Page 11 of Fighting for Ella

None.

Tears streamed down Ella’s face, and her eyes were two big green orbs of terror, she was so focused on the two men trying to strip her naked that she didn't see him approaching. Likewise, the two men were so engrossed in their captive victim that they weren't paying attention to anything else.

One quick slash of his K-BAR and the first man dropped, blood gushing from the fatal wound he’d just inflicted. Before the second man could even process what was happening and do anything about it, Miguel delivered another strike, this one straight into the man’s chest, piercing his heart.

Yanking his blade free, he ignored the two men dying at his feet and instead focused on the woman standing in front of him.

She didn't look like a criminal mastermind. That was his first thought. She looked like a woman a second away from a panic attack. Not that it meant she wasn’t guilty of the crimes she had been accused of. There was no way for her to know that the men who worked for Raul would turn on her like that and try to rape her, although honestly, she should have known better and expected that kind of behavior from men like them.

Still, she’d had a close call, and he couldn’t not feel sympathy for her in this moment even if she had brought some of this upon herself.

“Hey,” he said softly, trying to draw her attention away from the men bleeding out on the ground before her. “It’s all right, they can't hurt you.”

Those wide green eyes shifted slowly to meet his and fresh fear bloomed on her face. She made a small, squeaking sound of terror, and then her gaze darted about and he could tell she was thinking about making a run for it.

If she tried, she wouldn't get very far.

Even if her T-shirt wasn’t shoved awkwardly up, exposing her simple white cotton bra, and her jeans unzipped and shoved halfway down over her hips, there was no way she could outrun him. If it came down to it, he’d restrain her, but he’d rather not have to zip-tie a woman who had mere seconds ago almost been brutally raped.

“Don’t run, Ella,” he said, keeping his voice calm and soothing. “Don’t make things worse, yeah?”Don’t make me have to cuff you.

At the sound of her name, she went stock still, her gaze landing on him again. The terror in her eyes didn't vanish, but it did dim a little, and he relaxed. She wasn’t going to run. She knew she wasn’t getting out of there and wouldn’t try anything stupid.

“My name is Miguel,” he continued talking although he didn't move any closer. Right now, Ella was like a spooked horse, one wrong move on his part and this could get bad really quickly. “I'm a SEAL, I'm Luis’ brother, you remember me? We’ve met once or twice.”

A shaky nod was all the response he got, but at least she was still standing there.

“You know why I'm here don’t you?”

Another shaky nod although he wished she’d give him something. A protestation that she was innocent, that she’d done nothing wrong, that there was a logical explanation for why she’d taken the drug and come to Mexico.

“Do you know who they are?” he asked. While he was assuming they were Raul’s men they could belong to one of the cartels in the area.

A third shaky nod, but this time she swallowed visibly. “Th-they w-were Raul C-Castillo’s m-men,” she stammered as her teeth chattered.

His heart dropped.

Maybe he’d been hoping she was going to tell him she had no idea who they were, that she wasn’t here to meet with the weapons trafficker, that none of this was as it seemed.

He’d wanted proof one way or the other that Ella was guilty of what she had been accused of, and it seemed he’d gotten it.

“Th-they were g-going to r-rape me,” she said as though she couldn’t believe it had been mere seconds away from happening.

“But they didn't,” he reminded her. Only because he’d shown up when he had. If he’d been just a minute or so later, it would have been too late to stop it.

“B-because of y-you. Th-thank you,” she whispered. Fresh tears shimmered in her eyes as she looked up at him with true gratefulness, and it hit him right in the heart that even though she knew he was there to bring her in, she was still able to express gratitude.

Miguel nodded in acknowledgment because it felt weird to say the traditional you're welcome when he was going to have to take her into custody and return her home to face an uncertain future. “How about we fix your clothes? Then you can drink some water and maybe eat something, and then I’ll take you to join up with my team.”

Terror flared in her eyes at the mention of his team, and he knew reality had to be sinking in. Yes, she’d been spared being raped, but it wasn’t like she was in a better position than she’d been in moments ago. Just because no one was going to sexually assault her when she was taken into custody didn't mean it would be a pleasant experience.

She’d be strip searched and locked up in a tiny cell. Depending on who wound up taking custody of her, there could be some forms of torture involved. Some agencies had their own way of dealing with things, and given she worked for Prey, and the kind of work Prey did, there was a chance she had soldother intel to people who would use it to hurt their country. That information would have to be obtained, and there was a chance it would be by any means necessary because if she had done that, they needed to know and deal with it accordingly.

While he wanted to offer reassurances, he couldn’t.

It would be pointless.

They were both aware of the mess she was in.

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