“Alea.” She remembered the name they had given her and wondered about the woman. “Is she all right?”
Rafe sighed, a deep sound of regret that filled the room. “She is alive.”
“She was brutalized.” Kade threaded his hands together as though steeling himself. “She hid her ties to our family because she wanted a normal life. She is a beautiful girl both inside and out. Our little cousin was always a rebel.”
“Sometimes I think she left Bezakistan because there weren’t enough down-trodden people for her to help.” Rafe paced as he talked. “She wanted to save the world. The world showed her that it doesn’t want to be saved.”
“That’s not true,” Kade argued.
Rafe shook his head, a tiny, somewhat brutal gesture. Jessa would have bet this was a well-worn argument.
Kade nodded his brother’s way. “Forgive him. He’s still angry. I am as well, but I know that Alea will eventually come out of this. She will live again. Her mind and her heart will heal. But only because Burke and Cole Lennox saved her.” He massaged the place between his eyebrows as though trying to soothe away his frown. “She refused a security detail when she went away to school. She isn’t in line for the throne, so we didn’t think she’d truly be in any danger. She disappeared six months into her school year. They took her because they thought she had no family and the whoremongers needed a woman of Middle-Eastern descent. The brothel Ricardo Delgado sold her to liked to keep a variety of women for their clientele.”
There went her appetite again. The idea of a young woman being sold made her shudder. Her heart went out to the woman. “I’m so sorry to hear that.”
“She was drugged. All of the girls were fed a steady diet of chemical crap.” Rafe bit the words out like bullets. “She begged for the drugs for weeks after she came home. She was down to skin and bones, but all she wanted was another hit. That’s just one of the many things they did to her. She still has terrible nightmares…”
“When Burke and Cole found her,” Kade continued, his voice going hard for the first time, “she was being held with fifteen other women. It pleases me to lie awake at night and think about everything your men did to the bastards who held those girls against their will. Their descriptions were pleasingly detailed. I have a vivid picture in my head.”
“I can’t imagine what Alea went through.” She shivered despite the robe, feeling so terrible for the young woman. Even after she’d been saved, it was obvious Alea still had a hard road ahead of her. Delgado had ruined many lives, and now his son seemed determined to keep up the family business.
“No, you can’t,” Kade replied. “I wouldn’t want you to. But I am asking you to take into consideration that their work was vital to us and the families of the other girls they rescued. Yes, they sacrificed. But Burke and Cole also saved lives.”
Jessa stiffened her spine. “Of course their work was important. I don’t disagree. And I would have understood the truth. But the fact is, they lied to me.”
“Would you have understood? Really?” Rafe asked, his tone slightly arrogant, as if he’d already determined the answer to the question.
So they had judged her. “I would have done my very best. Maybe it sounds selfish to you, but I wanted to be important, too.”
“They believed you had been claimed by another man,” Rafe said.
“Something that could have been cleared up if they had given me a real name or had called me even once.” She felt tears threatening. God, she didn’t want to feel this aching, gaping hole in her chest. She wanted to feel nothing at all for them. “If I had known what they were doing, I would have sat up at night praying for them. I would have loved them, but they didn’t give me the chance. They didn’t trust me enough.”
Rafe’s eyes softened slightly. “Men are sometimes not the smartest of creatures. We make decisions that we think are best to protect those we love. And sometimes, we make mistakes. It doesn’t mean we don’t know our hearts. If they have told you they love you, then they mean this.”
“They are good men. The best I know,” Kade said softly. “They are rough at times, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have tenderness for you, for your son. It would be a shame if that son never knew his fathers.”
She glared at Kade. That just wasn’t fair. She was just supposed to forgive Burke and Cole the instant they walked back into her life? They had cost her a terrible year of heartache and pain, and never given her a choice. “The funny thing is, if they had asked me to take the risk and go to South America with them, I would have. Or I would have stayed here and waited, as tough as it would have been. I would have done whatever they asked. But they didn’t give me a choice.”
Yes, she was probably being stubborn, but the more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Of course they were heroes; there was no question about it. But did that mean she was just supposed to take them back without a qualm? What happened the next time they had a “mission” they believed in? Would they leave her behind for months or more at a time with no communications? Would they decide that their son was safer without them and simply walk out again, this time for good? They wouldn’t simply be leaving her behind. They’d be breaking Caleb’s heart, too.
No. She didn’t think she could risk that. She wasn’t sure she was ready to trust them again.
And that made her brutally angry because she wanted to. She wanted to throw herself in their arms and beg them to love her, never leave her again. Though they had left her pregnant and alone, she still dreamed of them. She still woke up calling out their names.
She swiped angry tears away. She wasn’t listening to her stupid heart this time. She couldn’t afford to. She wasn’t a child anymore. Now she was a mother.
Rafe straightened his coat. “I’m sorry if I overstepped my bounds. I merely hoped to give you something to think about. Know that if you need anything at all, we will help you.”
Kade stood. “Indeed. All you need to do is call.”
“You don’t know me. Why would you do that?” These men confounded her. They were obviously powerful, yet they seemed to genuinely care about Cole and Burke, who were basically employees. They were royal, in line for a kingdom, yet they were risking their lives to help others out.
“The royal family of Bezakistan owes the Lennox brothers a debt for saving one of our family. Actually, two, since Cole also saved my brother, Talib,” Kade explained. “When I asked how we should repay them, do you know what your men asked for?”
