Page 141 of Love Without Control

Dane’s stare was wrapped in steel. “Ever.” He’d just told my brother he’d killed them without saying the actual words.

Something passed between them, and Monty gave him a nod that felt a lot like grudging respect. His voice was slightly less confrontational when he asked his next question. “Okay then, why did you run instead of coming to us?”

“Because,” I gritted out, “Luca Cappitani was a piece of shit criminal, but he was never convicted of a single crime. You want to know why?” I rammed my finger into Monty’s chest. “Because he killed anyone who tried to testify against him. Or they disappeared like that.” I snapped my fingers in his face.

Monty closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, but I wasn’t done yet. “Or his other favorite tactic is killing or threatening to kill their families. Do you remember the case a few years back where the eyewitness changed her story once she got on the stand?”

“I heard about it,” my brother admitted, “but we could have protected you.”

“How?” I demanded. “Go look it up, Monty. Every person who went into the government’s witness protection system ended up dead or coming out of hiding when Luca administered a warning by killing or maiming one of their family members. Every. Single. One.”

My voice broke, but I mended it with all the strength I’d developed over the years. “How the hell do you think I could have lived with that? How could I have let him hurt you? Any of you.” I turned in a circle and threw my arms wide to encompass all the people I loved as my voice rose. “I know it sucked not knowing what happened to me, but I’d rather have you all feel that internal pain than have to deal with the guilt of your deaths on my hands. Maybe that makes me selfish, but I did what I had to do to keep my family safe. I took the only control I could grasp on to, and believe me, it wasn’t much. As for Dane, he’s done nothing but protect me. He turned his life around because he loves me.”

The muscles in Monty’s chin relaxed, and I saw the slightest tremble of his lips before he pulled me into a crushing embrace. “Fuck, I’m sorry, Evie,” he whispered. “So sorry. I just want to know what you’ve been through so I can put it behind me. The not knowing is agonizing. Every victim I came across while I was a police officer, I saw a little bit of you in them.”

As Monty hugged me, Dane gripped my shoulders and spoke in a soft voice. “She’s not a victim, Monty. She’s a survivor. Evie is the strongest person I’ve ever met.”

I couldn’t see them because my face was pressed against Monty’s chest, but I could sense the two men looking at each other over my head. Assessing each other. I loved them both so much, and I wanted them to get along. Or at least not to hate each other.

“You’re right,” my brother said. “She is so damn strong.”

Dane spoke again. “You said earlier that you wanted details. If you’ll have a seat, I’ll give them to you. At least what I saw from my perspective.”

My brother released me and kissed my forehead sweetly. “I’m sorry I lost my temper, Evie. I love you.”

“I love you too,” I croaked. He took a couple steps back and sat beside his wife, who had both her hands pressed over her mouth.

Dane positioned me between the couch and one of the love seats so I was facing the room. Though he was addressing everyone else, he remained facing me.

“The first time I saw Evie Bouvier, I didn’t even know her name. It was a video the traffickers sent out to potential buyers.” His tone was laced with disgust. “While the other women in the video looked scared as shit, the last one had bright blue eyes and two middle fingers held up to the camera. I think that’s when I first started to fall in love with her. She was so goddamn strong and brave.”

Dane’s eyes held me spellbound. “I was ordered by my father to go pick her up, but I already knew I wasn’t going to turn her over to him. There was no way I could. I wanted to save her, but this little wildcat turned it around and stole my heart. She’s the one who saved me.”

“I love you,” I mouthed, and his face was the picture of serenity when he said it back.

“When I arrived to pick her up, she was giving the kidnappers shit, even though she was bound to a chair.”

“Oh god,” I heard my dad say, though I couldn’t look away from my husband. I was as invested in his account as everyone else in the room.

“I made them uncuff her and leave the room. She had a bruise right here where Felipe had hit her.” His thumb brushed over my right cheek before touching the barely there scar on my lower lip. “And her lip was split, courtesy of Ethan the fatass.” We shared a small smile as he repeated the words I’d said to him that first night.

To my surprise, Dane sank to his knees in front of me and brushed his fingers over my chest, just below the hollow of my throat. “Her skin was raw here from where they’d tapeda goddamn numberto her chest.”

Someone, Gianna, I think, let out a sob, but my husband wasn’t done. He gently wrapped his hands around my upper arms. “There were finger-shaped bruises here where she’d been grabbed too roughly.” His hands slid down to my wrists. “She had raw patches and bruises around her wrists and her ankles from the restraints.”

As every eye in the room followed along, Dane detailed every single bump, bruise, and scrape he’d found on my body that night, his gentle fingers tracing over the ghosts of the brutality. When he was done, I cradled his face with my hands.

“And you took care of every wound I had.”

He covered my hands with his palms and gazed up at me. “And I vowed that no one would ever hurt you again.”

The room was silent for a long time before our family surrounded us. There were hugs and a whole lot of tears, but what touched me the most was when Monty reached for Dane’s hand for a shake. I could see his mouth moving, but he was speaking too quietly for me to hear. They shared the tiniest of smiles though, and I prayed everything would be okay.

After the hug fest, everyone settled back into their seats, and we filled the family in on the rest of our life. The bakery. Our friends. My work at the Turtle Hospital.

“You always did love turtles,” Auburn said, cracking a smile at me. “I kinda hated going to the zoo with you because you wanted to just stand there and stare at them.”

“And you always said they were boring,” I replied before letting my eyes drift around to the other faces.

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