Special Forces: Operation Alpha: Aaron's Honor (Kindle Worlds Novella) (Men of Mercy Book 8) (7 page)

Aaron took a beat – he actually had seen the wound on his commanders left flank – although he'd wished he hadn't at the time.

“It will take you half a day to make it to another hospital,” the priest said.

“Fine, but I'm not leaving her side.” Aaron gently placed her on the gurney, stepping only far enough out-of-the-way so for the nuns to strap Celine down.

Both nuns were older, with kind eyes and cautious but efficient movements. The tallest one pushed Celine inside and Aaron stayed close on her heels. They went inside, through an open room with a few old chairs lined up against one wall and straight down a small hall, turning into the second door on the left. Unlike most mission style hospitals, this facility had concrete floors and electricity.

“I need room to move to examine her properly. You may stand over there.” The tall nun gestured to the corner. “I promise you we will take good care of her.”

Something about the woman put him at ease, maybe it was the fact that she seemed completely unafraid, or the thread of determination in her voice reminded him of his own grandmother, but he nodded and stepped back. “I did a quick check in the field,” he cleared his throat and fought to sound neutral, “she may have been violated.”

“Be at ease, soldier. My name is Sister Mary Catherine, this is Sister Mary Elizabeth. I will examine her myself and pray that isn’t the case. But if it is, I will pray for God to help her recover.”

Damn tears stung his eyes and Aaron hastily blinked them back. “Thank you.”

“Did she have any bleeding?”

“No, ma'am.”

“Are you her husband?”

The unexpected question caught him off guard. “No.”

“We must undress her to complete the exam. It won’t take long, and I will be as gentle as possible, I must ask that you step out of the room until we have completed.”

Both nuns stopped their exam and waited. Aaron felt every inch of their gazes. He technically had no legal claim to stay in here and definitely not any religious rights. But he didn't want to leave her, not even for a minute. “I just got her back.”

“My beliefs do not allow me to undress her before a man not her husband.” Mary Catherine gently touched his arm. “Trust me, it will be better for her if we do this part while she is still unconscious.”

The nausea that had been present since he’d first seen her bruises squeezed his stomach.

Mary Catherine went to the door and held it open. “You have my oath that neither myself, nor Sister Mary Elizabeth will do anything to bring her further harm, and my only intention is to help this young woman fully.”

“Celine, her name is Celine,” Aaron said, his voice gruff.

“I will come and find you as soon as we have finished Celine's examination. You may wait in the hall, or find Father Gerald, and he can direct you to the showers we have in the facility.”

“I'll wait outside.” Throat tight, Aaron left the room, unable to restrain the feeling of dread when the door clicked shut behind him.

CHAPTER NINE

Have to run. Have to hide. Have to get away.
Terror gripped Celine as she ran down the maze of hallways in the beautiful but deadly palace. Taking a left and right. Every time she turned the corner she was faced with the girl in the blue burka. She turned around again, her lungs locked down so tight she couldn't breathe. Solana appeared again, only this time a face floated in front of the blue mask. Caroline Cotter's face. Tears ran down Caroline's cheeks the color of blood, her mouth twisted into wide silent scream.

“No!” Celine ran only to slam into a solid chest. Mr. Mankel blocked her, only he wasn't speaking. He just stood there smiling down at her, frozen like the statues lining the hall. And then Celine's captor appeared. Suddenly, she was on the floor. He ripped her clothes from her, pawing at her naked body and she couldn’t lift her arms to fight him, invisible restraints held her down.

“No!”

Celine woke from the terrifying nightmare to a dark room, her body shaking and drenched in a cold sweat. She attempted to lift her arms only to have them held in place by soft, yet firm shackles around her wrists. She tried to get her breathing under control, but the air ratcheted in and out of her lungs like a huge piston. Cool sheets covered her naked body and she felt a hard mattress beneath her back.

Where was she? Her mind whirled in a frantic tumble searching for her last memory, but all she could come up with was a blurry name – Dmitri.

They'd sold her – Celine bolted upright and was yanked right back down by a wave of dizziness and her restraints. She bucked and kicked, twisting with panic as she tried to fight free. She felt a sharp pain on the inside of her elbow, and then something warm running down her side and arm.

A loud beep sounded behind her and she realized with growing terror she'd been hooked up to some kind of alarm. So Dmitri knew she was awake? Was he coming for her now? Her chest pulled and burned with terror. Have to escape.

The door swung open and light filtered into the room. Celine looked up and saw the outline of a burka. She screamed.

XXX

“You’re flying out tomorrow if Celine is stabilized by then. Got the helicopter ride to Uzbekistan, and then a hop to Germany where I'll have a private jet waiting to fly you both back to D.C. Right now, this is a classified mission. No one can know we've got her.”

