Gregor sat quietly as Tulli began her story, explaining to Cole Arthurs how she and her sisters came to be in Colombia in the first place. He found it hard to fathom that a simple vacation with her family to attend a relative’s wedding, had turned to horror so quickly.
She described how her parents and brother had been murdered in front of her, and how poor Mischa, who’d been standing with their mother, had been covered in their blood.
Arthurs was sympathetic, and as considerate as he could be under the circumstances, but he carefully kept the questions coming at the same pace, not allowing Tulli time to stop and dwell on the past.
Next, she described the journey to the camp, and how they had been thrown into the shack with the other women. Nobody had come near any of them for a couple of days, and she didn’t speak Spanish, so they had no warning of what was to come. But they soon realised that the men who inhabited the camp must have been away for a few days, because when they got back, that was when the nightmare really began.
When she paused to take a drink of water, Gregor repeated his offer to leave, if the next part was going to be too difficult for her to talk about with him there.
“Stay. Please?” She whispered, and that was all it took to keep him rooted in his seat.
“Tulli, I’m sorry to have to ask you to relive it, but can you tell me what happened next, to you and your sisters?” Cole asked.
Tulli nodded, fidgeting in her seat.
“The first time they took us from the shack, we kicked and screamed until they beat us.” She explained, staring at a picture on the wall over Cole’s head. “While we were semi-conscious, they raped us. Several of them.”
Cole glanced at Gregor, but neither men spoke or even changed their facial expression, even though Gregor could tell that Arthurs must be filled with just as much rage as Gregor felt in that moment.
“That happened every night for about a week. There were three guards, I think they must have been in charge, as they seemed to have their pick of the women.” Tulli seemed to have settled into a calm place. “By the end of the week, Mischa had gone into herself, and the men seemed too scared to touch her. She didn’t fight, but she screamed, and I think one of the men thought she was casting a spell on them. Something ridiculous like if they touched her again, their penis would shrivel and fall off.”
“Communities like these are full of superstitions.” Cole nodded.
“Yes, well… Lara and I decided that we wouldn’t go on like the other women who were being held captive. We were probably naive, but we decided that if they were going to kill us, it was going to be on our schedule, and not theirs. So, we really started fighting them. We kicked and punched, and scratched and spit. We behaved like animals, until one night when one of them tried to force himself in my mouth. He was so drunk he probably didn’t see the danger, but I took the opportunity I’d been waiting for, and I bit him.”
Tulli blushed as she said it, and when neither man said anything, she glanced around to see if they had heard her properly.
“You bit him…?” Cole prompted.
“I bit his penis.” She confirmed. “I almost bit it off.”
Both Gregor and Cole stared at her in shock.
“Almost?” Cole’s voice was hoarse as he spoke, obviously imagining the pain she must have inflicted.
“Yes. It didn’t come completely away, because I didn’t break the skin, but I definitely bit through whatever was under the skin. I felt it give way between my teeth.” She glanced at Gregor, clearly unsure what he would think of her now. “I think the man would have killed me if he could have, but he was in too much pain. They took him away, and I didn’t see him again. The guy who was in charge thought it was funny, and called the man names for being so stupid. He forbade anyone punishing me, as Castille wanted us kept alive, probably for ransom, so we were thrown back into the shed. After that none of the men wanted anything to do with us, so for the most part, we were spared any further abuses.”
“For the most part?” Cole prompted.
“We weren’t raped again.” Tulli clarified. “But occasionally, if the men were drunk, one of them would drag us out of the shack, Lara, and I, along with a few of the other women, and they would strip off our clothes. They would make us stand in the middle of the yard, and throw things at us. Food, or sticks and stones. I realised later that those nights happened when Rafael Castille banned them from having sex with the women, as some sort of punishment for an infringement. The men couldn’t actually touch the women, or Castille would be furious. So, humiliating them, and abusing them was the best they could come up with for entertainment.”
Tulli dropped her head and stared at her hands. Her shoulders slumped, and the energy seemed to drain from her.
“Is there anything else you need from Tulli this evening that can’t wait?” Gregor asked Cole. “Tulli barely had more than a few hours sleep last night, and must be running on fumes by now.”
Cole stared at Tulli, and recognised her exhaustion.
“Just one more thing.” He pulled a pile of photographs from his briefcase. “These are pictures of the men we arrested at the site. There weren’t many left alive, thanks to Gregor’s Russian friends, but those that survived claimed that they only worked in the factory under duress, and never participated in the rape of the women. Would you be able to identify the rapists from the factory workers?”
Tulli immediately held her hand out, and Cole handed her about twenty pictures. She looked at each one carefully before moving on to the next, removing four from the pile.
She handed the four to Cole.
“Those four were factory workers. I never saw them with any of the women.” She confirmed, before turning her attention back to the pile.
“These men are just low ranking manual workers, security and the like. But they are all violent rapists.” She confirmed. “However, none of them are the men that raped Lara, Mischa, and I, so can I conclude that those men must already be dead?”
