Page 65 of Bare
That was exactly why he didn’t want Rosemary putting herself in danger. They’d only known each other a short time, but she already felt like a part of him. He couldn’t imagine a future without her. He was in love with her.
He was in love with her.
The seeds had been planted that first night when she’d danced down the concrete steps, eyes twinkling, bell-like laughter filling the air. Deep conversation, laughter, and aneffortless, bone-deep intimacy were the fertile soil and rain that fed them. Love had bloomed. She had opened parts of him he thought he’d shut down forever.
And now he was bare. If he lost her, there would be no barrier to protect him from the pain.
“I want to be like Dad. I want to save Rose just like Dad saved you.”
His mother sighed softly. “Saving me was the easy part. The hard part for him was forgiving himself. His guilt almost ruined us.”
His father was the knight in shining armor who fought dragons and rescued the princess. He had nothing to feel guilty about.
“What are you talking about? Dad was a hero.”
His mother’s silence was too long, and Aleksei stopped walking. He was about to learn something he didn’t want to hear.
“You know the story. The police were investigating a gambling ring. Instead, they found human trafficking. Your dad wanted to get me out the first day he met me, but I insisted on staying. I wanted those bastards to pay for what they did to us. I wanted to make sure the DA had an airtight case. I wanted to make sure the police knew every location where women were being held. It took almost two weeks. Those two weeks were...difficult.”
Acid burned the back of his throat. His mother didn’t need to spell it out. He’d never been assigned to the sex crimes unit, but he knew what human trafficking entailed. He’d just never thought it through when it came to his mom. Or maybe he hadn’t wanted to know the dark side of the fairy tale.
“You were sexually assaulted.”
His mom’s voice was brisk. “I was. Multiple times. I didn’t tell your father about it until after we’d been dating for a while.He was angry, so very angry, and he felt like he’d failed me. He grew overprotective. He didn’t want me taking my law school classes because he was worried about me walking to my car at night. He felt so helpless that he almost quit the force, and to be honest, I almost quit him. He couldn’t get past my tragedy, and I wasn’t willing to let it sit on my shoulders my entire life.”
His parents had always seemed blissfully happy. He couldn’t imagine them splitting up.
“What happened?”
“I reminded him that I was the victim, and that bringing the people who had preyed upon so many innocent women to justice was something I needed to do and would do all over again, regardless of the consequences. I convinced him that respecting me meant respecting my choices, even if he didn’t agree with them. You’re right. Your father was a hero, but not because he always kept me safe. He was a hero because he realized that, in his fear, he was trying to take away my volition. He was a hero because he went to therapy, worked through his guilt, accepted my choices, and chose to continue in law enforcement, knowing that things weren’t always going to work out exactly as he wanted every time.”
He heard her message loud and clear.
Loving someone didn’t mean always protecting them or keeping them safe. It meant supporting them even when it was difficult. It meant respecting Rose’s decision. It meant accepting Phillipe’s decision to go out alone that night. It meant letting go of the guilt he’d been carrying every day for the past two years so it didn’t destroy his chance at happiness with the woman he loved.
Shit.Why did his mother always have to be right?
He retraced his steps back to the cabin at a run. He was going to go to Philadelphia with Rose. He was going to give her the one hundred fifty percent commitment and support he’d promised.He’d wrangle a sniper rifle from Virus and plant his ass at the best vantage point he could find. Watching her walk into that warehouse by herself was going to be the hardest thing he’d ever done, but he’d do it for her.
But when he got back to the cabin, Rose and Kemper were gone.
* * *
It was nearly 9:30 p.m. by the time they reached the deserted industrial area where the warehouse was located. They were close to the airport. The car shook every few minutes as planes buzzed by. A spring wind blew a few wrappers, chip bags, and other trash to join the water bottles, beer cans, broken glass, and car parts that lay on the sides of the road.
“How much farther?” she asked.
The long car ride had been spent mostly in silence. Rosemary didn’t feel like talking. Her mind warred with itself, rehashing that horrible argument with Aleksei and second-guessing her decision. The choice had seemed so clear at Virus’s cabin, but a sense of unease tapped at her ribs as soon as she entered the car. The tapping had slowly increased to a steady thrum.
Gary slowed and made a quick right, pulling behind a large dark building. Most of the lights in the parking area were broken, creating an eerie darkness full of black holes and shadows.
He faced her. “I’m sorry. You seem like a nice woman.”
Sorry?
“Sorry for what?”
“Give me the laptop.”
