How could he rescue her when her life was hanging in the balance with that knife? One wrong move and she would bleed out.
The man holding Cassie whispered something in her ear. The terror in her eyes curled his stomach, but also gave him the resolve to put an end to her suffering. They couldn’t wait for the police to show up. He had no clue how fast the authorities moved down here. Cassie didn’t have time on her side.
He turned to Eduardo and whispered, “Is there any other entrance?”
“Not that I remember.”
Luke remembered the ptarmigan whose birdcall Cassie had found so fascinating last week up at her cabin. Seemed like forever ago. Surely they didn’t have them here. If she heard that sound, would it give her the comfort to know he was here so she could be ready to move when they burst inside? Might as well try.
“Sweet-sweet!” He made the sound a few times, then looked inside again. The men hadn’t noticed, but he saw Cassie scanning the door, hope in her eyes.
He stepped away and in a whisper informed Eduardo what the situation was and their plan of attack. “One has her at knifepoint. He’s mine. You take the one standing in front of her. When we go in there, we need to surprise and distract them. We only have a second or two before they’ll react. I’ll give a rebel yell—”
“A what?”
Eduardo hadn’t grown up in the American South. “Just listen and charge toward her when you hear it.” Luke prepared, trying to take a deep breath and regain control of his shaking body. Rage gave him the courage to go in there. He just hoped Cassie didn’t get hurt.
Remember your self-defense training, Sweet Pea.
He just needed to give her enough warning to twist away so he could take the man down. God, he hoped he could neutralize the arm with the knife quickly.
And if you even nick her pinky, I’ll use that knife to cut off your goddamned dicks.
* * *
Diego’s hand squeezed her breast harder. Bile choked the back of her throat. Was this real or another visualization with Abigail? She had been enjoying the celebration of life and love with Lucas and her family only moments ago, hadn’t she? This could not be real.
Then the blade of the knife touched her throat and she pulled away, closer to Pedro who laughed at her fear. No, this was very much happening.
“Mi chica will not whore herself with that gringo on her wedding night. We will remind you what a real man feels like, Casandra.”
Escape!
Cassie kicked behind her at his shins and elbowed him, but the other two soon overpowered her and the back of her head smashed into the beer-soaked felt on the pool table. Hands pulled at her skirt and blouse. The sound of a knife cutting through the material made her stop fighting for fear she would be cut as well.
“Don’t stop fighting, puta,” Diego ground out. “We like it better when our girls give us a challenge.”
“I am not one of your girls. Let me go now or my brother will make you regret the day you were born.”
Cassie blinked. Had she just kicked at Pedro? There was no pool table here. The past and present became jumbled in her mind. I must escape! But how? Pedro had not loosened his hold on her since he grabbed her in the alley behind the church. She had run out of beads before they reached their destination. Had there been enough dropped for Lucas to find her? If he did not see the trail of beads, he might not realize she was in danger. Would he go to her parents’ home looking for her, losing precious time?
Please, Lucas! Help me!
All three of her rapists had come back for more, with Luis waiting for them here at the shed. These men had robbed her of five years of her life, taken away her power, her family, her freedom. She was finally beginning to regain her ability to trust. She would not let them control her in that way again.
Not only were they traumatizing her, but the bewildered alpacas, too.
She despised these men for making her fearful again. She had used the imagery from the therapist’s office to escape from Diego, but Pedro thwarted her escape.
She would not give up and let them do what they had done before. Lucas would be looking for her. Surely, he had seen her beads.
Lucas, I need you!
These men would not cheat her from being Lucas’s wife. She loved him more than any man she had ever known. No one had ever had so much confidence in her. If he trusted her enough to marry her twice, she wanted to spend the rest of her life showing him how much she loved him. No one would rob her of that chance.
Especially not these three bastards.
“Hurry, Luis! We don’t have all night. And I go first again. I am the one cheated out of his wedding night with this one.”
Diego whispered in her ear, “I cannot wait to bury myself deep inside you again when it is my turn, puta.”
Pedro brandished the knife at Diego ramping up the real fear she would be cut as they fought over who would rape her first. Do not give him the satisfaction of seeing your fear.
Diego had been the most sadistic of the three. She would die before giving him control over her body again. But could she take him down with her if he tried to rape her this time?
If she could only succeed in hurting one, it would be Diego. He should never be allowed to hurt or terrorize another girl.
Tears of frustration burned her eyelids. She might never experience the intimacy Lucas had promised. She had wasted so much time running in fear of his touch these past weeks, no months. Now when she was finally ready to be held in his arms, sit in his lap, spoon against him in bed, the opportunity might never come.
She could knee Diego in the groin, but with the knife at her throat what chance would she have of escape? Pedro yelled at Luis again to hurry. A ptarmigan called softly outside, transporting her back to her mountain. With Lucas.
Sweet-sweet.
I want to go home. Please, Lucas, take me to our home.
If only… Diego pinched her nipple and twisted it viciously causing her to scream against her gag. “Let me hear you scream, puta.” He removed the gag and she stretched her jaw back and forth to relieve the pain in her joints. Desperation rising, Cassie scanned the shed again for a weapon.
