Page 49 of Protecting Bree
Bree hated that Fiona didn’t know this already—and she was terrified to be the one to have to break the news. But it was too late to try to protect them now. They were in deep shit. Taking a resigned breath, she said, “Mateo Castillo. I’m so sorry you two got caught up in this. He’s the guy who bought me from my ex. He’s the one who’s been looking for me for so long, who I’ve been trying to hide from. He was supposed to be taken into custody today. Tex said there were all these task force people who were going to surround his hotel and get him.”
“That was obviously a major fail,” Julie said sarcastically.
Bree wasn’t tempted to laugh at that. Not even a little. “And there’s more,” she said a little reluctantly. So far, Julie and Fiona were handling this situation better than she was…but they didn’t know the rest.
“More?” Fiona asked.
Bree forced herself to meet the other woman’s gaze. “Yeah. Mateo? He was a part of the group that took you guys, all those years ago. He wasn’t in charge, and he wasn’t there when you were rescued, but he was a low-level player in that group. Tex said that he rose in the ranks over the years, and then started his own organization.”
“Are youshittingme?” Julie asked.
Bree didn’t take her eyes from Fiona’s. “No. Tex didn’t want to tell Cookie and Hurt until he knew for certain and had more intel on the guy.” She held her breath, praying Fiona wasn’t going to completely lose it.
To her surprise, Fiona shifted to the side of her cageclosest to Bree’s. She reached her fingers through the bars and wiggled them impatiently.
Bree’s hand came up without thought, and she gripped Fiona’s fingers.
“This isn’t like the last time,” she said firmly. “First off, we aren’t alone. We have each other. And even if these assholes separate us, we have an ace up our sleeves.”
“What’s that?” Bree asked, the thought of being separated from these women enough to make her want to have a complete breakdown. The only reason she was handling this as well as she was, for the moment, was because she wasn’t alone.
“Our guys. Cookie said something to me once, back after I was rescued and when I had that little…episode, where I thought my kidnappers had found me. He told me, and I quote, ‘I’ll always come for you.’ I’ve never forgotten it. Ever. Cookie is never, ever going to give up until he finds me. Of that I have no doubt.”
“Our SEALs are probably turning Riverton upside down right about now,” Julie agreed.
“But I’m guessing we aren’t in Riverton,” Bree whispered. “And we don’t have Tex’s trackers anymore. We could be anywhere. How will they find us?”
“I don’t know. But I trust Hurt. And Tex. And Cookie. And Smiley and his team. All we have to do is hold on. No matter what happens, we have to hold on. They’re coming for us,” Julie promised.
Fiona squeezed Bree’s fingers, hard. “Positive thinking, Bree. You have to stay positive.”
“I don’t know if I can,” she admitted, suddenly terrified of what was to come. All these months she’d been hiding, living out of her car, she hadn’t ever really thought aboutwhat would happen if she was caught. Intellectually, she was aware of what Fiona, Julie, and countless other women went through when they were forced into sexual slavery. But it had all been an abstract concept.
Now? Sitting in this cage, surrounded by livestock, on their way to who knew where…reality was hitting home. Hard.
“You can,” Fiona told her sternly. “Nothingthey can do to us will make our men love us any less.”
Bree let her words sink in. Fiona and Julie were married. Had been for years. Were in committed relationships. She and Smiley…what were they? They were still practically strangers. She didn’t even know what his favorite color was. Or if he was allergic to any kinds of foods. Or where his favorite place to vacation was!
Just then, the truck lurched and the women were all thrown against the sides of their cages, as were the birds all around them. A cacophony of sound erupted, making Bree put her hands over her ears to try to drown it out. Putting them in with all these live animals was a smart move. Any noise they tried to make would set off the birds and drown out their cries and screams.
As the ruckus continued, Bree had an epiphany. She didn’t need to know all the trivial things about Smiley to know she loved him. She wouldn’t have moved in with him if she didn’t. Wouldn’t be sleeping with him every night.
SheknewSmiley. And she loved him. Was pretty sure that a man like him, who could have any woman he wanted, never would have moved her into his home if he didn’t love her right back.
The three of them weren’t alone in the world. Not only did they have some badass Navy SEALs who loved them,their men had others who’d havetheirbacks. Bree had a feeling if they asked, the entire SEAL network would be activated. No one was going to stop looking for them until they were found and returned home, safe and sound.
It was a powerful thought. It gave Bree the strength to take a deep breath—and then she promptly choked on the feathers, the smell of excrement, and the sense of danger in the air.
That hadn’t been a great idea, but she still felt stronger.
No matter what happened. What Mateo might have in store for her, she wouldn’t break. She might not have told Smiley that she loved him, and she might not have heard the words in return, but that didn’t mean she didn’t know down to her soul that she and Smiley were meant to be together. He was out there. Losing his mind, scowling, barking at people, doing whatever needed to be done to find her. She simply had to hang on until that happened.
“Bree? Are you okay?” Fiona asked from the next cage.
“I’m okay. Julie, are you all right?” Bree asked.
“Pissed, but hanging in there,” the other woman responded.
