The halls that once echoed with guards' boots were silent now; the mansion was drenched with blood. Atlas kept a protective arm around me as we moved. God, he felt so good….so safe. Jacob helped Becca slip into his jacket, squeezing her close.
Behind us, two CIA agents dragged Hector, still tied, gagged, and thrashing like an animal. Maybe he thought Atlas was kidding when he said he was going home with him. The now powerless cartel boss cursed through the gag, his voice muffled and furious.
The compound that had been mine and Becca's prison for a month was collapsing. Doors were thrown open. Guards were dead or cuffed, waiting to be taken away bythe Mexican police. The music from the ballroom had died, replaced by the crackle of radios and firm commands of agents clearing the rooms. Hector's reign was over.
The men who had come to buy us were on their knees with their hands cuffed behind their backs. I hung on tighter to Atlas as we walked through the main hall, my leather sandals sticking to the blood-soaked floor.
He pulled his jacket from his shoulders and draped it around me, tucking me against his side like he feared I would vanish if he let me go. Outside, the mansion looked like a different world. Floodlights lit up the cottages.
The gates were wide open, ambulances and police vehicles lined the paved road. Dozens of girls were still being led out, some crying, others in shock, like they couldn't believe their nightmare was over. The Mexican police guided them toward buses with blankets wrapped around their shoulders, while CIA agents barked orders into their radios.
Becca's breath hitched beside me. "Oh my God," she whispered, clinging to Jacob's sleeve for dear life.
"Look at them all."
Girls from every walk of life piled out. I heard so many languages, I couldn't keep up. I had never gone into the cottages, so I was oblivious to how many women were kept there. Their voices cracked as they stumbled into the night air, some free for the first time in years.
I watched as they were ushered onto the buses and then spottedher. "Layla," I gasped.
She stood among a cluster of confused victims, not yet comprehending what was happening. Her bandages werestill visible under the fabric of her thin costume. One medic handed her a blanket, and she draped it over her shoulders.
She looked pale and exhausted, but she was alive.
Her eyes found mine, and for the first time since I met her, they lit up with hope. She rushed forward, arms trembling as they wrapped around me.
"You made it." She whispered, her voice cracking.
"You're alive."
I held her tight, tears flooding my eyes again. "So are you, and you're coming with us until you get on your feet."
Atlas's eyes cut into me, piercing but unreadable under the floodlights. "Kitten—"
"I'm not leaving her, Atlas," I said firmly, my voice breaking but resolute. "She has no family, and she was invaluable while living with that monster. She deserves a chance at a new life, too."
Becca nodded fiercely, her eyes shining.
"Please take her with us, Atlas."
Atlas looked at Jacob, who gave the slightest shrug, then back at me. His jaw tightened, and for a second I thought he'd refuse. Then he exhaled, his arm pulling me closer.
"Okay, she's ours now. We will help her get back on track, and she can stay as long as she likes."
Layla's hand squeezed mine, weak but grateful.
We were guided into a waiting SUV with three rows of seats. While agents loaded the last of the rescued girls into buses and ambulances, Hector was shoved into the wayback with two agents on either side, his glare fixed on us, the gag muffling whatever filth he tried to spew.
Another agent took the wheel.
I curled against Atlas in the first row as the truck pulled away, headlights breaking through the darkness. Becca was tucked against Jacob across from us, his arm around her shoulders, whispering low to keep her calm.
Layla sat quietly beside me, leaning her head against the window with her eyes closed.
The drive was long, but for the first time in many weeks, I wasn't counting seconds in fear.
I was listening to the steady rhythm of Atlas's heartbeat under my ear, while his fingers brushed through my tangled hair like he always did to calm me down.
"You have my protection now, Kitten," he whispered, kissing my forehead. "This is over."
