“We came here to rescue Nishi,” I told her gently. Samantha might be humming—the song sounded familiar, but I couldn’t place it—and I didn’t want to talk any louder than I had to. “But we’re also here to rescue you, and anyone else Jones had here. Was it just the four of you?”
I didn’t know if all the other rooms were cleared yet.
Caroline nodded. “There have been others, but it’s just us now.”
“What about his wife? Was she involved? Did she know you were down here?” I had not gotten the distinct impression that a woman lived upstairs. It wasn’t like there were wedding pictures or a massive portrait of a pristine couple above the mantel. Most of the upstairs had the air of a museum, like it was staged rather than lived in.
Caroline’s face paled, and her chin started to tremble. “His… His wife?”
I nodded, trying to offer her reassurance. “Our records showed he was married.” But if Caroline didn’t know about her, then maybe the wife was innocent of her husband’s crimes. The entrance to this place was well hidden.
“She died.” Caroline ducked her head as if ashamed. “Last year.”
Well…shit. I was going to need to text Neo that information, because clearly they missed something in their research. “I’m sorry,” I told her softly. Clearly, the death of the woman still affected her. Maybe the woman helped take care ofthem. Maybe she had been just as much a victim as Caroline, Nishi, and the other woman down the hall.
Caroline’s eyes went back to the door that blocked Nishi and Aloiki from view. “And I’m sorry about your sister.”
My throat tightened. “Mahalo.”
“Are you going to hurt him? Mr. Dalton-Jones?” I was surprised she didn’t called him “Dalton-Jones-San”, given what she was wearing and the language she’d just spoken to Samantha.
Her question made me pause. She stood there, barely over five feet tall with a four year old on her hip, staring up at a man she knew was armed, and yet I saw curiosity and hope on her face where fear and uncertainty had been only moments before. Her bravery was admirable. I didn’t think she trusted me, not completely at least, but the fact that she hadn’t fought me on leaving Nishi’s room hinted that she was more worldly than she should be at her age. Add in where we were and the child she held, and she was practically an old woman.
I quickly ended that line of thought before I could get myself into trouble with it.
After all she’d no doubt been through here, I owed her the truth. She’d earned that. “Yes,” I answered.
It did something to me that she didn’t look away. That she held my gaze as she nodded her understanding that we weren’t just going to hurt him. “Good. I hope you make it painful.”
Despite where we were and what was going on around us, I cracked a smile. A true one, not one I’d forced on my lips to reassure a child. But an honest-to-God smile. She was a bloodthirsty little thing, and fuck me, because I liked it.
I crossed my arms over my chest, my humor falling fast. Because if she wanted Weatherby Dalton-Jones IV to hurt that badly, it meant that he’d hurt her first. And there was nothing humorous about that reminder.
“Tommy,” I indicated down the hall, “is a former soldier. He’sno doctor, but he knows more than I do. I should have asked earlier, and I’m sorry I didn’t. Are you okay? Do you need medical help?”
Caroline’s face scrunched up in sympathy as her eyes followed my gesture. “No. After he… After Nishi was punished, he sent me to take care of her. Ayame had been… She’s been the only one with him recently.”
I hated this fucker more and more with each passing moment. She was fuckingseventeen!Maybe even younger. I wanted to chop off the man’s cock and balls, shove them down his throat, and then light him on fire. But that wouldn’t be painful enough of a death for him.
I got her attention again, not wanting her to fall into despair at the dark memories. “I’m sorry,” I said sincerely. “I would still like you to see a medical professional.” Just because she hadn’t been raped in the past few days did not mean she didn’t have older or other injuries. There were diseases to consider as well. “I’m sure you’d like to get home to your parents?—”
“No!”
I startled at her outcry, my hand going to my gun, and immediately placing her back to the wall with myself stationed in front of her. I imagined an enemy reappearing before I figured out that it was my words that had caused her reaction.
Slowly, I stepped away, signaling to Tommy and then Spirit, who had stepped down the first couple of stairs to see if everything was all right, that I was fine. I turned to face Caroline, ready to apologize for my overreaction and causingherreaction, but her expression stopped me. She was…smiling.
For a moment, I couldn’t remember how to breathe. She was radiant. Back home, there’s a children’s song called “Ke Anuenue”. Ironically, it was also the name of a dating site, because it translated to “the rainbow”. I hadn’t thought of the song or even sungthe lyrics in over two decades, and yet the first line came to me clear as a bell now:
Ho?onani i ka ?aina
la ?ea la ?ea,
Pa mai e ka
la, la ?ea, la ?ea,
Mohala mai na pua,