Aaron dropped his head into his hand as he listened to his commander. Grey had just called to catch him up on the details. “What about the Russian? Did he survive the fight?”

“No, looks like he caught more than one bullet. But we had enough to ID him. Sven Panchenko, works for a wealthy Russian aristocrat named Dmitri Stanislov. Sven is his buyer. Seems like Dmitri goes through slaves often. If Celine had ended up with him, well, I'm glad she didn't.”

Aaron concentrated on not crushing the phone. “Too bad we can't pay him a little visit.”

“Sent his information to my contacts in the human trafficking task force, and I pressed upon them how important it is to national security that Dmitri be silenced.”

“What about Mr. J? And Caroline?”

Grey sighed long and hard through the phone. Aaron leaned back in the small cot they'd given him one room down from Celine.

He’d waited over thirty minutes in that hallway waiting on the nun’s report. Sister Mary Catherine had emerged from the room, the deep groves in her face drooping with weariness, Aaron had braced himself for the worst. When she’d reported that she’d found no recent evidence of rape, Aaron had nearly passed out from relief.

But recent didn’t mean never, and they would have to wait for Celine to wake before they knew the true extent of her experience in captivity.

“He was gone wasn't he?”

“You’ve got to give it to that sneaky bastard. He's out run death more times than a black cat with nine lives. The compound we raided had been deserted, except for a small staff of servants who'd been hired by a go between. No record of Mr. J ever being there. As of right now we've got nothing to go on, but I'll keep you updated as I get new Intel. How is Celine? Wake up yet?”

“Nope, not yet, but she's stable. The Father thinks she'll be fine with some rest.” He’d taken a quick shower after the news and checked to see that she still slept before finding his own cot.

“If you want, I can have someone meet you at the next hop and take her back to the states. I can get you back to the Team straight from there.”

An opportunity for revenge against J - he could kill the bastard himself. But he'd have to abandon Celine. Again. “I don’t know yet. I need to wait until she wakes up, see if she’s stable.”

“Roger. Give her my regards and contact me as soon as you decide.”

“Roger.” Aaron hung up the phone. The concrete wall digging into his back wasn't exactly comfortable, but at least he had a cot and at least he was close to Celine. That's all he needed. Ethan had bunked in another room and Aaron could hear him snoring all the way down the hall.

Aaron tried to relax enough to get some shut-eye. They'd all gone nearly two days now with no sleep. But unlike Aaron, Ethan knew his woman was safe at home.

Not hooked up to beeping monitors and an I.V....

Celine's scream ripped down the hallway. Aaron bolted from the bed, yanked his gun from beneath his pillow and ran to her.

Not again. Not again. Not again.

CHAPTER TEN

The room filled with florescent light and Celine slammed her eyes shut against the almost painful brightness. Fear gripped her in a tight fist and she twisted on the bed, pulling her knees up to her chest into a small ball.

Open your eyes.
Where was she?

“Celine, sweetheart, look at me.” A rough voice penetrated the fog around her brain and Celine peeked into the concerned brown eyes of Aaron Speirs.

No, how could he be here? She must be having another dream. “Not real.”

Aaron barked orders over his shoulder. “Give me something to stop the bleeding, dammit.” Then he turned back to her, still the same soft expression on his features. “I am real. You were unconscious. My team and I rescued you. You’re safe.”

The cold had her on the inside, leaving her shaking. A bone deep kind of cold like she would never be warm again. It was too much to take in. “The girl in the blue burka. She was just here.”

Another voice, this one different, yet distinctly female filled the room, “I think she was having a nightmare when I came to check on her.”

Celine looked past Aaron’s shoulder. A nun in a black robe, her face uncovered and filled with sympathy, handed him a small white towel.

“Celine, this is Sister Mary Catherine, she's been tending to your injuries.” As if scared he might break her, Aaron gently touched her right arm.

Celine jerked at the contact and he yanked his hand back, a flash of pain flickered across his gaze. “You ripped out your IV. I need to stop the bleeding.” He nodded toward her arm and Celine glanced down to see blood covering the bed and her body. And that she was naked from the waist up. She swallowed and stared up at Aaron as tears filled her eyes.

His gaze held hers as he gently answered her silent plea and raised the sheet.

“I'm – I'm sorry.”

“Hush, you don't have anything to be sorry for. You woke in a strange place, scared and alone. I’m sorry I wasn’t in here,” he said.

He was looking at her with such understanding her chest squeezed and another wave of tears welled. Celine bit her lip, afraid to talk and not sure what she would say anyway.

