It wasn’t until months later when we’d been called to a meeting at Gus’ compound that we discovered what actually happened. At some point, Katarina was taken. Kidnapped and held hostage by our sycophant father. He held Maddox at gunpoint and made me choose. My brother or Kat. Maddox chose for me, but Gus wasn’t having it, and Katarina ultimately paid the price for my slow decision making.
He raped her. Forced us to watch. I vowed that day that I would get her out. Even if it cost me my life, I would save her.
I may not have been able to rescue her then, but I will now. No matter what it takes.
A heavy silence falls between us, the kind that feels like it could stretch on forever. I can hear her breathing, the quiet, shaky sound of it, and it makes my chest tighten. I want to say something, to fill the void with words, but I don’t know what to say.
What can you say to someone who’s been through what she has? Who’s still going through it?
“I’m sorry,” I choke out, the words leaving my mouth before I can stop them.
Her hands freeze, and for a moment, I think she’s going to pull away, but she doesn’t. Instead, she stays there, so close I can feel the heat of her body against mine. It’s not comforting in the way Ella is. Not by a long shot. But it is in the way only two people can feel comfort in a time like this. In the knowledge that you aren't completely alone in the void.
“For what?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
“For not being able to save you from him,” I say, my throat tightening with the effort of keeping my voice steady. “For not getting you out sooner. For everything.”
There’s a long pause, and I hear her sniffle, a small sound that cuts through the darkness like a knife. I want to reach out to her, to hold her, but I can’t move more than a few inches.
“It’s not your fault,” she finally says, her voice trembling. “You couldn’t have known. You couldn’t have stopped him.”
“But I should have,” I say, the guilt clawing at me. “I should have done something.”
Her fingers start working on the cuffs again, but her movements are slower now, more deliberate. “You did what you had to do to survive,” she whispers. “We both did.”
I hear the strength in her voice, the resolve that hasn’t been broken despite everything she’s been through. It makes me smile. She’s strong, stronger than I could have imagined, and it gives me hope.
“You’re going to get out of here,” I say, trying to sound confident, even though I’m not sure I believe it. “You’re going to see your son again.”
“And you?” she asks, her voice soft. “What about you?”
“I’ll be right behind you,” I promise, even though I know it’s a lie. If it comes down to it, I’ll make sure she gets out, even if it means I don’t. But I don’t say that. She doesn’t need to know.
“What’s waiting for you outside these bars?” she murmurs as I feel a cuff shift, loosen.
I swallow hard and close my eyes. My mind fills with visions of her, my woman, my Cariño, my future, and I simply say, “My whole world.”
Her fingers stop, and for a moment, I think she’s going to say something, but she doesn’t. Instead, she just keeps working on the cuffs, her movements more focused now, like she’s channeling all her energy into this one task.
As she works, my mind drifts back to Ella. I wonder where she is, if she’s safe. I wonder if Hunter is with her, or if he’s stuck in this hellhole with me.
The thought of my precious girl being out there, searching for us, makes my heart ache. I miss her so much it hurts. I never thought I’d find love. Never thought I’d settle down or dreamof forever. But when I look at her, it’s all I see. Family, safety, maybe a few babies who look just like her. Freckled faces and dimpled smiles.
And surprisingly, next to her, next to our kids, I see them…my brothers.
Even Hunter.
We’re a bunch of misfits—unwanted and unloved.
We pulled a Rihanna and found love in a hopeless place, and I’m not letting it go. The six of us are a family. Fuck, maybe we’ll even get some dogs or a place in the country with a lake. Ella always wanted space to breathe. And ducks. She should get some damn ducks after all this.
She deserves everything, even if the idea of bugs makes me want to peel my skin off.
I smile as an image of my brother chasing a herd of ducks with our kids pops into my exhausted brain, and once it’s taken root, I can’t shake it. Nyx would be a helicopter dad to our little family, picking babies up by their shirts so they don’t get hurt. Stone would be silent, watchful, protective from the sidelines, yet he’d still somehow be their favorite. Ella would be buried under a pile of puppies and babies while Hunter hovered over the scene with a camera and a smile.
And me…
I’d be in a constant state of shocked awe, because how the fuck did I get this goddamned lucky?
