Page 79 of Delivered to the Devil

“Shh-sh-shh,” András soothes, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “No one is in danger.”

“Yes,” I say urgently. “My little niece. He threatened to kill her if I ran away.”

András shakes his head. “It was just a bluff. Nothing will happen to her.”

I want to scream at him but manage to keep it down to an outraged voice. “How do you know?” My vision starts to swim,and András must see it because he leans in and pushes gently on both my shoulders to ease me back down.

“Janos told me. He knew you’d be worried. Whoever did this to you was bluffing. The threat was never real. It was just a scare tactic to keep you in line.”

I’m about to push back up to sit, but András grabs my shoulders. “Stay still or you’ll rip your wounds open.”

My nostrils flare wildly, and I close my eyes to regain some control.

I hate that it’s not Janos’s strong hands holding me, but as I calm down, I find that I’m grateful that there are hands here at all to hold me down when I’m about to rip my wounds open.

Opening my eyes, I stare at András and remember what the nurse said about him staying here for four days without being able to see me. My self-worth may be so broken that it’s hard for me to believe anyone cares about me, but with András, there’s no doubting it beyond my own insecurities.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “For… staying here.”

“You’re welcome.” He holds on for a moment longer before he releases my shoulders and sinks back into the chair.

I close my eyes and feel the soft teddy bear between my hands, and soon I drift off again, this time feeling a bit more at ease, knowing I have a tiny piece of Janos with me.

***

The next day, the nurse informs me that the police will be here at noon to talk to me.

“It’s up to you how much you want to share,” András says when I look at him, perplexed, in search of some guidance. “But I do think you should let them know who did this to you. I’m not sure how much they’ll be able to do about it, but at least it will give you a chance at getting some justice.”

I stare at the ceiling, my stomach contracting as I consider what justice would mean.

Janos in jail.

If anyone is going down for this, it will surely be him. Gabor is too big to touch.

Moving my gaze to a very serious András standing beside my bed, I say, “What if I don’t want to tell them anything?”

“Then don’t.” He takes my hand. “You’re not obligated to tell them anything. If you do decide to stay quiet, though, they’ll probably push and make it sound like you’re protecting the men who did this to you.”

“Have you talked to them?”

He gives me a grave nod. “They kept me at the station for twelve hours after I brought you to the hospital. They hoped I would eventually cave in and speak, but I kept telling them they needed to talk to you once you woke up.”

“Thank you,” I say, giving his hand a squeeze. I know he doesn’t like Janos, and he could have easily pinned it all on him, but he didn’t. For me. And I’m immensely grateful for that.

“I do think you should tell them what happened, Rebecca,” he urges, probably sensing my inclination to shut down and say nothing.

“Like you said, it probably won’t make any difference, and…” I pause as I come to think of one very good reason to tell the police what happened. “Sophie… are you sure she’s okay?”

“I’m sure. I’ve spoken to your sister several times. Her and her family are good. They have prepared the office for you, so you have a place to stay when you get back. They’ll be there for you.”

“But what if he wants revenge? For me leaving? You don’t know this man. He’s vengeful. And high up. He could easily get away with it.”

András shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. Janos is the only one who knows you’re here. Whoever did this to you thinks you’re dead.”

I gulp past the restriction in my throat as I’m once again struck by the realization of just how close my brush with death was.

“Rebecca”—András places a hand on my shoulder and watches me with a serious expression—“who did this to you?”

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