Wait! Ptarmigans were not native to Peru.
Lucas had found her!
Diego lowered his hand from her breast to his belt and began loosening it. “Remove my pants, puta.”
Knowing her husband was nearby gave her courage. When Pedro lowered the knife to permit her to follow Diego’s command, he began to take off his pants as well. Knowing Luke was near, she drew courage and opened his fly, hoping to have his pants around his knees before Lucas made his move.
“I see you have missed me.” The words made her sick, but she needed to distract them until Lucas made his move.
Hurry, Lucas.
Cassie raised her gaze to meet Diego’s and forced a smile to her lips. “I have waited a long time for this moment.” In his cockiness, let him think she truly meant those words. When he licked his already wet lips, she knew she had succeeded.
Swallowing the vomit rising into the back of her throat at his putrid stench, she pulled his jeans down leaving his boxers in place.
Stay in the moment. Lucas is near.
She prayed to Mama Quilla to protect Lucas from injury in the imminent struggle.
Now, Lucas!
Perhaps a verbal cue would help. “I am ready.” She hoped Lucas knew she spoke the words to him, not Diego.
The door to the shed burst open and a blood-curdling scream rent the air. Lucas? As chaos broke loose, she rammed her head into Diego’s groin pushing him backward. He fell, sprawled out on a bed of filthy straw. Lucas ran past her in a blur, and she heard Pedro groan. When the knife clattered to the ground, she dove for it. Diego came to his feet, his hands fisted. She had to incapacitate him so he could not attack her or Lucas. She thrust upward with the knife and plunged it into his groin. Blood spurted between her hands, and a look of horror spread across Diego’s face.
Stron
g arms wrapped around her and pulled her up and away. She raised the bloodied knife again to fend off this new attack.
“Whoa, darlin’. It’s me.” She collapsed against Lucas in relief. “Stay over there while we take care of the other two.”
We? Lucas started to guide her toward a corner, but when she turned around, she saw Pedro approaching behind them.
“Lucas, watch out!”
Lucas shoved her out of harm’s way as Pedro plowed toward Lucas’s abdomen. Everything happened in a blur. Lucas managed to spin and avoid being tackled. Grunts in the far stall made her wonder who else had come to her rescue.
Shouts of her name from outside the shed distracted her from watching Lucas pummel Pedro’s face. Her gentle husband was anything but gentle as he continued to beat Pedro long after the man was unconscious. She started to move forward to stop him from killing the man when movement in the back set her on alert. Eduardo stood, breathing heavily. He must have subdued Luis. The fury on his face frightened her until she reminded herself it was not directed at her.
Cassie glanced at Diego still writhing on the floor, covered in blood. The amount of blood loss told her he had been severely injured.
“Casandra!”
Papá?
She turned to the doorway to see her once frail father charge into the room ready to do battle. “No, Papá! You will be hurt!”
The shed filled with men from the wedding. Some held makeshift weapons, ready to protect and defend her from these monsters.
Eduardo pulled Lucas away. The way Pedro’s jaw flopped, he had to have broken the man’s jaw. The man who had caused her so much pain also bled profusely from a broken nose.
Her father walked over to them and kicked Pedro repeatedly in the side until Eduardo pulled him back. “Papá, he is not worth the energy. Be careful or you will be hurt.”
In Spanish, Papá said, “He hurt my little girl. He should not be allowed to live.”
Tears stung her eyes. Whether he meant today or now understood what had happened in the past, he had come to her rescue.
And her brother and husband had risked their lives to save her. These three honorable men who loved her most all deemed her worthy of fighting for and risking their lives. They filled her with a sense of being honored, loved, and cherished.
Breathing hard, Lucas walked toward her, and she reached up to take his hand. He winced and she let go. “Your hands!” His knuckles had to be raw from the force he had used on Pedro. She scrambled to her feet and inspected them. Red across the knuckles. “Flex your fingers.” Nothing seemed broken, as far as she could tell. “Oh, Lucas.” She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him tightly against her.
“Are you okay, Baby? Did they…”
“No!” She did not wish to hear the word ever again. “You found me in time.” When he hugged her back, everyone else ceased to exist. She trembled in his arms, partly from an adrenaline crash but more from relief. Safe. Lucas loves me.
And I love him.
“Shhh. I have you, darlin’. It’s all over.”
When her knees buckled he scooped her into his arms and she laid her head against his shoulder. Hearing a commotion, she pulled away long enough to watch as the men were dragged from the shed to the alley. Judging from the angry shouts and pain-filled groans, a few more landed kicks or punches on the monsters who had tried to violate her again. The neighborhood watch authorities did not seem interested in stopping the retribution of other husbands, brothers, and fathers wanting to keep their village safe for the women who lived here. Tears streamed down her face.
“I’m so proud of you, Sweet Pea.”
A sob tore from her throat. “I was so frightened. I thought they were going to…”
“Shhh. We’ll make sure that this time justice is served for what they have done.”
She remembered her montera. “You followed my trail.”
“Smart thinking. The white beads were easy to see even at night.”
