Iona turned and wrapped her hand around his. “Come sit with me. I have a story to tell you.”
His gaze was wary. “A story? Are you trying to make me feel better with a fairy tale or something?”
She laughed, the sound skating on the edge of sounding brittle. A fairy tale. That was a laugh. Her story was no better than his. “Sit with me,” she repeated and drew him to the outdoor sofa. Yes, it was out of sight of her teammates, and she risked them pouring from the house in a flood. She’d take that chance.
Once he was situated, Iona drew in a slow breath, praying for courage to bare her soul to a man who was becoming more important to her by the day. “When I was a kid growing up, I was nothing but a troublemaker.”
He scoffed.
Iona held up her hand. “True story. My grandparents were kind enough to step in and raise me when my mother lost herself in drugs and alcohol. My father was never in the picture. He bailed the day my mother told him she was pregnant. By the time I was a senior in high school, I had a revolving door with my name on it at the Juvenile Justice Center, and local law enforcement knew me by name.
“On the day I started my senior year of high school, my grandparents informed me they could no longer care for me. They were checking themselves into a nursing home. Both of them had health issues that had steadily grown worse during my junior year.” She shrugged. “I knew they were getting worse, but I ignored it like I did everything else. That afternoon, when school let out, a social worker took me to a group home. That’s where I stayed until I graduated from high school.”
Elias scowled. “How is that worse than living in an MC?”
“You haven’t heard the worst yet. The woman in charge of that group home was sadistic and cruel. I endured beatings every day for two weeks. Once I was properly conditioned, I was sent to hotels on weekends to keep men company when they were lonely and needed a companion. You were a police officer. You know what that means, what happened when I was with them.”
Elias’s jaw clenched. “Tell me you reported it.”
“Of course I did, but I lived in a small town, Elias. A few of the men I visited were town leaders and police officers, including the chief of police. No one cared. My complaint went nowhere.
“Like you, I escaped that life the day I graduated and joined the military. The Army saved my life. They trained me and gave me the skills I needed to survive and thrive. I will never regret my time there.”
“And yet you joined Fortress Security.”
She smiled, remembering the day Brent Maddox had found her on post and talked to her about his company and his dream of a black ops team of women. A dream come true for her. Iona had always longed to be something more than she was in the military.
Fortress Security was a better fit for her. No more reporting to so many layers of the upper ranks and begging permission to take on harder tasks. The only thing holding her back at Fortress was herself. “Brent was the second best thing to happen in my life. He was better than the Army, although I’ve never told him as much and won’t. His head would grow too big.”
Elias chuckled. “I hear you.” He sobered. “What happened to the men who touched you?”
“Not a thing until their wives, or a board of directors, or the town council received anonymous letters detailing exactly what their men were doing on weekends.”
“Any jail time?”
She shook her head. “I’ve learned to be content with what I could get. Each of the men lost his job and his standing in the community. Most ended up divorced. A few lost everything.”
“What about the group home and the woman who ran it?”
“She found herself in trouble with the law in the next county. She made the mistake of crossing county lines with the girls she took to no-tell motels, and the local police raided them basedon a credible anonymous tip about human trafficking at the motels.”
Elias wrapped his good arm around her shoulders and drew her against his body. “I was going to ask if your teammates knew about your past, but I can tell from the justice you dished out that Riley had a hand in it.”
She laughed. “They all contributed ideas. We chose the best method of stopping the sex trafficking. All the men fell off their town pedestals. In the end, they lost what they valued most. Power.”
“Do they know who took them down?”
She sobered. “No. I just wanted them to stop. Getting credit for the takedown wasn’t necessary.”
He was silent for a beat. “One day, if we pass through your hometown, I might do some nightwork.”
“No.”
“It’s not your decision, Iona. Those men abused you. If the men aren’t in jail, they may go back to their old tricks.”
“Justice will not come by your hand, Elias.” She cupped his jaw. “I don’t want that on your conscience.”
“For you, I’d do it without batting an eyelash.”
