“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.
My eyes drift to Zade, his expression tight. An overwhelming sadness washes through me, muddling my feelings toward Rio further. In a way, he became my friend while I was trapped in that house. And for over two months, I was being forced to do things against my will, never realizing Francesca was ordering him to do the same.
There’s a part of me that still clings to that hate, but it’s weakening.
He kidnapped me. Ruthlessly fed me to the wolves and stood by while faceless men repeatedly broke me. Yet, he picked up the pieces afterward. Gathered them in his hands and carried them to my room, where he meticulously placed them back together—as janky as it was.
I want to hate him. But I don't know that I do.
“Thank you for telling me that,” I say softly.
Her bottom lip trembles. “I know I lost an eye, but I think Rio has lost so much more than I have. I hope he’s okay, and safe, wherever he is.”
I blink back fresh tears and nod my head. “Me too.”
We let Katerina get back to her gardening after promising I’d visit again. Sensing my inner turmoil, Zade keeps quiet as he leads me to another part of the sanctuary. There are two girls tending to chicken pens, plucking the eggs from underneath them.
I gasp, coming to a halt when one of them turns, and I get a good look at her features.
“Jillian,” I breathe. She turns at her name, and her eyes bug from her head.
“Oh my God,” she says, her accent deepening from shock. Then, she’s hurriedly setting down the basket of eggs and rushing toward me.
We meet in the middle, our arms instantly wrapping around each other in a fierce hug.
Due to Francesca’s mind games, we could hardly stand to look at each other when she and Gloria were sold. But all of that immediately bleeds away now that we’re free.
My vision blurs, and when we pull away, I can see tears swimming in her eyes, too.
“How are you?” I choke out, chuckling when her nose wrinkles.
“As good as I can be, which isn’t saying much,” she answers.
I nod, “Same. Kind of feels like a slow death.”
Her lips twist, and she shrugs, attempting nonchalance. “I feel that, too. I’ve been seeing Dr. Maybell, though. And all this—” she twirls her finger, gesturing to this farm— “has helped a lot, as well. Being surrounded by others with similar experiences and having something to keep me busy prevents me from spiraling. I was on the streets before, and part of me didn’t want to be rescued because I’d have to go back to that. So, this… this has really saved me.”
She glances at Zade, clearly uncomfortable with her admission, but she only straightens her spine instead of hiding. Sharing feelings is… hard.
“Happy to help,” Zade says simply, his face smooth but his orbs glitter with warmth.
He’s a cold-blooded killer yet easily melts beneath a survivor’s hopeful gaze. It impacts him as much as it does me because when you’re trapped and terrified, hope is the first thing you lose, and the most devastating. So, getting it back… that’s one of the best gifts we could ask for.