quietly, immediately noticing the bruising on the girl’s neck and shoulders from where her sweater had loosened. When their eyes met, a bone-deep sadness reflected back at Sage. She could relate to that pain. “I’m Sage, Lochlan’s wife.” She couldn’t hide the smile at introducing herself that way for the first time.

“Allegra,” she whispered, not offering any more information.

Perceiving the girl’s need to remain obscure, Sage stood until the girl looked up at her. “Would you like some tea? I was going to sit on the back porch and watch the sun rise.” Hoping the offer would open up a line of communication.

“Yes, please.” The girl’s voice cracked with more emotion than her small frame could bear.

Waiting for the kettle to boil, Sage moseyed around the kitchen gathering the chamomile tea Lorraine had in a cupboard by the fridge. After finding the honey and cream, she made it to the stove just in time for the whistle. Pouring their drinks, Sage led the way through the back door and onto the wide deck filled with cushioned seating for entertaining.

Allegra sat on the far edge near the fence, distancing herself, and Sage let her after handing off the cup to her. The birds chirped as the sun began to shine; the clean smell of a light rain from just hours before could be detected. A freshly cut grass scent carried in from a distance, and Sage closed her eyes to soak in all the beauty surrounding her.

“I grew up in a closed-off community about an hour from here,” she spoke softly, hoping Allegra would catch on to what she was trying to do. “For a long time, it was nice. Our people were friendly, we had faith for days, and the Lord blessed us many times over. We wanted for nothing of importance.” Sipping her tea, eyes still closed, and felt Allegra’s body shift on the lounge they shared.

“That sounds nice,” the girl replied, almost unheard.

Turning to look at her, Sage smiled. “I was homeschooled; all the children were. Our teachings consisted mostly of faith and religion. God’s way, my father used to call it. I loved hearing the stories of old, learning of Adam and Eve. David and Goliath was always my favorite, though.” She waited hoping curiosity won out for the girl.

Clearing her throat, Allegra asked, “Why?”

Grinning into her cup, Sage explained. “David was believed to be a weak man, unfit for the battlefield. He was just the deliverer of food and a sheepherder. Of little consequence to many. Certainly never thought of as able to defeat his kingdom’s greatest foe.” Allegra’s attention was rapt as Sage continued. “Goliath was a giant meant to take down King Saul’s army. He wanted to conquer the land. David’s belief in God and all that he could do gave him strength to defeat the giant. With just five stones, he conquered what an entire army couldn’t.”

“I didn’t know that,” she whispered.

“I love that even though David was small and Goliath was mighty, all he needed was the belief he could, and so he did. No matter how large our demons seem, they will always fall with a little faith.”

Allegra ducked her head as crimson worked up her neck and into her cheeks. Sage waited a moment for the girl to compose herself before continuing further. “My father believes my soul to be tainted, my faith broken, and my heart impure. He sent me to certain death in a pit of snakes, and then he wanted to hand me over to a man hell-bent on destroying my strength. What neither of them realized is that I am David and Lochlan is my strength.”

Tears were streaming down Allegra’s face followed by harsh sobs as she finally understood what Sage was saying. Placing her cup on the deck, she slowly moved over to the girl, wrapping her arms around her. She held her through the storm brewing inside. Sage comforted her while she let free all of her hurt and pain. She soothed Allegra as she wept harshly into her chest, her breathing erratic and painful as she fought to hang on to her own dignity.

“If and when you are ready, I’m here. Lorraine will be here. Whatever happened doesn’t have to define you. It will make you stronger as you grow into the woman you are meant to be.”

* * *

Loch felt Sage leave the bed but wanted to give her a few minutes before he ambushed her in the kitchen where he heard the kettle blow. After showering, he made his way downstairs to see her and Allegra on the back patio separated by nearly the entire lounge.

When he was about to go out to offer a good morning, he heard Sage explaining David and Goliath. The trials and tribulations David had gone through to be Israel’s redeemer. When she’d continued to tell the story of her own battle and mentioned she was David and he was her strength, his throat grew tight with emotion.

Their love was new, their relationship newer still, and yet, he shouldn’t have been shocked. The feelings they had for each other were tougher than the highest mountains. He was flattered and had a deep-seated need to show her he was worthy of her confidence. Love grew in his heart.

Tears streamed from Allegra’s eyes as she comprehended everything Sage was telling her. He watched as his wife, the love of his life, offered comfort and strength to a person she didn’t even know. Sage took the girl under her wing just as naturally as she had fallen in love with him.

Deciding then and there that they had to do something to help Allegra, no matter what it entailed, he left the two alone in search of his phone.

Knowing exactly who could help, he called Levi. His brother picked up just before it hit voicemail. “This had better be good.” He grouched.

“Hayes’ brother is military, right?” Loch began. “He’d have special connections, wouldn’t he?”

“What the fuck are you talking about, Loch?” Levi wasn’t a morning person. In fact, Loch would bet his brother had never seen a sunrise before.

“Allegra’s here. She’s in trouble, and I think she could use some help,” he explained, not knowing what type until she decided to speak to them.

“Allegra who?”

“What about Allegra?” Hayes could be heard in the background.

“Give her the phone, Lev,” Loch demanded.

Bitching about it being too early for such heaviness, the phone was handed off. “Lochlan?” Hayes soft voice came across. “What’s wrong with Allegra?”

“She’s been at Ma’s for a couple nights now. She’s got bruises along her neck and shoulders. Sage is talking to her now, but she needs help. She spent the night outside while we were all in Vegas rather than going home. She needs help.” He couldn’t convey that strong enough.