“Honey, I’m going to take off these restraints. We were trying to make sure you didn’t wake up and accidently fall from the bed until the drugs wore off.” He offered her a small smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes at all.

“Okay,” she said.

His movements hesitant, Aaron pulled the Velcro bands from her wrists, his fingers brushed her skin for a whisper of a second and then he eased back. Celine felt the loss of that contact immediately.

Sister Mary Catherine came around to the other side of the bed and placed the stack of gauze near her hip. “I'm going to put pressure on the wound and then wrap it and get you cleaned up. Okay?”

The Sister waited for Celine’s nod of approval before tending to her arm. Her wrinkled hands moved with efficiency. The nun discarded the dirty gauze and then opened a small cabinet right behind her and pulled out a gown. All the while Aaron hovered protectively on her left, not getting too close or too far away. His presence helped take the edge off her frayed nerves and she silently prayed he would stay.

“Mr. Speirs, would you mind stepping from the room while I help her change?” Sister Mary Catherine said.

“Of course,” Aaron nodded and stepped toward the door.

Celine went cold. “No!”

He froze, his hand on the handle.

“I want him to stay.” Her panic didn't start to ease until he was back at her side, holding the demons at bay.

Sister Mary Catherine clucked her tongue and said, “My dear, I can change you, it will only be a few minutes.”

“Please, don't make him leave.” She felt like her mind was in a fog, unable to grasp anything that was real and only able to latch onto one truth – Aaron Speirs made her feel safe.

“I can help her,” Aaron said.

The nun pinned Aaron with a hard stare and Celine was thankful the woman's wrath was not directed at her.

“Fine, but I will be back in five minutes to clean the floors and change the sheets.” Sister Mary Catherine dropped the new gown on Celine's legs and quietly left the room.

“Celine, are you sure you want me here?”

“Yes, I want you. Just – don't leave, please.”

“I'll do whatever you want me to do.” He took her hand in his, her skin warming in his grip, his touch flooding her senses with the overwhelming sensation of protection.

“Can you help me sit up?”

He put an arm behind her and helped ease her up into a sitting position. A wave of dizziness rolled around inside her head as if she’d spun on a tilt-a-whirl. She grabbed his other arm and he held her, strong and steady. She waited until the dizzy spell passed, held the sheet to her chest and then swung her legs around to dangle off the bed. Everything about this room was sterile: the walls, the florescent lights, the silver medical devices. Everything except for her blood covering the floor.

Careful to miss the puddle, she eased one and then the other foot onto the floor, the room tilted again. Strong warm hands circled her waist. “I got you.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome,” he whispered, his rough voice tickling her ear. “Can you stand up on your own?”

Celine closed her eyes with the delicious sensation. “I think so.”

“Okay, now what do you want me to do?”

He looked to her for instruction. Celine knew the second she dropped the sheet, he’d see her fully naked. Memories of rough hands danced around her periphery and she lifted the sheet out from her chest, staring down at the glaring marks there. “You’ve already seen me.”

He cleared his throat and she felt a tremor work through him. “Yes. I had to check and make sure you were stable enough to transport.”

She swallowed the lump forming in her throat. He’d seen the bruises left by her first captor then. He must be disgusted. She was disgusted. And then someone had drugged her – when? How long had she been unconscious? Had she been raped while she was out? The tears returned and she slammed her eyes shut, trying to assess her body. She couldn’t feel any terrible pain down there, but her whole body hurt. How would she know?
Would she ever know???

“Celine, honey, I’m sorry. I had to check for life threatening injuries. Do you want me to call the nurse back in here?” Aaron’s voice was harsh and low and filled with hurt.

She kept her eyes squeezed tight and jerked her head to say no. As ashamed as she was for him to see her naked again, she didn’t want him to leave.

She couldn’t handle being alone.

Had Aaron rescued her before Dmitri took her? Had she been violated while she was out? Celine clutched her stomach and bent over, a low moan escaping her dry cracked lips.

She'd never know for sure, not unless...unless...she ended up pregnant. Please, don't let it be true. Somehow being violated and not knowing it was worse than if they'd done it while she was awake. To be so defenseless…

XXX

Celine was literally falling apart right before his eyes and he didn’t have a damn clue what to do to stop it. She’d gone completely white when she looked under the sheet. Was he supposed to hold her? Or would having a man touch her make her worse? Did he need to call the Sister back in here?

She shuddered and silent tears flowed from her closed eyes. Fuck, his chest felt like someone had stuck a blade in it and left it there to rust. He’d never felt so helpless. What was going through her mind? If only he could ask her without invoking more nightmares.

