Page 69 of Sacrifice

"Absolutely. I hope y'all visit us again. I love seeing y'all and being near the babies." I hug each one of the guys and then Charlotte.

"You're the only person besides me they've ever let touch them, or me for that matter," she whispers in my ear and I realize that she's telling me I'm special. That I'm family, and if I need them, I only have to call. "Don't be a stranger, and I look forward to our girls’ day soon."

With that, they leave and I'm left with Vincent. "I'm glad that you like them, but Aribella. Seeing you hug them makes me want to break their arms," he growls as he takes me in for a bear hug. I chuckle because this is what I really do seem to love about him. He's so dang possessive.

"Yeah, yeah. From what I was just told, the guys don't normally let anyone touch them or Charlotte, so I've become family." This makes my heart happy. It's a hard pill to swallow that what I've yearned for all this time is a family. But now I have one, and I can live with that.

"If I had time,mi reina, I'd take you over my knee to hear you squeal as I spank you. Instead, I have to let my brothers meet you. Be nice," he warns me and I laugh.

"I'm always nice, Vincent," he snorts and his brothers walk into the sunroom.

The first thing I notice is that the older of the two has burn scars on his neck and hands. He comes over to me first. "Aribella, I'm Miguel. It's a pleasure to meet you." He extends his hand and I take it.

He doesn't move to hug me and it's probably because Vincent is holding onto my shoulders protectively, and I can't help but chuckle. "Vincent, it's alright," I whisper, and he looks down at me.

"I'm Diego." A young man comes up to me and I can tell he's lethal. His aura gives off killer vibes and I tense. He doesn't move closer or try to touch me. "I promise I won't harm you."

His voice is familiar, and I turn in to Vincent. Please God, don't let me have a panic attack. "His.. his voice," I whimper into his chest. I feel Vincent go rigid and he curls his arms around me.

"You're safe, Aribella. I swear to it. He won't hurt you. No one will, ever again." Vincent runs his fingers through my hair and his other hand holds onto my side.

"Aribella," Diego says and I shiver. "You may recognize my voice. You see, our family, well extended family, held you and I visited them when they did. I didn't know you were being held captive. If I had known, I'd have gotten you and Mossimo out."

Fear has its grip on me, and I curl into Vincent. I know I should listen and trust that he had nothing to do with my time away from Vincent. Closing my eyes, I gulp, terrified to face him. What if he's the guy that tried to rape me and he's been playing Vincent all along? What—what if he's the one that ripped into my skin? Shaking, I refuse to turn around.

“Mi reina,look at me.” I shake my head no at first, but Vincent tugs on my hair just enough to make me look up.

When I do, Vincent looks so sad and hurt. God, I feel horrible at my reaction to his brother. “Diego isn’t the one that hurt you, Aribella,” his words are gentle and there is no anger in them.

“Please, I…” Trembling, I keep my eyes on him and try hard not to panic. I can feel the pressure in my head.

“Diego, can you come here?” Vincent asks, and I wrap myself further into him. I’m not sure I can get any closer than we are right now.

“Shh, love. It’s alright. I’ve got you. No one will ever hurt you again.” He strokes my face, and as Diego comes up to our right, I tense. “Just look at him, Aribella. I promise you’ll see he’s not the bad guy.”

Vincent kisses down my throat and whispers in my ear. “For me, Aribella. Please, take a look and see that you are safe. That you have heard the voice, doesn’t mean he’s the bad guy. I swear to you, he helped me find you. He took our cousin's life for you.”

He isn’t trying to make me feel bad. I know this. But my brain is at war with itself. This voice is someone I thought was a person that had captured me.

Peeking at the man, I see the ruthlessness inside of him. Instead of letting my brain trick me, I really look. He has his hands at his sides and his head is bowed. “I swear on my life, I would never harm you or do the things that were done. Yes, I’m a monster, Aribella, but to know you are Vincent’s girl, I would never cross that line.”

He’s not telling me isn’t a bad man. Actually, he’s telling me the exact opposite, but he has a code. That has to mean something, right? Taking a deep breath, I turn in Vincent’s arms so my back is to his chest.

With a shaky hand, I reach out and take his hand in mine. The one thing that Vincent hasn’t been able to make go away is thememory of the two men that touched me. As I slide my hand into Diego’s, my brain knows he isn’t the one of those men.

Relaxing, I sigh. “I’m sorry,” I whisper to all three men in the room. Vincent squeezes my shoulders as Diego’s body releases the tension he was holding.

“It’s alright, Aribella. You have been through something terrible and I’m sorry for it. I’m just glad you are safe now,” Diego says to me and steps back.

“Alright, well, let’s have a drink, shall we?” Miguel says, and the intense moment is gone.

“Yes, let’s talk in the kitchen, grab a drink and talk about this girls day out, I’ve heard about,” Vincent says as he takes my hand in his and we walk out of the sunroom.

My body shivers as I let go of the memories that were threatening to overtake me. God, I feel so weak sometimes, but Vincent squeezes my hand and I smile up at him. Maybe, just maybe, I can heal, knowing that my nightmares are going to be vanquished by my beast.

Chapter Thirty-One

Six weeks. Six long fucking weeks it's been since Diego was at the house and Aribella is still having nightmares about it. My brother wasn't part of the problem and I know it, but her mind won't let it go. Even with her going to therapy. Yeah, I caved after Mossimo and Jorge insisted that she go.

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