ISABELLA
It’s late at night when I finally get to the rendezvous point, a house I purchased under Sofia Rojas, Ana’s second and last name.
Please let her be here.
Grabbing hold of the wall, I hoist myself over, and then I drop down in the backyard. I walk to the security door, but before I can verify my identity on the biometric scanner, the door’s yanked open.
“Isabella!” Ana cries, and then she throws her arms around my neck.
I engulf her in a tight hug, my soul sighing with relief.
Thank God.
Ana’s body begins to jerk, and then she cries, tightening her hold on me.
“I’m sorry I took so long,” I whisper as tears fill my eyes. When they fall, they’re filled with intense relief that Ana’s safe.
Overwhelmed, I lose control over the tight grip I had on my emotions, and I cry for the love I felt for Alexei and how he used it to humiliate me. The heartache threatens to eat me alive.
Somehow, I think to move us inside the house, so I can shut the security door. Then we sink to the floor, clinging to each other.
“I was… so worried,” Ana sputters. “I thought… I lost you.”
“I’m not that easy to kill.” I try to chuckle, but it’s smothered by a sob. “I got a little delayed.”
Ana pulls back and wiping her cheeks with the back of her hands, sobs shudder through her. Then she looks at me, and her face crumbles again as she reaches for the scar that disappears into my hairline. “What happened?”
“It’s a long story.” I climb to my feet and help Ana up, and then we walk into the living room. When my eyes fall on the shrine Ana made for me, I feel the punch in my soul. “God, Ana.” I pull her to me, not able to imagine the heartache she had to endure thinking I died.
“I never stopped praying.”
I close my burning eyes, and then I just hold the only person who’s ever given a damn about me. “I’m so glad you thought to come here.”
Ana pulls back. “Men came to the safe house right after the attack on the mansion. I grabbed the girls and used the underground tunnel to escape.”
A frown forms on my forehead. “What did the men look like?”
Ana begins to walk toward the basement. “I have them on the security footage.”
When I walk into the room, a smile tugs at my mouth because Ana set the security systems up exactly like I showed her.
She brings up the footage, and then I watch as Carson and Damien sniff around the house. I let out a breath, feeling relieved that it was them.
Ana glances at me. “Also, I have this.” She presses play, and I have to lean closer because the footage is grainy and dark. Suddenly the two older girls dart forward, and for a moment, Alexei steps into the light. He watches the girls, probably to make sure they reach me safely, and then he disappears back into the dark.
So it was him.
Alexei went after the older two girls.
Straightening up, my eyes meet Ana’s. “The two men came to the house to get the girls because I got hurt. I don’t think they knew about you and wanted to help the girls.”
There’s a stabbing ache in my heart, and I don’t want to think of Alexei doing something good. It will make me soften toward him, and he doesn’t deserve that.
“Are you okay?” Ana asks, getting up from the chair.
I nod. “Yes.” I gesture to the stairs. “Let’s go up to the living room and get rid of that shrine. Then I’ll tell you what happened.”
While I clear out the table with the candles, rosaries, flowers, and photo of me, Ana gets us something to drink.
When we’re comfortable on the couch, I take a sip of the water, then say, “Hugo shot me, and I fell from the helicopter. Alexei took me to LA.”
Ana’s eyes scour over me. “You must’ve been hurt badly if it took you this long to recover.”
I shake my head. “I had amnesia.”
Shock ripples over Ana’s face. “What?”
“I lost all my memories of the last four years.” I take a deep breath, my heart aching. “Alexei lied and said we were in a relationship. I didn’t know any better, so I stayed with him.”
Ana shakes her head, her features tightening as if she can feel my pain.
I lower my eyes to the glass in my hand. “He fooled me, Ana. I fell in love with the act and really thought he loved me back.”
“Isabella,” she murmurs, and then she takes the glass from me as I begin to fall apart.
I break down in my friend's arms, knowing it’s a safe place. “I feel so humiliated,” I cry against her shoulder.
“I know,” she whispers, rubbing a hand over my back. “I’m sorry.”
“I really… loved him.” Sobs tear through me as I let the heartache bleed through me while admitting my true feelings out loud.
“Shh…” Ana gives me the comfort I need, and when the last tear falls, she pulls back and wipes the wetness from my cheeks. “This will only make you stronger. Okay?”
I nod as I let out a shuddering breath. “I just needed to let it out so I can put it behind me.”
She nods. “I know.”
We stare at each other for a moment, and then a breathtaking smile spreads over Ana’s face. “I’m so glad you’re back.”
Her smile revives my broken and trampled heart, and it shines a light through the darkness.
“Ana,” I whisper in total awe, “you’re smiling.”
She lets out a sputter and then hugs me again. “Of course. I have my friend back. You’re my only family, and I was so lost without you.”
Ana’s my family.
“From now on, we stick together,” she adds.
I nod. “Just the two of us. Always.”
I don’t need Alexei.