Christ. How do I answer that without scaring her?
“Be honest,” she says when I hesitate a bit too long.
“I think they’ll want to silence anyone who’s seen their faces.”
“What about you? You saw his face.”
“I did but I’m also going to be a lot tougher to kill than you are.”
“Ugh.” She makes a disgusted face. “That’s kind of depressing. I need to learn how to fight.”
I nod. “That’s always a good plan, even if this hadn’t happened. Learning how to defend yourself is important.”
“Could you teach me?”
“Honestly, that’s not my forte, but it is Rage’s.”
“That’s right.” She gives me a small smile. “Rage the Cage.”
I laugh. “Haven’t heard that name in a while, but yeah. He’s one of the most skilled fighters I’ve ever seen. And I’m sure he’d be honored to teach you.”
“I need to heal first,” she admits. “My ribs are still really sore.”
“You definitely need to heal first. Give yourself time.”
“I have a therapist that I talked to when my mom died. I should probably give her a call.”
“You don’t have to do all the things on your first day.”
Her brows knit together for a moment, almost like that never occurred to her. Then she smiles. “I guess you’re right. It just seems like the list is endless. And I feel completely isolated without my phone. But I ordered a new one and it’s coming. That’s okay, right?”
“Of course.”
“I have to reach out to some of my friends. My friend Lacy is in L.A. working and we were supposed to have lunch today. Ugh.” She drops her forearm over her eyes. “Now I have to explain why I blew her off.”
“You don’t,” I say gently. “You can tell her you had an emergency. You don’t have to tell anyone anything that makes you uncomfortable.”
“I just don’t want to be a victim.”
“But youwerea victim. And this is kind of what I’m talking about. You’re an adult and you can make your own decisions about what to say and who to tell, but in my opinion, hiding it would be a mistake.”
“I would tell Lacy anyway. But I don’t have a phone to call anyone. And I don’t remember phone numbers. Hell, I don’t even know how to set up a new phone. They always do it for me at the store when I buy a new one.”
“Once the phone arrives, we can head out to headquarters and our cyber expert will set it up for you. Luna’s awesome. You’ll like her.”
“Everyone has been so kind. Do you treat all your clients like this?”
I shake my head. “Technically, I’ve never brought a client to my home before. But I’ve also never rescued anyone from a trafficking ring. Some things are just…impactful. I don’t know how else to describe it.”
“You know why I don’t want to tell people?” she asks after a thoughtful silence. “I don’t want pity. That look people give you, like, oh my gosh, that’s horrible—and I don’t know what to say so I’m just going to sit there like an idiot.”
“You’re not responsible for other people’s reactions.”
“No but I have to deal with them.”
“To a degree, I suppose you do. I’d like to think your closest friends wouldn’t do that, though.”
“No, probably not. I guess I’ll have to see how I feel.”
