Echoes at Dawn

“Shea is in very good hands, Grace. Nathan loves her a hell of a lot. He’ll protect her with his dying breath.”



She gave a wistful-sounding sigh. “I’m glad she’s found happiness and that she’s safe. It’s what I always wanted for her—for us—just a normal life.”



Rio reached across the comforter and gathered her hand in his. “You’ll get there. KGI isn’t walking away from this.”



“Thank yox20 duringu. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t found me when you did. I…” She closed her eyes and bowed her head. “I was ready to die. I think I even wanted to. I was just so tired. I can’t even explain to you how I felt.”



Rio brought his hand up to touch her hair, letting one of the damp strands slide over his fingers. “There’s no shame in admitting you were at your lowest point. We’ve all been there.”



She lifted her head and met his gaze. “What was your lowest point?”



He swallowed because the pain of Rosalina’s death still lived inside him. She’d been all he had left. And he’d failed to protect her as he should. In a lot of ways she’d been the impetus for him to walk away from Titan.



“My baby sister died,” he said quietly. “She was pregnant with a child. She was beaten by her lover, the father of her baby. All because she spoke to another man.”



Grace’s face twisted in sympathy. “I’m so sorry. What happened? Was he punished?”



“He’s dead,” Rio said bluntly.



Grace’s eyes widened. She bit her lip and stared hard at him, almost like she knew and wanted to ask but hesitated.



He took the decision from her. She should know the kind of man she’d trusted with her safety. She should have all the facts.



“I tracked him down and killed him.”



“Good,” Grace said fiercely. “I hope it wasn’t quick either.”



Rio blinked in surprise and then burst out laughing. Her face was drawn into a scowl and her nose was scrunched up making her look…cute.



“It wasn’t quick.”



“Any man who abuses those who are weaker and defenseless deserves to have his balls cut off.”



Rio smiled. “Indeed they do. I’ll spare you the details but he was repaid in kind.”



His heart felt a little lighter. Not as heavy as it always did when he spoke of his sister. Grace looked like she wanted to go track the bastard down and kill him all over again. He found that ferocity very attractive in a woman.



“I’m glad,” she said. She rubbed her hands up and down her arms as if she’d gotten a chill. “It’s the most helpless feeling in the world not to be able to fight back.”



“You’re not helpless anymore, Grace. You’ve got me.”



She squeezed his hand, curling her fingers tightly around his. “They took something from me, Rio. Something I may never get back. I hate them for it.”



He scooted even closer, pulling her hand until it rested on the top of his thigh. “What’s that?”



Her face creased in anguish. “My sister. They took my link to her. I never realized how much I depended on it and her until it was gone. I hate the silence. I feel so…alone.”



Rio carefully pulled her into his arms and laid her cheek against his chest. “You’ll get it back. I have some exercises for the mind that may help. You’ve been through hell, Grace. You can’t expect to come out unscathed. You have to heal. Not just physically but mentally as well. Especially mentally. Your body will take care of itself, but your mind has been deeply bruised by all you’ve endured. It’s likely shut down to protect you. It’s in survival mode just as you are.”



“You make me feel hope,” she whispered against his chest. “I’ve been without hope for so long, butr s with you, I can remember what it feels like to believe and have faith.”



He held her for a moment longer and then finally pulled away. “We’ve talked enough for one night, I think. I’m sure you’ll have more questions when you’re not falling-down tired. You need to rest and completely heal. I’m not going anywhere. We can continue this conversation tomorrow.”



She nodded and he tucked her back underneath the covers. Then he went to the closet, pulled out several blankets and some extra pillows. After arranging a comfortable spot on the floor, he turned back to her. “Ready for lights out?”



“Yeah,” she murmured.



Already she’d snuggled into the pillows and was lying on her side facing his direction. She looked tired. Worn down. Like she’d been through hell. And yet he’d never seen a woman who looked more beautiful to him. Maybe it was because he’d seen the heart of her. Her spirit and resilience.



Grace had made a huge impact on his life in the very short time he’d known her, and he knew he’d never forget her.



He reached for the light switch and doused the room in darkness. Then he crawled beneath the covers he’d arranged and closed his eyes. His muscles screamed their protest, and fatigue beat relentlessly in his head.



He had almost drifted off when he heard her soft whisper.



“Rio?”



He opened his eyes and half turned in her direction so he could hear her.



“Are you awake?”



It was said so softly he almost didn’t hear her.



“Yeah. You okay?”



There was a long pause.



“Grace?”



“Would you…” She trailed off like she was having difficulty asking what it was she wanted. “Would you sleep with me? On the bed, I mean? I feel…safer…when you’re near.”



His chest did funny things. His heart turned over at the fear and hesitancy in her voice. Hell, he’d move a damn mountain for her.



He pushed himself upward and then flipped on the lamp. She blinked and then peered anxiously up at him.



Then he pulled the covers back and crawled into the bed. He reached back to turn off the light. Once again darkness settled over the room, and he turned back so they were facing each other, though he could barely make out her features.



They lay there silently, so still he couldn’t hear her breathe. She was stiff and completely immobile, but he could tell she hadn’t relaxed or gone to sleep.



“Come here,” he said quietly.



He lifted his arm and she immediately snuggled into his embrace. Her body was a warm shock to his, flush against his chest, her legs touching his.



He remained still, waiting to see if she’d react or if she seemed uncomfortable with his proximity, but to his surprise, she burrowed farther into his embrace, emitted a sweet-sounding sigh and then settled limply against him.



