His hands were on her now—gentle but urgent—his frantic gaze scanning her face, arms, and legs.
“Tess, look at me,” he said, voice tight with controlled intensity. “Are you hurt?”
She shook her head, though the movement made the room tilt. “N-no.” Her voice was hoarse, barely audible. “Nothing serious.” At least she didn’t think so.
He still checked her over, his fingers moving carefully along her shoulders, down her sides, assessing for anything he might have missed. He gently lifted her forearms, turning her wrists toward the light.
The skin was torn and raw where the zip ties had bitten in. Blood smeared across swollen flesh.
His jaw tightened, and a low, dangerous sound rumbled in his chest. His gaze slid past her shoulder, and she turned her head to follow it. A man she assumed was Diego lay sprawled on the ground with a small, dark bullet hole centered in his forehead, his eyes open and vacant. The red-and-gray spray fanned across the concrete wall told the rest of the story—there was a far larger exit wound at the back of his skull. She didn’t need to see it to know.
Brian’s expression hardened, something dark and feral flashing there before he dragged it back under control. “I wish I could kill him again for what he did to you—for even thinking of touching you.”
She wished he could, too, but it was bad enough she lived through it once. No way did she want to experience it again. “You came.”
His eyes widened as they returned to her face. “Of course I did, baby.”
For a moment, nothing else existed but the two of them on that cold concrete floor. He brushed his thumb beneath her eye, wiping away a tear she hadn’t realized had fallen. “You’re okay, Tess. You’re okay.”
His voice cracked on the last word, and that was what finally broke her.
A sob tore loose from her chest, raw and uncontrolled. Tears blurred her vision as the terror she’d held back crashed through her all at once.
“I thought—” She couldn’t force the rest of it out, the words catching in her throat.
“I know. But it’s over. You’re safe.”
Safe.
It didn’t feel real until she threw herself forward and grabbed him.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, fingers clutching the back of his vest as if he might vanish. He caught her immediately, one arm bracing her back, the other sliding up to cradle her head against his shoulder.
His heart hammered beneath her cheek.
She clung tighter and sobbed—deep, shaking sobs that wracked her entire body. The humiliation, the fear, the certainty that she was about to die—all of it poured out.
“I was so afraid you wouldn’t find me in time,” she whispered through broken breaths.
He tightened his hold just slightly and kissed the top of her head. “I will always find you. Always.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
The house was too quiet.
Not silent. But unsettling, even though she wasn’t alone—Andy was in his room.
The refrigerator hummed. The air conditioner kicked on with a low rush. Outside, a few children laughed and shrieked as the waves chased them back onto the sand. Ordinary sounds.
Still, Tess jumped when the ice maker in the freezer dropped a fresh tray.
Her heart lurched so hard it left her breathless.
She pressed a hand to her sternum and closed her eyes for a second. Her pulse felt wild beneath her palm—too fast, too loud, like it was trying to outrun something that wasn’t even there.
You’re home. You’re safe.
She repeated the mantra the way Brian had the night before, his arms wrapped tight around her while she drifted in and out of fitful sleep. Every time she’d woken up, shaking, convinced for half a second that the hood was still over her face and her life was about to end, he’d whispered those words until she drifted off again.