“Katerina Sanchez,” Zade calls out quietly, and my heart stops when one girl’s head turns to the side, a familiar face staring back at me, though feminine and younger, and one eye is permanently closed.
“Oh my God,” I whisper, paralyzed as the girl’s brows knit, confused on who we are.
“Yeah?” she says cautiously.
Zade grins. “My name is Zade. I haven’t gotten the chance to introduce myself yet, but I—” He abruptly cuts off when the girl rips off her gloves and then proceeds to nearly tackle him into a hug. While surprised, he recovers quickly and wraps his long arms around her, gently patting her back.
“You’re the one responsible for getting me out,” she says into his chest, her words muffled. “Thank you. So much.”
He chuckles. “I think you should be thanking the woman standing behind you. She’s the one who told me to help you.”
Without hesitation, the girl turns to me and embraces me in a hug next, squeezing tighter than I expected. Try as I might to hold in the tears, I can’t. They break loose, and a whimper escapes as I hold her tightly.
“Was it Rio?” she asks softly, her voice watery from her own tears.
“Yes,” I rasp. She pulls back enough to get a good look at my face, her dark brown eye tracing over my features.
“How did you know him?”
I glance at Zade, but he doesn’t seem bothered by the conversation, even though he wants to murder her brother.
“He—he was in the house I was in when I was kidnapped.” I clear my throat. “He took care of me and helped me get out.”
Her lip trembles. “He’s not a very good person,” she says, and I’m so surprised, I laugh. “But he’s not a good person because he’s such a great brother. He’s sacrificed a lot for me.”
I nod, wiping my cheeks, although it’s useless when a few more tears slip free.
“I don’t think people are black and white, Katerina, but I do know that his love for you is.”
She smiles and nods, accepting that easily.
“They took my eye because he tried to escape from Francesca. I was ten years old, our parents had just died the year before, and he was trapped with that evil woman. He never forgave himself, and even though I haven’t seen him since, I know he’s done everything that’s been asked of him so I wouldn’t get hurt.”
“And did you?” I ask. “Did you get hurt again?”
She shakes her head, but there’s a darkness swirling in her eyes. “Lillian wasn’t very nice, but she didn’t hurt me anymore.” Something tells me that even though she wasn’t hurt anymore, other girls were.
She was trapped in that house for at least five years—I can only imagine the horrors she’s witnessed.
“Katerina, can I ask why they, uh, needed Rio so badly? Enough to use you as collateral?”
It’s something I’ve been wondering since Rio told me about her. Why would they go as far as holding his sister over his head just so that he would work for them? They could find plenty of men willing to do their bidding, if offered the right amount of money.
She swallows. “I think… I think he was Francesca’s… favorite.”
I frown, not really sure what she’s getting at. “Like favorite guard or—”
She shakes her head, her lips tightening. “I’ve heard Lillian say nasty things about them. About how much Francesca likes the way Rio… tends to her.”
My mouth pops open, realization dawning.
“Oh.”
Then, my eyes widen, another realization hitting.
“Oh.”
Francesca was fucking Rio. But I have a feeling it wasn’t mutual. She was raping him, regardless of his compliance, and it sounds like she was quite attached to him.