She had taken so many classes and watched films to help her learn to escape, but might not have kept her wits about her if she had not just gone through the visualization with Abigail. Finally, she truly was free of these men forever. They would rot in prison; enough people from the village would testify against them.
“When I heard the call of the ptarmigan, I knew you were near. That gave me courage to put into motion what I would need to do in order to escape.” She loosened her arms and glanced up at Lucas. Not even a scratch on his face.
“We should have worked out some kind of plan if that snake came near you.”
“Stop. It is over. They could not beat us. We were smarter and stronger than they were.”
“What you did to the one who had his hands all over you—”
“Diego.”
“Yeah, well, remind me never to get on your bad side, Sweet Pea.”
She playfully punched his chest. “Lucas, how could you even think I could ever hurt you! You would never do the despicable things that man has done to incur my wrath, either.”
His chin rested on the top of her head. “I’ll always try to watch over you, Sweet Pea. No one will ever hurt you if I can do anything to stop them.”
“I trust you with my life, Lucas. And if anyone ever threatens you, I will fight just as hard to protect you. We are one now. No one can ever separate us.”
“Want to try standing again?” She nodded and he set her down. Already she was regaining her strength from the ordeal. He tilted her face toward his as he lowered his mouth in a tender kiss that ended way too soon. “Come on, baby girl. I want to take my bride to bed.” He held her hand and they started toward the door.
His words sent a spark of longing through her, but as much as she thought herself ready to explore a physical relationship with him, she was in no condition to do more than cuddle tonight. The desire for his touch continued to build, but—
He shook his head. “Cassie, I can tell by the grip on my hand that mind of yours is going a mile a minute. I’m not going to jump your bones, darlin’. You’ve been through hell tonight. We’re just going to hold each other close, start building that foundation of intimacy we’ve been talking about, and add a few more layers of trust. When we both decide the time is right for more, it’s going to be in our own house away from my in-laws and an audience.” He grinned and her heart melted.
How she loved this man and stopped to turn toward him. “Te quiero, Luke.” Were there tears in his eyes? Did he understand her words of love?
“You don’t know how long I’ve wanted to hear you say that.”
He did? How much of her Spanish conversations had he understood? Not that she cared. She needed to express her love in her native language this first time. The language of her heart. “I think I knew my heart was yours during our wedding ceremony, but when I thought I might die without telling you so, well, I have learned not to hold back on expressing my feelings toward you ever again.”
His eyes opened wide. “Hey, did you also just call me Luke?”
She smiled. “The first step toward intimacy is for me to stop distancing myself from you. You risked your life to protect me. The least I can do is call you by your preferred nickname.” He grinned and wrapped his arm around her waist before guiding her toward the doorway.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Cassie shivered, but not from the cold in this bathroom. The roller-coaster events of the day had taken their toll. Now she prepared herself for her wedding night with Lucas… No, with Luke. While in some ways, her nerves made her want to avoid going to bed, she also craved Luke’s gentle touch to help calm her body and mind. She no longer wished to shield her heart from him.
When they had returned home over an hour ago, Mamá took charge, and both of them were ushered into her meditation room. Her mother invoked the spirit of Pachamama, mother of Mama Quilla and, indeed, the World Mother, to cleanse Cassie and her new husband. Cassie heard references to bringing them good luck and fertility, but chose not to inte
rpret the incantations for Luke. It was best not to get his hopes up in case she was unable to perform her duties as his wife.
But Luke had risked his life to rescue her. She would never give her body as a means of repayment, but her gratitude to him left her feeling selfish not to honor him in this way. Her hand shook as she brushed her wet hair. These past few months, he had shown her in so many ways what a kind, gentle, patient man he was. He did not invade her space. Did not take advantage of her in vulnerable moments. He remained positive, supportive, and protective no matter what.
She blinked away the tears that had been on the surface since she had returned to her parents’ home. Plucking a tissue from the dispenser, she dabbed at her eyes and surveyed the damage in the bathroom mirror. Red and puffy. How alluring. Perhaps Luke would not even want to touch her tonight.
Cassie sighed and switched off the light as she opened the door. Luke was waiting for her. She couldn’t hide in here forever. How far would she be able to allow him to go tonight? The memories of her rape remained too vivid after being mauled by those men again.
Cassie took a deep breath and held her head high as she walked down the hallway to her bedroom. Their bedroom.
She opened the door and saw Luke stretched out in bed, a book in his hand. He had showered earlier and his hair was still damp against his neck. She couldn’t tell which book he read, but loved that he enjoyed reading in bed, too. That was something they could do together when they returned home. Seeing him lying there seemingly not anxious to do anything of a sexual nature, despite the fact this was their wedding night, also eased her stress.
She shed her robe and draped it over the footboard as she darted under the coverlet. She would keep her nightgown firmly in place. “Good night, Luke. Thank you again for everything today.”
“How are you feeling, darlin’?” He set the book aside and reached out to stroke her cheek. “I’m worried about you after what happened tonight.”
Oh, Luke. Always so in tune with her.
“I am better. The wedding was so beautiful. I am trying to focus on that, not what happened after.”
Nobody's Dream (Rescue Me Saga #6) Page 56