“You were young. And how much could you have done?”
“I could have fought harder.”
He shook his head. "Don't let survivor's guilt get to you. When my friends died, I felt awful. I didn't know why I survived and they died."
“He took women and traded them for money and stuff. I don’t know how he could have done it.”
Thario blew out a breath. “We will always have evil in this world. People do crazy stuff that is awful. There isn’t much we can do about it, except fight. Even with as much as I do to find traffickers and predators, it’s not enough. I miss some. People die.”
She squeezed his hand. “It’s not your fault.”
"No, it's not, but I still feel it. There have been people we've been looking for, and when we find that they aren't alive, it crushes me. I hate that they don't make it. I'm glad we found you alive."
She nodded. “I was still useful to him. I cooked and cleaned and took care of him. He used me.”
“He did. And it was awful.” He squeezed her hand, then wove their fingers together. “I think our future will be good together because we’ll work to overcome whatever evil he had planned for you.”
A smile spread over her lips. “I do, too.”
Thario didn't doubt it would take a lot of work to make their future happy. Calla still had a lot to get through. Her life had been altered because Brent had held her captive for so long, but from the terrible things, they could build something good.
Chapter 35
Thario showedCalla what to search for. He’d warned her not to look too deeply at websites with photos. She made the mistake of pulling one up and quickly closed everything. Thario had to help her get set up again, but he said he didn’t mind.
After an hour of reading information, she sat back, exhaustion hitting her hard.
“This is hard.”
Thario sat back and groaned. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. She felt bad for him, so she got up and moved to stand behind him.
He opened his eyes and looked up at her. She felt so much for him. It was like her heart expanded, and she didn't know what to do with her feelings.
“I’m going to rub your shoulders and neck.”
“You don’t have to.”
“I want to.”
She put her hands on his shoulders and started massaging, increasing the pressure as he moaned.
“This feels good.”
“I like spending time with you.”
After a moment, he stood and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I like spending time with you, too."
“I want to learn to drive so I can get a car and come over when I want.”
He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. She needed more but didn’t know how to ask.
After a moment, she decided she needed to kiss him. When her lips brushed over his, he froze, then pulled her closer. Their arms intertwined, and he took the kiss deeper.
She wanted to touch him, not just his shirt, but him. When she lifted the bottom of his shirt up, he drew in a sharp breath and pulled out of the kiss.
His gaze burned through her, giving her confidence. Her fingers trailed over his skin on his side. She could see hesitancy in his gaze.
“What?”
