When she’d moved into her first apartment on her own, she’d loved choosing each piece of furniture, indulging her desire for soft, fluffy towels, and high-quality sheets. Being able to cook anything she wanted, never being hungry, having knick-knacks, and pointless items dotted about just because she could. One of her biggest regrets was letting it all go when she moved in with her ex-husband.
Still, one thing filled her mind. It was silly, but if she had to pick one thing, she knewwhat it was.
“Bubbles,” she answered, a small smile on her lips.
“Bubbles?” Voodoo repeated as he obviously found a branch he thought could work and came back to stand in front of her.
Indigo shrugged, very aware that his life had likely been very different from hers when he’d been a kid, and that same flush of embarrassment filled her. “They were cheap, and they’re a great way to entertain a toddler. My mom used to buy them for me when she had a few spare dollars, and we’d sit on the front porch while she’d blow them for me, let me chase them. They’re some of the only happy memories I have with her. Then, when I was in foster care, most families didn't want to spend much money on me, but they didn't want to lose their fostering privileges, so a few of them would give me a tiny budget for a Christmas or birthday present. Not much you can buy with a couple of dollars, so I always chose bubbles.”
No doubt he thought it was silly, but there was something magical about bubbles. They were so pretty, with all their shimmering colors, and the way they floated through the air, so light, and happy, and free, always made her smile. They’d called out to the parts of her that had been beaten out of her by a life that had been nothing but cruel.
“Hey.” His thumb and forefinger grasped her chin, tilting her face up so she was meeting his gaze. “Bubbles are beautiful, just like you.”
Surprise filled her, and she blushed at the compliment, pretty sure he was just being nice because he felt sorry for her, but she liked that he wanted to try anyway.
“Here, I think this should work. But you tell me if you can't keep going,” he said, and she knew it was an order not a suggestion.
Nodding her agreement, she allowed Voodoo to grasp her elbow and pull her to her feet, then push the branch into her hands. Holding onto her as she took it and got her balance, only when he seemed certain that she wasn't going to fall over did he take a step back.
For some crazy reason, she wanted to reach for him, draw him back in.
But she didn't.
He was helping her now because they were the same, being nice to her because he was a good guy, but that was it. Never again was shegoing to be fooled into thinking someone could actually care about her like she had been with her ex-husband.
So as Voodoo started walking, and she worked out her rhythm as she followed along behind him, Indigo did her best to harden the part of her heart that was desperate and needy for love and affection.
Voodoo was offering her friendship, nothing more, and she had to remember that.
Chapter
Seven
January 22nd
3:14 P.M.
This wasn't a good idea.
There was no part of Voodoo that thought Indigo should be walking, but she’d been insistent, and he’d already put her off several times. If he kept trying to control her choices, then he couldn’t help but feel as though he were no better than the people he’d just rescued her from.
No better than anyone she’d ever had in her life.
Damn.
Her life had been awful, and he couldn’t help but think of Beth Lindon. While Beth had been kept more isolated and then sold when she hit her teens, they’d both lived through similar childhoods, and when they got Indigo back home, he was going to see if Beth wanted to come visit for a while, because he couldn’t help but think the two of them would quickly become good friends.
Not that he didn't think Rose, Cassandra, and Whitney would welcome Indigo in with open arms, because he absolutely knew they would. Rose had also grown-up suffering abuse, so he knew those twowould form a strong bond, and Whitney had been controlled and forced to work continuously, missing out on her childhood, so they’d bond too. Cassandra might have had a picture-perfect family, with parents who adored her and six brothers who would break anyone who looked at her wrong, with what had happened to her mom, and the ripple effects of it across the Charleston Holloway family, she would also be able to bond with Indigo.
For some reason, it was more important than he would have thought that everyone in his Delta Team family, and that now included all three of those women, accept and welcome Indigo with open arms.
Before even learning about her horrific childhood, he’d wanted her to become part of them, and now that he knew, he would make absolutely sure of it. She deserved a family, deserved to never be alone again, to know that she was worthy and that people would care if she was no longer alive.
“Rest time,” he announced as they approached another stream. They weren't walking alongside the river because he knew it would make them easier to spot, and he knew that more guards would be coming. This was as close as Dr. Gardner had ever gotten to him and his team, and he wouldn't pass up this opportunity to get them back. Indigo, too, because she’d also survived the trials.
“We only just took a break,” Indigo reminded him, but he didn't miss how harsh her breathing was, or how flushed her cheeks were. She wanted to hold her own, he got that, and prove that she was worth keeping around, he got that, too. But the truth was, her leg was broken, and she was doing more damage to it than was necessary.
“And now we’re taking another.”