Rafe shook his head. “My brother would have given them millions. Anything they wanted.”
More tears. Would they ever stop? “I know they didn’t ask for money.”
They wouldn’t. They would want to be paid for the job, but not for saving a life. She knew that deep in her soul.
Rafe regarded her seriously. “You know them better than you think. They asked us to bankroll the rest of their operation, though they did not take pay for themselves. They wanted to save as many women as they could. Seven women have been reunited with their families. And another three families at least no longer have to wonder what happened to their daughter or sisters.”
“They drove a rough bargain,” Kade explained. “We not only had to pay for their travel and expenses, but for these women to see a counselor and for their drug rehabilitation.”
“I would pay millions more for it to have never happened.” Rafe regarded her somberly. “I have never told Cole or Burke this, but we do not consider our debt paid. This is something we would have done regardless. One day, we shall repay them. You say you do not know these men, but when asked that question, you knew immediately that they wouldn’t do what was easy. Search your heart. Perhaps it is yourself that you do not know.”
The door opened, and Burke walked in, rubbing his hands together. His face paled when he looked at Jessa. “Sweetheart? Why are you crying?”
“We’ll leave you alone now,” Rafe said, gesturing for his brother to leave.
Kade followed him. “I wish you well, my friend. In all things. Bring your family to the palace when this is over—or sooner. You are always welcome in our country.”
They left, slapping Cole on the shoulder as he walked in, his face blank.
“The car’s ready, but I’d rather lay low until it’s dark. If they’ve got a visual on us, it will be much harder to follow us once the sun is down. It’s about six hours from Dallas to Lafayette and another hour to the swamp. I’ve made all the arrangements.” Cole spoke, but there was no inflection in his tone. He could have been talking about the weather.
It was so easy for Cole to shut down. He seemed to be a pro at it. But what would happen if she broke the barrier down and got to the real man? Something angry took root in her gut. Something wicked and restless was making her heart twitch.
“Jessa, sweetheart, tell me why you’re crying.” Burke gripped her hand, his eyes seeking hers.
Cole crowded in on the other side, looking ready to make demands. Her body leapt. For whatever reason, she’d always be attuned to them. She felt their fear for her, their fury with Delgado. Their need to keep her safe. And to hold her.
God, she wanted the comfort they silently offered. That connection she felt to them reached out in a silent scream with almost painful yearning. She ached for just one hour of nothing but their reassurance, their touch. She wanted to break past Cole’s defenses.
But she couldn’t accept their tenderness. And couldn’t admit that she wanted them, would probably never want another man. They’d construe either as surrender, and she’d have to work twice as hard to convince them to let her out of their lives. If she accepted tender kisses and soft words, cutting them out of her heart again might be impossible.
But she wanted them again, one last time. She pulled her hand away from Burke’s and glanced at the clock. It was hours before dark. Hours before they would flee. She smiled to herself. She wanted Burke and Cole now. On her terms. And she knew exactly how to persuade them to give it to her.
* * * *
Eight months earlier, April 5 – Dallas, Texas
Cole stared at Hilary. No way he’d heard her right. He didn’t like the woman, but she was smart and ran the office well. Still, she had her blonde moments. She had to be wrong about this.
“No.” Burke shook off Hilary’s touch. “I don’t understand.”
She put a hand on his brother’s shoulder, her eyes going soft with sympathy. When she looked like she was about to repeat herself, he felt his own go cold and dead. Exactly like his heart.
“That woman you’re having Mr. Landry follow, she got married,” she murmured.
The words still didn’t seem to compute to Burke, but Cole heard them. Loud and clear. They echoed in his ears. Married. To another man. Their Jessa. No, not their Jessa anymore. Less than four months after they had left her with kisses and vows to return, she not only started dating another man, she’d married him, tied her life to him. Given him her eternal love.
“I am so sorry, Burke,” Hilary said, taking a step back. She looked to Cole, her eyes sliding away silently.
She always addressed Burke, the gentleman. Cole couldn’t remember a time Hilary had looked him in the eyes, as though she was afraid of what she would find there. No surprise. She viewed him as a violent barbarian.
Hilary placed a manila folder on the desk in front of him. “I don’t know what it is about this woman that has you all tied up in knots, but according to this report, she’s happily married, so if she’s one of your little projects, you don’t have to worry anymore.”
Burke grabbed the report before Cole could. He wasn’t sure he wanted to see it anyway. If there were pictures of the happy couple, the image would probably sear itself into his brain. Already, he could picture too vividly Jessa with someone else, speaking words of devotion. Making love, giving her body to him night after night. Her gifting him with all of her luminous smiles and her warm laughter.
Cole turned away. He didn’t want to see the fucking report. He wanted to see Jessa. He could be on a plane and in New York in just a couple of hours. He could stand in front of her and ask her if they’d ever meant a damn thing to her. He and Burke had loved her. Neither one had even thought of touching another woman since they’d left Jessa. She’d apparently done a hell of a lot more than think about it. Fuck.
Burke slammed the folder down.
“I really am sorry, Burke,” Hilary said. “I didn’t want to send that file to you. But I had to be honest. Who is she?”
Burke shook his head, his gaze hardening. “Apparently, no one special.”
No one special. Just a woman he would love for the rest of his life. His heart ached. Though it made him furious, the voice in his head asked: Did you really expect her to wait for you? No one gives a shit about you, least of all a gorgeous, talented creature like her. Stupid bastard.