“All right,” Jace agreed. “You can tell me what you want me to know, but please don’t feel like you have to speak about anything you don’t want to.”
Millie took one more sip, placed her cup on the coffee table, and turned toward Jace. “I was eleven,” she said. “I didn’t even know how sex worked.”
Jace flinched but said nothing, waiting for her to continue.
“The men who attacked the ranch were evil monsters. I was inside the house with my mother. Blade and Annie were outside. Blade was helping my father, and Annie was caring for her chickens. I could hear the men scream all the way from outside as they were slaughtered. The bandits killed them all except for Blade and my father. They hurt them really badlyand then brought them into the house so that they had to watch.”
Jace closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them, Millie could see that they were shinier than before.
“I’m listening,” he said, squeezing her hand.
“The bandits—they assaulted my mother and our maid. I saw what they were doing, but I didn’t understand why. I just knew they were hurting them. I tried to escape, but that angered them. One of the bandits grabbed me and dragged me into my parents’ room. He threw me onto the bed and then...” Millie trailed off, her voice cracking as her heart sped up. She could remember it so vividly. She could smell the man and feel his hands on her when she closed her eyes.
“Millie,” Jace breathed. “I’m so sorry.”
Millie could hear the pain in his voice. His words were sincere, and it touched her heart, making her fall even more in love with him.
“He took my innocence,” she continued. Now that she had started her story, she wanted to finish it. She never knew how much she needed to tell what had happened to somebody, but with every word spoken, it felt like a weight was being lifted from her shoulders. “When he was done, he just left me there on the bed, crying. I thought that it was over, but then more and more men came.”
Jace shook his head, tears now visible in his eyes. “You know none of that was your fault, right?”
“I do,” Millie replied. For a long time, she had wondered if there was something she could have done to avoid it, but over the years, she had come to accept the truth. She was an innocent victim. That fact didn’t make any of it easier to deal with. “Eventually, after they were all done, the first bandit returned. He told me he wasn’t going to shoot me because it would be too easy and that he wanted me to suffer a little more. He cut my arms and legs open, leaving me to bleed out. I was supposed to die, but somehow, Dr. Masterson had saved me. I didn’t see them kill my father, my mother, or Annie. That’s something I’m grateful for. They had shot all of them, Blade too, but like me, he had survived.”
“Well, I’m really glad that you did,” Jace whispered. “And I know I’m not supposed to say this because I’m training to be a doctor, but I really hope those men die horrible, painful deaths.”
“They will,” Millie replied before she could stop herself.
Confusion washed over his face, and then a look of realization. “Blade?”
Millie opened her mouth to say something, but then reconsidered. She wasn’t supposed to tell anybody about Blade’s plan.
“It’s okay,” Jace assured her. “If he is out there killing them, I won’t tell anybody. Hell, if I had known, I probably would have helped him.”
“Are you serious?” Millie asked, shocked.
“Sure am. I’d kill anybody that hurts you.”
“That’s really sweet,” Millie stated. “But aren’t you supposed to be saving people, not killing them?”
“Technically, yes, but still, if anybody so much as lays a hand on you...”
Millie laughed. “You sound like Blade.”
“I always knew I liked him,” Jace joked. “But seriously, don’t worry about it. I won’t tell anybody.”
“Thank you,” Millie whispered, feeling so much lighter. There was one thing she still had to tell Jace, though, and she was scared that it might be the thing that scared him away.
“So, will you agree to be with me now?” Jace asked, serious again.
Millie nodded. “Yes, but there is one last thing you need to know.”
Jace frowned, clearly wondering what else there could be. “Tell me.”
“The bandits hurt me so badly that Dr. Masterson had to operate to fix me. I’ll never be able to have children.”
For once, Jace was rendered speechless.
Millie pulled her hand away from his, her heart breaking. “I get it,” she said. “It’s too much. Every man wants a child.”