“As far as I’m aware, and this was confirmed by Hannah with the help of her satellites, nobody escaped from the compound. They’re either dead or captured, and all those captured are the men in the photos.” Cole confirmed.
“Thank God.” Tulli sighed, and then as if realising what she’d said, her hand flew to her mouth. “I…”
“You’re absolutely justified in being relieved that they’re dead.” Cole smiled at her. He turned and reached for his phone, tapping the screen to stop it recording. “Well, I think I’m done with all the important stuff. I may have to ask you a few more questions, but they can wait until I return from Washington. Some of the top brass in DC are mighty interested in what you and your fellow hostages have to say.”
“But if the top people are all dead, what good will it do?” Gregor asked. “Who is there left to prosecute except a handful of lowly foot-soldiers?”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that.” Cole smiled. “We managed to get into Rafael Castille’s computer, as well as his uncle’s phone and laptop. Luis Castille has links throughout the Colombian cartels, and from what I’ve been able to make out, he liked to keep everything documented. With the help of the Colombian authorities, there’s going to be a lot of disruption in the drugs pipeline from South America to the US over the next few months. A hell of a lot of disruption, and hopefully, a few cartels will be taken down in their entirety.”
Cole stood up and gathered his things.
“Would you like me to let Candy know we’re finished?” He asked.
Gregor glanced at Tulli and noticed how pale she was.
“Yes, please. But could you ask her to give us a few minutes? I think Tulli needs a bit of recovery time.” He stood up and shook the Fed’s hand.
“Of course. And thank you, Tulli. Your help has been invaluable.” Cole smiled, before heading for the door.
Tulli didn’t move from the sofa, and with her head bowed, Gregor couldn’t see her expression.
It was only when he saw her shoulders heave that he realised she was crying.
Gregor dropped to his knees in front of her.
“Hey, there… it’s Ok.” He soothed. “Everything is going to be fine now. It’s all over.”
When her only response was to shiver, he did the only thing he could think of. He reached out for her, taking her gently by the tops of her arms, and tugged her forward until he could wrap his arms around her and hold her tightly.
Tulli’s body stayed stiff for all of two seconds before collapsing into him. Her hands gripped the front of his shirt, and he could feel the wetness of her tears through the material as she sobbed into his neck.
He made soothing noises, but let her cry herself out. He reckoned she was overdue to let all of the pain and sorrow out of her system, and if he could help her with that now, he’d consider it his good deed for the day.
Gregor leaned his head down and buried his nose in her hair, the scent of peaches filling his senses. She was beautiful and fragrant and so soft, it made him want to resurrect the bastards who had hurt her, just so he could kill them with his own bare hands!
As the sobbing subsided, he reached into his pocket for a handkerchief, and as Tulli gradually eased back, he passed it to her, with an understanding smile.
Unwilling to let Tulli go completely, he kept one arm around her, and as she wiped her eyes and her nose, he loved the way she kept one hand flat on his chest, as though she didn’t want to lose the connection either.
“I must look such a mess.” Tulli sniffed, looking up at him through her lashes. “How embarrassing!”
Gregor raised his hand and wiped a stray tear from her face.
“Tulli, you couldn’t look a mess if you tried.” He murmured, staring down into her smoky grey eyes. “You’re quite beautiful.”
He watched as her eyes widened in surprise, and noted how they seemed to darken as she stared up at him.
Without another thought, Gregor lowered his head until his lips touched Tulli’s in a featherlight caress.
When she didn’t move away, he increased the pressure very slightly for a few seconds, until Tulli moved her lips, turning to angle them in response, so she could deepen the contact, her eyes fluttering shut.
Gregor’s heart rate sped up and he wrapped her tighter in his arms, allowing himself the pleasure of exploring her mouth. When her lips parted slightly, he gently licked them, eliciting a moan of satisfaction from deep in Tulli’s chest.
It was all he could do not to plunder her mouth, and lower her to the sofa again, so he could free his hands to be able to touch her.
He wasn’t sure if the kiss lasted seconds or minutes. In fact, he wasn’t sure of much apart from his own name.
A noise from the hallway outside the office caught his attention, and he suddenly realised what he was doing.
He pulled back, staring at Tulli’s face as she opened her eyes slowly, her expression confused and almost childlike.
“I’m so sorry, Tulli.” He could feel his face fill with colour. “I didn’t mean to do that. I just… you were just… I couldn’t help myself. Please forgive me?”
Tulli stared at him for a few seconds while she regained her equilibrium.
“Please don’t apologise.” She whispered. “Or I’ll start to think you regret kissing me.”
Gregor was stunned.
“I don’t regret kissing you, Tulli.” He insisted. “I regret upsetting you.”
Tulli tilted her head to one side and stared at him for excruciatingly long seconds before breaking the silence.
“Did I say I was upset?”