“This better?” he asked.



She nodded against him, her head bobbing just underneath his chin.



For several long moments, he lay there, unsure of what to do next. Finally he lowered his arm, curling it around her midsection and anchor



ing her to him. She didn’t even stir. She’d already fallen asleep.



He relaxed, letting his head and hers sink farther into the pillows. She felt small and slight next to him, and he was further reminded of just how fragile she was and yet how much inner strength she possessed.



He turned his mouth nedy immodown until his lips brushed over her hair. “Good night, Grace,” he whispered.



CHAPTER 15



GRACE awoke with a throbbing headache. Her brow wrinkled at the effort it took to open her eyes. She lay there a moment as she evaluated her body and her injuries. Then she lifted her arm, examining the place where the bone had broken. She flexed and extended her fingers, but other than a little stiffness, all seemed well.



Her dreams had been fractured, a mixture of reality and a product of her fears. She’d tried repeatedly to reach out to her sister, and at this point she hoped she hadn’t been successful because Shea would have been terrified for Grace, and the very last thing Grace wanted to do was upset her sister. Especially now that Rio had told her she was happy.



In love.



Protected.



Envy bit hard and guilt crowded swiftly in for thinking even for a moment that she was jealous of what her sister had.



She sat up, realizing that Rio had likely long vacated the bed. Sunlight streamed through the one window at the very top of the wall. She thought it odd that all the windows in the house were positioned that way. There was no view to the outside. Nor were they large enough for a person to fit through. She wondered if Rio had given thought to being able to escape in a fire.



She shook her head. Somehow she didn’t think such a thing would ever escape Rio’s planning. He seemed too focused and calculating to miss something so simple.



She moved slowly, though she did feel better and not as broken. She didn’t want to take anything for granted, however. She wanted—needed—to be whole again and not just physically. There was a need that transcended simple desire for the woman she’d been before this whole nightmare began.



She found a pair of jeans and a T-shirt on top of the dresser. Frowning, she let her fingers run over the worn softness of the material. She was struck by a longing sensation so keen that she yanked her hand away, palming her fingers with the other hand.



Tears stung her eyelids as she stared down at the clothing. Shea’s clothing. When had she been here? How had Rio gotten these things?



Her heartbeat thundered against her chest until she was dizzy and swaying. She hated the anxiety that gripped her every time she considered that she’d been too trusting of Rio and his men. What if they were the ones she should fear the most? Here she was in Belize, God knows where on some river way out in the middle of nowhere.



She closed her eyes and reached for Shea’s clothes again, pulling them to her chest for comfort. For a brief moment it was like holding her sister again.



She’d spent the night in Rio’s arms because she’d been lonely, afraid, and she’d trusted him. Now she wondered if she hadn’t been incredibly stupid, but then this was an argument she’d waged with herself since they’d been in the mountains.



More than anything, she was afraid of making the wrong choice and trusting the wrong people. For so long, she’d refused to trust anyone else. Only Shea. And now that link was gone.



She pulled Shea’s T-shirt over her head and down her body. Normally Shea’s clothing wouldn’t fit her. Shea was smaller, shorter, not as muscled as Grace, but Grace had suffered in the last months. Now Shea’s shirt hung loosely on her.



Next she put on the pants, and other than being a bit short in the length, they fit her fine. Grace had lost a lot of weight. She was afraid to know how much.



She closed her eyes and inhaled. She could smellhis b th Shea. Could feel her wrapped around her just like her clothing was. If Rio worked for the organization that was currently protecting Shea, then Grace should be able to talk to her, right?



Then she could put at least one worry to rest. Whether she should be wary of Rio and his team or whether they were really the good guys here.



For the time being, if they weren’t the good guys, she was at least being treated far better than she’d been with the last people who’d held her captive. So far…



She poked around in the bathroom until she found deodorant, a toothbrush and a brush for her hair. It was bedraggled from the night before when she’d washed it and gone straight to bed.



She settled on the bed and set to work on detangling the mass of hair. Cross-legged on the mattress, she didn’t overlook the normalcy of doing something so mundane as brushing her hair. Any other time she would have overlooked it, been in a hurry, not dwelled on something so everyday. Now, she was grateful for it.



Closing her eyes, she stroked the brush through the strands and tried to center her scattered emotions. She thought of Shea, focused intensely on the familiar path, but each time she reached for it, blackness swelled in her mind. Her despair heightened with each failed attempt to reconnect to her sister.



I’m so sorry, Shea. This is my fault. I shut you out. But I need you now.



Her hand slowed in its downward progression through her hair, and tears were hot at the edges of her eyes. She inhaled sharply through her nose and blinked them back. After several steadying breaths, she lifted her head, only to find Rio standing in the doorway, his gaze trained on her.



“Feeling better?” he asked.



She nodded slowly and retraced the same path with the brush, enjoying the soothing rhythm against her scalp.



“You seem upset.”



She sighed, put the brush down and flipped her hair back over her shoulder. She let her hands rest on her crossed ankles and threaded her fingers nervously.



“I need to talk to Shea. I can’t connect mentally with her, so I need for you to call her. You said she’s with people you work with, right? I want to talk to her.”



Rio leaned against the doorframe, cocked his head to the side and studied her a long moment. Then he smiled slightly, his eyes gleaming with amusement. That smile made her uncomfortable. Like he had secret knowledge she wasn’t aware of. She fidgeted under his scrutiny but refused to back down.