Page 33 of Raine

Passing a few doors, Angelite walks up the stairs and leads us down the hall until we stop at the end. She pauses, and although I can’t see her face, I know she’s anticipating her next words.

Turning around, she addresses me, looking me square in the eyes and avoiding Acheron at every turn.

“They…they’ve been through a lot. They haven’t wanted to be separated, so they’re sharing the room,” she vacillates, finally looking to Acheron. “I think it’s best you stay outside.”

I crane my head around, noticing his jaw working before he nods his in acquiesce. Stepping back, he walks down the stairs without a word, and I release a breath.

“Have they spoken to you?”

“Not a lot. Avernus really did a number on them.”

“What about Jarvis? Justyce said he was involved, too.”

She scoffs. “Those men wouldn’t know what to do with a woman, even if we came with damn manuals. All I know is that Avernus was the roughest out of the two, and the girls really didn’t have much to say about Jarvis.”

Nodding my head, I inhale, then release a leaden breath.

“Thank you. I’ve got it from here.”

Angelite smiles, taking a step backward before heading down the stairs. I place my hand on the door handle and turn it slowly, not wanting to frighten the women behind it.

The door creaks and I cringe, the sound echoing around me, and when I come face-to-face with the girls sitting huddled in the corner, I’m not at all prepared for the emotions or anger I feel inside of me.

“Raine?” comes the timid voice, and I feel myself break.

This just got a hell of a lot more personal.

Chapter13

Raine

The young girl who called my name sits folded in on herself; her once shiny, blonde hair is now matted and dirty. I step forward, my body shaking, and I’m uncertain if it’s from the drugs and alcohol leaving my system or the pretty girl in front of me.

She looks broken and not at all like the fifteen-year-old girl that she is.

“Jelly Bean,” I whisper, and she whimpers, burying her face in her hands.

Tears fill my eyes and fall down my face, my body shaking with despondency and anger that she found herself in this fucking situation and not by her own fault.

Taking slow and measured steps, I move forward and crouch down to eye level with her. She’s wearing clean clothes, an oversized white shirt, and black sweatpants, but it doesn’t disguise her thin frame or how her milk chocolate eyes are hollowed out, and her hair looks like a bird’s nest.

I reach out, and she flinches, so I ball my hands beside me, the ire burning through me like a fucking forest fire.

I’ve known this girl since she was a baby; her parents worked for Justyce and my grandparents. Jelitza is Olga’s granddaughter, and my heart hurts to think of how she is coping. Does she know? Is she aware her granddaughter has been taken and abused by some of the most brutal men in the United States? Fuck! Why didn’t Justyce warn me? Did he even know?

Clearing the fog and pain from my mind, I move forward some more, opening my arms up and smiling, hoping my tears stay out of sight.

“Come here, baby girl; I won’t hurt you. I promise. You know me.”

She looks across the room at the other girls, but my eyes stay trained on her. Drawing her lip into her mouth, she slowly moves, wincing at the slight movement.

I’m going to gut those fuckers and string them up by their intestines for every motherfucker to see. I swear it. I offer her a small smile, hoping it encourages her, but I don’t miss that with every step she takes, a small whimper leaves her cracked lips.

When she is a few steps away from me, she lurches into my arms, catching me by surprise. Wrapping my arms around her, one hand stroking her hair as she sobs into my shirt, her cries come out broken and harsh.

“Jelly Bean,” I choke out, “I’ve got you.”

I lift my watery eyes to the three other girls huddled in the corner together. Tears stain their beautiful but broken faces, bruises and cuts line their young bodies.