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Soft moans distract me from my inner thoughts. I gently squeeze Lace’s fingers, hoping this time she wakes up and it’snot another false alarm. A few moments later, I sag in relief when her eyelids flutter open.
Lace looks around in confusion before her face lights up with recognition. “A-A-Aurora,” she croaks.
“Don’t talk yet.” I lift a straw up to her lips. “Small sips,” I encourage. She drinks slowly. “You’ve been unconscious for two days.”
“Where am I?” Her voice sounds a little stronger.
“Quantico, at the hospital on base,” I explain. “I have somethi?—”
Knock. Knock.
Dr. Sheppard enters, followed by April, her nurse. “Oh good, you’re awake.” She saunters over to the side of the bed while April begins to take her vitals. “I’m Dr. Sheppard, and that’s April, your nurse for the day,” she introduces. “Do you know where you are?” Lace nods. “Do you mind if Aurora stays while we speak?”
“She can stay,” Lace replies.
“How old are you?” Dr. Sheppard asks.
“Eighteen,” she says shyly.
Dr. Sheppard lets out a breath of relief. “Good, I don’t have to alert child protective services.”
Dr. Sheppard goes over her injuries, which I already knew about from watching the nurses care for her. Lace has over two hundred lacerations, a broken wrist, and, like me, had to receive stitches to repair vaginal and anal tearing. A few tears slide down Lace’s cheeks, but she doesn’t make a sound. Dr. Sheppard asks if she has any questions.
“What happens next?” Lace asks quietly. Dr. Sheppard lifts her brow and glances in my direction.
“Next, you focus on healing, and when Dr. Sheppard says you’re well enough to be discharged, you’re coming home with me,” I announce, my tone leaving no room for argument.
“Okay,” she whispers.
Dr. Sheppard excuses herself to go check on other patients. Once she’s gone, Lace begins to shake uncontrollably. She breaks down sobbing, and like Willow did for me, I kick off my shoes, climb into the bed, and hold her in my arms.
“I got you,” I whisper. “You’re safe.”
“They’ll come for me a-a-again,” she hiccups. “You were already taken once. I can’t… I… Wait, how are you here?”
I explain how I was shipped off to Ukraine, and my dad sent his Alpha Special Ops team to locate me. “From what I understand, they were able to rescue quite a few victims who were sent overseas.”
“Wow,”’ she says in awe. “You’re so lucky to have a dad who cares about you.”
“I am,” I agree. “I’m so sorry, Lace. I had no idea you were alive. I would’ve looked harder, tried harder to get you back.”
“It’s not your fault,” she assures me. “I brought trouble to your doorstep. When I saw Oleg tase you, I felt so helpless. I never saw you after we got back to headquarters and only heard whispers that Dmitri had a new favorite pet.”
I shiver. “We never have to worry about him or Oleg again.”
“What do you mean?”
“Let’s just say, they took a permanent vacation,” I say cryptically. “And where they went, there’s no return flights.”
Lace’s eyes bulge as she deciphers my meaning. “I hope they suffered.”
“They did, Lace,” I confirm.
CHAPTER 29
JAXSON
“Dowe have any idea who the head of the Krukov family is?” General Parks’ asks.