She moaned and bent forward, the first sob breaking free and suddenly he knew what he had to do. His arms went around her, as natural as if they’d been molded for her, and he held her against his chest. Bleeding and sobbing with only a stained sheet between them, he held her.

He’d never let her go.

Her knees gave out, Aaron scooped her fluidly, sensing when she no longer had the strength to stand on her own. He didn’t care about anything or anyone else right now except the woman in his arms.

He knew girls needed to cry sometimes, he’d learned that lesson from his sisters. Sometimes they cried for no reason whatsoever than a need to cleanse. Celine cried for a reason more real than she could handle on her own.

Her sobs filled the room, each one ripping a little piece from his heart.

He’d handle whatever she’d been through and he’d be here for her; hold her up so she wouldn’t fall to her demons. He had no clue about recovering from rape or captivity, but he’d do his damn best to do what he could for her and right now he did what felt right. He held her.

Sister Mary Catherine eased open the door, saw them together and slowly closed it.

Celine clutched his shirt, holding on to him like a life line. He embraced the fierce surge of protectiveness and eased onto the bed, settling her in his lap. Eventually, her sobs turned to soft sniffles and then to even softer pants as she strove for control.

He remained silent, letting her figure her own way through. When she was ready, he’d be here.

At least for now.
The need for vengeance took a back seat to Celine’s anguish. He would avenge her. He had to. 

But that couldn’t begin until Celine started her recovery.

As gently as he could manage, he eased her from him and brushed back the hair that had stuck to her wet cheeks. He pulled the sheet tighter around her chest, making sure she felt safe and covered. Her arm had quit bleeding and now curled up around his neck, stained with dry red blood. “Talk to me.”

He knew he couldn’t fix her problems for her, but he could listen, even if he was terrified of what she would say.

She'd been held in captivity for over two weeks, there was no telling what type of nightmare she'd lived through. Sister Mary Catherine had seen no recent trauma with her exam, but that didn't mean she hadn't suffered in the beginning.

“I don't know what to say.”

He threaded his fingers through her left hand and eased her head down to rest on his shoulder. “You can say anything you want.”

Her breath caught again as she fought for control, twisting his heart into all kinds of knots he didn't know if he could ever untangle. His job demanded he go to the worst places in the world to deal with the scum that infested the human race. He'd seen women more beaten than Celine, got up close and personal with all kinds of scary shit, but he'd never had it hit so close to home.

God help him if she had been violated – he honestly wasn't sure if he'd be able to keep his shit under wraps.

Celine drew in a ragged breath and Aaron squeezed her to him, trying to make her feel how he was here for her. “It's okay sweetheart. You don't have to talk about anything. I'm just gonna sit here and hold you for a little bit and if you want to talk you go right ahead, if you don't want to that's okay too.”

“I need to know.”

“Know what?” He asked gently.

“I need to know what happened,” she whispered, leaving him straining to hear her.

“You don't remember anything?” Aaron couldn't keep the incredulous tone out of his voice. Had they kept her drugged the whole time?

“No, I remember being taken from the wedding. I…”

When she paused for so long he wasn’t sure what she’d say he prompted, “Why don’t you start from there?”

She sucked in a breath and shot upright, her wild gaze scaring the crap out of him. “Kate – Did you find Kate? We never saw her, not after we woke. Is she okay? Did they get her, too?”

“No, honey. We were able to rescue Kate from the wedding. They’d drugged her, but left her behind when we caught up with them. Kate is safe and back home in the states, worrying about you.”
And Caroline, but no need to bring her up just yet.

Celine collapsed against him once more. “Thank God.”

“We thought she might be…dead.”

Aaron captured her hand in his. “Not a chance of that.”

She bolted again and Aaron yanked back just in time to keep her from head butting his chin. “What about Caroline? Where is she?”

“We couldn’t find her. I’m sorry.” She hadn’t been at the meet which confirmed Aaron’s suspicion that Caroline had been the original target and Celine a bystander. A bystander that would have never been there if not for him.

His guilt hit full force and he leaned his head back to stare up at the cracked ceiling of the little hospital.

“Do you think she’s okay?” She started plucking at his shirt and Aaron lowered his chin to rest on top of her head. “I don’t know. I think so. She has value to the man who took you.”

“But he doesn’t have her any more. Mr. Mankel rescued us from him.”

“What do you mean, honey? Who rescued you?” Maybe the drugs were still in her system. They’d barely rescued Celine before being sold into sexual slavery.

“Mr. Mankel. He said he’d been sent by Caroline’s father, Senator Cotter. He took us from that…that god awful prison in the dessert.” She shuddered and her nails dug into his chest with sharp little pricks of pain. Aaron barely felt them. Something else was going on here, he felt like they were talking in circles.