Her bright blue eyes bounce between me and Eli then she turns to one of the other girls and repeats the question in another language that I don’t understand. The majority of them shake their heads, indicating that they don’t know, but one of them raises her hand. She must only be late teens from what I can see.
“Natalia, do you know?” The older girl asks, and the younger one nods her head and tangles her fingers together, nerves shaking through her body. “It’s alright, you can talk to them.” She says with a gentle tone.
My heart cracks wide open for these girls and I take a small step forward, slowly enough to not spook them anymore and crouch down in front of Natalia.
“You’re safe now, I swear. We’re here to help, and maybe you can help me. I’m looking for a woman, a woman that I love more than anything in the world. She was taken, just like you guys and I need to find her. Soplease,if you know anything, tell me.” I beg, my voice trembling. Natalia untangles her fingers before placing her hand on top of mine that’s resting on my knee, the touch shocks me but I keep my hand steady.
“I’m sorry.. that she’s missing.” She says with an accent, her voice small and timid. “I don’t know the exact location, but, just before I was captured, a guy mentioned someone called, Nico? I think.” My eyes widen at her words and I turn back around to face Eli who’s also sporting the same emotions as me. “He said that this Nico person would be waiting for us at a prison.”
“A prison?”
Natalia nods her head, her hand still resting on mine.
“Yes, a prison. He never said the name or where it was, but I remember.. being told it would be a prison. Whether he meant that metaphorically or not, it stuck with me. I hope that helps.”
Her eyes fill with tears and I place my other hand over hers then give it a small squeeze. “You’ve done great, thank you.” I say with a small smile and release her hand. She tucks it under her arm and tucks herself back into the small group. I rise to my full height again before turning to face Eli, speaking to him in hushed tones.
“You think it’s a real prison?” I ask whilst racking my brain, trying to think of any prisons near Rockford, but I come up empty. This is a small town full of good people, there’s no way a prison would be here.
“Maybe? These girls would have no reason to lie, they’ve clearly been put through hell.” He speaks quietly, his gaze flicking to the group every so often.
“It’s gotta be outside of Rockford. Is there any way of tracking where the van came from? Maybe it’s got a Sat Nav we can use.
“Smart thinking Viper, you’re not just a pretty face are you?”
I roll my eyes at my best friend’s taunts, then turn to face the girls again. “Let’s get you out of here.”
Over the next hour we manage to get all the girls out of the boat and over to Cecilia and her team who wrap the girls in warm blankets with fresh food and water, before loading them into vans where they’ll be taken to a women’s shelter.
Just as I’m about to load my guns into Eli’s truck, the other girl who spoke to me on the boat comes to stand at the side of me, a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders. Her blue eyes shine brightly under the now glowing moon. They almost remind me of Eli’s, a similar nose and mouth grace her face too.
I’m getting ahead of myself and I’m tired, so fucking tired.
“I just wanted to thank you for saving us.” She says with a small smile and my breath hitches in my throat. That’s a smile that I see all the time, in the form of my best friend.
There’s no way.
I blink a couple of times and shove the thoughts away. “No need to thank me, honestly. I’m just glad you guys are alright.”
“We will be, thanks to you and Eli.”
She gives me one last look, her gaze flitting over to Eli who’s packing everything back into the truck, then turns to walk away.
“Just one more thing, what’s your name?”
She stops mid-walk, then turns to face me again. “It’s Sophia.”
“What did you say your name was?” Eli asks from the open door of his truck and I can hear the trepidation in his voice.
“I said it’s Sophia.” She repeats again.
My gaze flicks between Eli and Sophia, and what I see before me is enough to knock the wind out of me. It’s like looking at twins. They both share the same straight nose and fierce brows, with shining blue eyes.
“I uh, I better get going. I think the van is waiting for me.” Sophia says then turns to Eli. “Please tell your wife I said thank you for everything.” Then she’s off, walking away towards the awaiting van. She gives us one last look, then steps inside. The moment the door closes Eli lets out a shuddering breath whilst planting his hands on the truck to steady himself.
“Dean, is that?”
“I dunno man.”
