Page 7 of Ranch's Resolve

“It did, but it left a small scar.” She takes a deep breath. “I don’t think this is the same, but I’m tired of the pain. I’m not sleeping through the night because of the nightmares. Maybe telling you will help.”

She leans her head back against the chair and closes her eyes. After taking several deep breaths, she relives her nightmare.

“I’m a software engineer. After graduating from San Diego State, I got my dream job at a security firm. I do a lot of coding, but I also work on firmware and machines. I’m always busy, which is how I like to work. My day consisted of performing various tasks. I attend meetings in the morning, work with my team before and after lunch, and then work independently inthe afternoons. We were working on a project involving facial recognition, and the project lead asked me to work late. We had a meeting scheduled with the CEO the next morning to present our progress. The project lead asked me to stay late and finish the piece I was working on so we could include it in the presentation.”

Georgie stops talking to grab a tissue from the box. She wipes away the tears as she takes several deep breaths to calm herself down. As she spoke, I noticed how she didn’t mention her attacker by name, only by his role. She’s protecting herself by making him a thing rather than a person. I give Georgie time to collect herself.

Georgie wipes the tears once more before taking another deep breath. “I stayed as he asked and finished the work. I was so focused that I didn’t notice he and I were the only ones left in the office. He asked me to accompany him to the conference room, where we were scheduled to give the presentation. When we got there…,” she trails off with a sob.

“I know this is difficult. Can you finish, or do you want to take a break?”

“Just give me a minute. Can I use your bathroom?”

“Of course,”

After she disappears into my private bathroom, I remove her water bottle and replace it with a fresh one, then take a seat to wait for her. A few minutes later, she comes out and sits down. She thanks me for the water before opening it and taking a long sip.

She clutches her hands together so tightly that her knuckles turn white. “When we got to the room, he opened the door for me. After I passed through, he closed the door behind us. Then he grabbed me. He slammed me onto the table before shoving his hand up my skirt. I tried to fight him off, but he backhanded me. When I screamed, he just laughed. He said we were the onlyones in the building. He made sure of it. That I could scream and cry all I wanted, but no one was coming to help. He ripped off my panties and shoved his fingers inside me.”

Georgie’s breath is coming in pants now, so I hold my hand up to stop her. “Take a deep breath. Drink some water.”

She does both, and I can see her fighting to control her emotions. “Okay. I’m okay. He jammed into me two or three times before he removed them to unfasten his pants. As he freed his dick, he talked to me. He told me I brought this on myself because I acted superior to everyone else. That I didn’t know my place as the only bitch on the team. I was making the others on the team look bad by showing off. He called me names and spat on me as he drove into me.”

Georgie quietly sobs. They aren’t as heart-wrenching as earlier. These are calmer and cleaner. Her tears are healing tears now.

CHAPTER FIVE: RANCH

Dante hops into the passenger seat of the UTV and pulls out his phone while I take us back to the ranch house. We arrive just as the ICE agents are exiting their vehicles. They are all dressed in black with bandanas covering their faces. They look more like mercenaries than federal agents.

“Can I help you?” I ask the first one who moves in our direction.

He lowers his mask to speak. “We got a tip that a group of illegals has crossed over onto your land. We’re here to arrest them.”

“Sorry, fellas, you must have been misinformed. I just finished running the fence line and haven’t seen anyone,” I tell him, crossing my arms.

“You don’t mind if we take a look for ourselves?” the guy asks with a smirk.

“As a matter of fact, I do. I don’t want you disturbing my animals.”

“We don’t need your permission,” the ICE agent snarls. He’s right. My property is within 100 miles of the border, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to roll over and play dead.

Dante ends his call and joins us as the ICE agent’s phone buzzes. “That will be your boss telling you to abort,” Dante tells him.

The agent pulls out his phone and checks the display before turning away. “Sir?” he answers. “Is that confirmed?” he asks after a few minutes. “Yes, Sir.” When he ends the call, the agent glowers at us, raises his arm, and circles his fingers. “We’re out of here.”

I stand beside Dante, watching the agents load back up and drive off.

“How did you manage that?” I ask him.

“How do you think? Angela. She has connections and isn’t afraid to use them,” Dante says. He can’t quite mask the bitterness in his tone. During Tally and Dante’s wedding reception, Angela made an announcement that rocked Dante’s world. She not only informed him and the rest of us that she is the head of the largest cartel in Mexico, one that controls multiple cartels, but that she was also the person who killed her husband, Dante’s father. Dante is still processing her confession. Honestly, we are all struggling to come to terms with the new reality. How do you come to grips with the socialite business mogul spending her spare time busting the balls of hardened cartel members?

When we return to where the rest of the club waits, Dante and I climb out of the UTV and join them.

“That was quick,” Grimm says.

“Angela worked her magic,” Dante says. “Where’s Manuel?” Dante asks.

“Chaos, Babe, Feral, Torch, Carver, Scar, Flame, and Ghost set out ahead of us. The rest were waiting for you. Reaper and Penny are staying here with Byte and Smoke. The tech guys have the drones out. They’ve found Manuel’s men near one ofour tunnels. They aren’t moving. They have the drones flying a pattern but don’t see anyone else.”

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