Max
She’s scared, and I don’t fucking blame her. Who the fuck would have thought we’d find a woman in Ulizeoa’s tunnels? Who would have thought we’d find a trapped, delicate woman?
I certainly didn’t think we would.
When the boys said they’d found something, I figured it was bodies or weapons or drugs.
But a woman?
That was one thing I was not expecting.
Now she’s sitting in front of me, and I know I’ve asked her something hard. I’ve asked her to give me something precious: her trust. Oh, I know she’s been through hell, but there’s something fantastic in Diana’s eyes: determination.
She might not know it yet, but she’s one strong fucking woman.
I can tell the second she decides to trust me. She lets out a deep breath, her entire body relaxes, and she offers her wrists to me.
“Thank you,” I murmur quietly, taking them. I immediately begin to go to work rubbing her wrists and arms.
“For what?”
“For trusting me, Diana.”
She’s silent as I work on massaging her arms. I’m beyond irate when I see the cuffs were put on too tightly, and her skin is chafed and damaged. She’s got a couple of open cuts. It’s not like this is the only place she’s damaged, either.
Diana is a beautiful woman. It would be impossible not to notice that, but her entire body is bruised, battered. Not broken. It’s not broken. She’s not broken, but she is hurt, and she’s going to require medical attention.
I lift her wrists to better examine one of her cuts.
“I’m fine,” she whispers.
“You’re not fine, love,” I shake my head. “Oh, sweetheart. You’re so very far from fine.” I look at her, and there are tears in her eyes. She appears to be steeling herself, and then she asks me the question I’ve been dreading.
“Are you here to take me?”
“I’m here to rescue you.”
She looks at my face, searching for something. She wants to know if I’m telling the truth, and that in itself breaks my heart. She’s been tricked before. She’s been tricked and she’s been hurt over and over again, but she’s still being brave.
She’s still being bold.
She’s still being the strongest woman I’ve ever seen in my damn life.
And then she does something completely unexpected. Diana throws herself into my arms and begins to sob uncontrollably. I wrap my arms around her instantly and hold her as she cries for her past, cries for her future, cries for the time she lost being trapped away here. I hold her as she cries for hope, and then I start to cry, too.
“It’s going to be okay,” I whisper. “Everything is going to be okay, Diana.”
“It’s not okay,” she cries, but slowly, her tears begin to slow, and her body stops shaking, and soon I’m just holding her in my arms.
Blake comes back and stands at the door. He doesn’t say anything. Doesn’t have to. We’ve been working together long enough that we can read one another pretty damn well. I hold my hand out and he drops the blanket in it.
“You look cold, Diana. Let’s get you wrapped up, okay? Would that be all right?” I try to keep my voice even, soothing. The last thing I want is to hurt her more. She’s been through so much and I’m sure I can’t even imagine everything she’s faced.
“Yes,” she whispers. “Thank you.” She moves back slightly and I wrap the soft blanket around her. I wonder how long it’s been since she was warm. Diana looks from me to Blake and back again, and then she asks, “What happens now?”
“Do you have family, Diana? Are you from Dreagle?”
“No,” she shakes her head quickly. “There’s no one for me. You can just drop me off at a hostel or something. I’ll figure something out.”
Blake laughs, and I lift her chin. “Pardon my language, darling, but there is no way in fucking hell I’m dropping you off at a hotel in your condition, or any condition. You’ll come with us.”
“You already planned to bring me, didn’t you? That’s why you told Edgar to get the ship ready.”
“Something told me you didn’t have anyone coming for you, sweetheart.”
“Why would you think that?”
“Because if you were mine, Diana, I’d tear apart the fucking world to save you.”
“The men...they killed my father. We were treasure hunters,” she says quietly. “And they just killed him. They shot him and they took me. There’s no one else for me. My mom died a long time ago.”
“You’ll be safe with Extrinsic,” Blake says, piping up. “Our ship is very secure and we’ll be able to get you the best medical care possible.”
“I don’t,” she shakes her head. “I don’t have any money. I can’t afford that.”
Again Blake laughs. “Well, I suppose it’s a good thing ol’ Max here has taken a liking to you. He’s loaded.”
“Loaded?” She seems confused.
“He means I’m rich, sweetheart, and you don’t need to worry about paying for anything. Come on. Let’s get going. There’s nothing left for you here.”
She nods, and tries to get to her feet, but she stumbles, and I catch her. Blake frowns.
“There’s something wrong,” he says. “We need to get her to medical right away. She’s severely dehydrated and if I had to guess, her ankle broke a long time ago.”
“Diana, I’m going to carry you. Is that all right?”
“Yes,” she says, and allows me to lift her into my arms. Diana is light. Her blonde hair makes her skin look even paler, and if I had to guess, she’s lost a lot of weight recently. She looks too thin, too fragile, and I’m afraid I’m going to accidentally hurt her somehow.
“I’ll lead the way,” Blake says, and heads back down the hall. He’s shaking his head, and I know what he’s thinking. Who the hell could hurt a woman like this? Who would do something so terrible?
Blake and I have both done plenty of bad things in our lifetime, but nothing like this. Nothing like what’s happened to Diana.
If Ulizeoa’s men weren’t already dead, I’d kill them all myself for what they’ve done to her. I’d tear them into bits, and I know for certain Blake would do the same.
Diana doesn’t look around as we move down the hall. Something tells me she’s seen them plenty of times before and she knows what’s here. She just doesn’t have any interest in reliving those nightmares.
“It won’t be long,” I tell her. “Just try to rest.” She relaxes against my body, and once again, I’m amazed by her trust. I’m amazed by her bravery. I’m amazed that no matter what happened to her, she’s still being strong.
She’s still being an incredible woman.
Blake slows down, and I catch up to him.
“I want transport to the ship,” I tell him.
“Already on top of it,” he taps his talk goo.
When we arrived on Dreagle, we made our way to the tunnels primarily on foot. Our mother ship has several smaller ships and flying units that can discreetly navigate the ugly world of Dreagle and get us back home quite quickly.
“Thanks, buddy.”
“Of course.”
We walk in silence, carefully moving through the hallways. At one point, we pass Ulizeoa and he seems shocked by the bundle I’m carrying. Then his eyes narrow, and he growls.
“Shut him the fuck up,” I tell Edgar, who promptly punches the bastard in the face. I glance down at Diana, but she’s fallen asleep and is blissfully unaware that her captor is so close.
If I hadn’t already agreed to deliver him to Rex, I’d kill the asshole myself.