Page 176 of Caught in the Crossfire

I looked up at them, tears rolling down my cheeks.

“It was my fault,” I cried. The words spilled out of me. “I fought back, and he raped her. It should have been me, not her. When Max and I finally broke out, we went straight down to the cargo hold to free them too, but she was dead before we got to her. We had to leave her behind. I don’t even know her name.”

That’s why the cages at the auction had triggered me so badly. It was the same scenario all over again. I was too late. I couldn’t save them.

“I’m so sorry, darling,” Wynn whispered. “It wasn’t your fault.”

The guilt turned in my stomach so badly I actually gagged. Ipressed the back of my hand to my mouth and bit the skin, trying to keep myself from throwing up.

Someone must have said something, but I could barely register it. After a few minutes, Cas gently urged, “What happened next?”

“They threw us back in the cell. Max held me while I cried, telling me stories to make me feel better. Until they came back.” I rested my head on Cas’s shoulder and shut my eyes. “They took pictures.”

“Pictures?” Ciel asked, voice deadly quiet.

“They stripped me naked and took photos of every inch of my body. They were for the website where they sell the girls.” I looked up at Wynn, at Ciel. My voice broke. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t say anything before. I knew the buyers used that website. I knew that’s how we could have found them, but it made me so sick to think about.”

They were silent, so silent.

“Say something,” I begged.

“I—I’ll find them,ángel,” Ciel said. He pressed a kiss onto my forehead. “I’ll find the pictures and get rid of them.”

“Orik Vokshi taunted me with them. He said he saw them.” I wiped my eyes, but it did nothing to stop the waterfall. “How many people have seen them? How could I have let this go on for so long?”

“It’s okay. I’ll find them,” Ciel reassured. “No one else will see them, I promise. We’ll take the website down.”

Cas wiped more tears dripping from my cheeks. “What next?”

“They knew Max and I were trying to figure a way out. Max helped me break the signal jammer, but they saw on the camera they had watching our cell.” I pressed my fingers to my sternum, where the scars still marred my skin. “Buzz Cut choked me. He tore off my clothes and scratched his nails down my bare chest while he forced Max to watch. He promised to buy me eventually and then fuck me until he was bored enough to kill me.”

Obi’s brow darkened, but he cupped the back of my head while whispering Igbo in my ear. “I’m so sorry,” he said in English.

“I shouldn’t have fought.”

“If you hadn’t fought, you wouldn’t have gotten free.” Ryu put a hand on my thigh and squeezed. “You fought because you’re strong. You didn’t know what they would do.”

I shook my head and pressed my palms to my eyes. “I should have waited for you to come. I could have waited. I could have stayed in the cell with Max.”

“They would have hurt you anyway,” Cas said softly. “They were nevernotgoing to hurt you. I’m so fucking sorry we didn’t get there sooner.”

Obi hung his head between his shoulders. “I wish I could kill that man multiple times over.”

That was the only consolation in the whole thing. That he had died at my hand. “I killed him.”

“How? What happened?” he asked. His eyebrows furrowed with a pained desperation that mirrored everything I felt inside.

“After we got the other girls out, we knew we had to go back to the bridge. If we could take control of the ship, then I thought I could get a message to you. Buzz Cut and the rest of the men ambushed us. He cornered me. I fought, but my body was barely holding it together. He got a lucky knife across my face.” My fingers drew down the raised scar tissue. “I can still feel the blade slicing into my flesh.”

“Where the fuck was Max?” Ryuji grumbled.

“He was distracted protecting the other girls. It had to have been less than a minute. After he cut me, I could barely see, so I wasn’t prepared when Buzz Cut tackled me and ripped off my pants. He got between my legs, and I fought so fucking hard. I screamed myself hoarse.”

“Did he…” Obi asked, trailing off at the end.

“No.” I shook my head. “Max wrestled him off me andprotected me. Buzz Cut ran to the bridge, and we caught up with him there. Together, we took him out. I killed him with your knife, Ryu. I took his eyes like he tried to take mine. My hands were drenched in blood, and I just shut it all off. I shut it all down. That’s when you came.”

I wasn’t sure if that numbness had returned or if I had cried myself empty because I just stared at the mat. Cas gripped my chin lightly and pulled my gaze back to his.