“I killed the man who raped me.”
The muttered words tore strips off my heart and brought me to my knees before her. I choked back shock while floundering for a reply.
“You were raped?” It came out as barely a whisper, cracked and ragged around the devastation lodged in my throat.
Hallie nodded. The sight small and forlorn, broken and utterly empty.
“And you killed him while…?”
“No.” She shook her head. “In the tiled foyer. After I tried to escape.”
Residual smells of bleach came back with the memory of passing through that area barely an hour earlier. A chill shot down my spine, inducing a violent shudder.
“I know the spot,” I murmured, shifting closer.
Hallie kept her knees locked together while I gently angled them to the side. I gathered her to my body and released a deep, relieved exhale when her arms wrapped around my shoulders and clung tight.
If only I could strip her trauma away. Remove the experience. Erase the horrific memory before it consumed her.
I expected her to break down within my hold and fall apart like she did when she returned from Mexico. But the outpouring and fight never came, and this dulled, vacant version of my girl was infinitely more terrifying.
“Lie down, Hells. I’ll grab you a blanket.”
Weary and still suffering the effects of the sedation she’d been given, she complied without resistance and curled onto her side. I tucked her in as the plane started taxiing along the tarmac. Mac, Kellie, and Nevada shoved the last of their belongings into the overhead lockers, and when they were seated, I found Shaun lingering at the cockpit door. His concerned gaze lingered in Hallie’s direction, then cut to me.
I pursed my lips and bit back a reaction. Now wasn’t the time nor the place to seek answers.
Returning my attention to Hallie, I made sure she was strapped into the stretcher for takeoff, then belted myself into the seat overseeing the casualty stretcher.
I scissored my fingers with her limp ones and closed my eyes during takeoff, so fucking grateful for having her back and not a moment too late.
I sniffed away the overwhelming relief and emotion that burned behind my eyelids. The reality of the situation we’d encountered sank in and had me grazing my fingers along the ring finger of her left hand. It was still mercifully void of a wedding band.
Movement at my side brought Hallie’s mom into my peripheral vision.
“How’s she doing?” she murmured, kneeling beside her daughter.
“Stable. Dozy. Everything to be expected when sedated. Once we level out, I’ll insert an IV line to keep her fluids up. She’s going to feel like shit, especially with the long flight ahead of us.”
Trudy nodded and gnawed at her bottom lip. “This is all my fault. I hoped she’d stay away. I left her a note urging her to do so.”
I squeezed her hand with my free one and held firm. “She thought the note was a hoax. And to be honest, even if she knewwithout a doubt that it was from you, she would have come to find you regardless.”
Two lone tears rolled down Trudy’s face. “She’s always been so strong-willed. That’s how I know she’s going to get through this.” She let go of my hand and lovingly rubbed her daughter’s arm.
“Trudy?” I asked. “What was your relationship like with your ex-husband over the last three years?”
Angered eyes burned into mine. “Nonexistent.”
“So, why did you return to him?”
The lines around her eyes hardened. “He blackmailed me. I did it to stop him from coming for her. I thought raising her in the U.S. would have stopped the arranged marriage.”
“Arranged marriage?” I hissed.
She nodded solemnly. “To join van Staden Liquor with Strauss Brandy to become a super legacy. It’s all about power with Johannes and always has been. I just wish I’d seen it before I got in too deep with him, but then I would have never had my baby girl.”
Trudy tucked a wayward strand of hair behind Hallie’s ear. “She’s always been my world, and I thought I was doing the right thing to protect her.”