“What kind of help?”

“I was hoping the kind Ryder might be able to offer.”

Silence met his words. “I’ll call him,” she said promptly before hanging up.

It was only a few minutes before a text came through stating Ryder and a friend would be there in an hour.

Loch waited in the kitchen while the girls stayed outside. The sun had risen, the birds were chirping happily, not realizing devastation happened during their happiness. When he’d met Brett and Allegra that first time, Brett had mentioned his worry over the younger girl. He hadn’t wanted to be too obvious, but Loch caught on.

After seeing her again, the bruising, the sullen look in her gaze, Loch was confident something was happening at home, and none of it was good. A fifteen-year-old girl didn’t get bruises like that and not seek out where she felt safest. Her coming there was telling.

“Lochlan?” His mother had snuck up on him in the kitchen. “What’s going on?” Her gaze was glued to the girls.

“Do you think that could have been Sage?” he asked instead of answering. The fear that not too long ago that had been his new bride. Terror and rage spiked through his system.

Turning to him, Lorraine smirked. “Sage is much different than Allegra. She has an underlying strength that can’t be extinguished. I hate to say it, son, but with or without you, she’d have forged her own path. She wouldn’t have bowed down, no matter what.”

The image of his love lying in the hospital, beaten and broken, it was hard yet so incredibly easy to believe. His girl was a fighter. Even if her last breath were the only option out, she’d have escaped.

“I think Sage has her talking.”

“You do?” She seemed astonished.

“Ryder and a friend are on their way to see if they can help, too.”

“They are?” She looked down at her ratty robe, stolen from his father when he passed, and mumbled, “I better get presentable then,” as she left the room.

It wasn’t long after that, the doorbell rang. The girls both jumped at the sound. Sage turned to see him standing up. Her once worried gaze turned soft and full of love as she spotted him. He was one lucky son of a bitch.

* * *

Ryder Morrison had been shocked at the call from his sister, Hayes. She’d been excited when he first came home but soon became cold towards him. Not that he blamed her.

Even though his kidnapping and subsequent torture hadn’t been his fault, he’d been rescued more than a year ago. After his medical care and rehabilitation had finished, he didn’t know how to get back into civilian life. His life was far from normal.

His family had thought he was in the Navy in the Pacific fleet, and while it wasn’t a lie at first, it only lasted two years before he was recruited to be part of a top-secret team that answered solely to the President. They took on the missions no one else could or would. While he was living this secret life, and in recovery, Task Force 779 had become more than a brotherhood. They were family. And he couldn’t find it in himself to regret meeting his team.

“What are we doing here again?” Theo Burkhart, the expert sniper and all-around jackass of their team, asked him as they pulled up to his sister’s soon to be mother-in-law’s home.

“Hayes asked a favor. I’m doing it.”

“But why am I here at the ass crack of nothing?”

“Because I’m going in blind. Now stop bitching.”

“Fuck,” Theo spat out as Ryder rang the doorbell.

The door opened to a young man just a couple years his junior looking serious. “Hey, man, thanks for coming.” He stuck out his hand for Ryder to shake.

“You Loch?”

“Yeah.” He looked behind him as two young girls entered the room.

“I’m Ryder.” The red-head girl looked shaken, terrified actually, as his gaze zoomed in on the visible bruising around her neck. “This is Theo.”

“Come on in.” Loch stepped back for them to enter. He introduced the girls. “This is my wife, Sage, and Allegra, Hayes’ friend.” The impact of his statement hit Ryder. The girl needed protection.

“You know we don’t do that right?” Theo asked before he could. “We aren’t babysitters.”

Sage’s gaze narrowed in on his friend. “She doesn’t need a babysitter, you big oaf. She needs to disappear.”

“Did she just seriously call me an oaf?” Theo’s words called for insult, but the idiot was laughing.

“What happened?” Ryder asked, looking to Allegra. He wanted her story, not a retelling.

Shuffling her feet, she looked around the room, unable to meet anyone’s gaze. “He gets angry sometimes.”

“Who?” Theo growled. As much as he liked to yank a person’s chains, he didn’t tolerate abuse on women any more than the rest of their team.

She swallowed as tears welled in her light green gaze. “My father.”

* * *

Sage’s heart broke as she listened to Allegra tell her story. The abuse she endured for years. Believing it was her own fault. The young girl had suffered so much in her fifteen years on this earth. Far more than anyone should.

As Ryder and Theo explained their plan and how timing was everything, Sage and Lorraine held Allegra’s hand through it all. They absorbed her pain and tears. They smiled when she finally felt relief, knowing her life was going to change.

“You have to know though, Allegra, before we do any of this, before we move you, Allegra Wellington is dead. She can’t come back. You have to cut all ties.” She vibrated at the seriousness of Ryder’s words.

“Like witness protection?” Lorraine asked.

The two men shared a look as Theo answered without actually answering. “Better.”

“I don’t have anyone, anyways,” Allegra said sadly.

“Then we should go now. The faster we get you away, the easier it’s going to be. Especially if the scumbag decides to report you as missing.”

As they left, a hollow sadness filled Sage’s heart as she watched Allegra climb in the back of a large SUV. Lochlan’s arms circling her waist offered the comfort she needed.

“She’ll be free,” he whispered in her ear. “She’ll get to live.”

“I know. I just hate that I can relate so closely with her. I know her pain and feelings of helplessness.”

“You were never helpless, Sage. You’re a fighter, always have been, always will be.” He turned her cheek, and their mouths touched, breathless anticipation made her pulse skyrocket.

“Take me home,” she whispered, ready to be completely free with her husband.