Page 74 of Protected from Malice
“He was going to do it. Just let those women starve to death wherever he had them hidden. We could have searched for them ourselves, but in enemy territory, it would have been extremely risky. We would have, of course, but I had another idea.”
“You forced him to talk.”
With a short nod, I reply, “Yes. I broke five of his fingers. And when he still wouldn’t talk, I broke his ankle. Then I held—” I stop myself. “Anyway. I convinced him to talk. We found the women. From then on… I realized sometimes the threat of captivity wasn’t enough.”
“Rafe. That doesn’t sound horrible.”
“I’m not ashamed of it,” I clarify. “Not the first time, or the times after. And there have been times. Plural, and more than a handful. My teammates knew I could handle it. They knew I could convince a tango that I’d kill him if he didn’t talk. I was the unofficial interrogator on our team.”
Eden frowns, and my heart sinks to my feet. “I still don’t see what’s so awful, Rafe.”
“I hurt people. Beyond what my job entailed. A lot of people wouldn’t approve. They’d think that means I like it.”
“Do you? Did you?”
I’m quick to respond. “No. Never. At first, I felt bad. Like I was doing something wrong. But then… I saw the benefit. So I trained myself not to think about it anymore. Just get through the interrogation without letting emotions come into it.”
Eden nods as if she already knew my answer. “And the people you hurt. Were they innocent? Were they goodpeople?”
“Absolutely not.”
A hint of a smile curves her lips. “Then I don’t see the problem. You were doing your job. Helping save innocent people. Protecting our country. I’m sure you’re not the only person who’s had to resort to more… extreme measures to do it.”
True. But she doesn’t know everything yet.
Before I can chicken out, I say, “I killed a man, Eden. Not in the military. Afterwards. And it wasn’t self-defense. It was premeditated.”
Surprise flashes across Eden’s face. But she doesn’t jump up and leave. Doesn’t pull away from me. She leaves her hand in mine. After a few, interminable seconds, she says, “I know you, Rafe. And I know you wouldn’t kill someone without a very good reason. So, what was it?”
As I allow the memories back in, my chest constricts. A poisoned blade slides between my ribs. “My cousin was killed. Mandy. You probably heard me talk about her.”
Eden squeezes my hand. “I’m so sorry, Rafe. I didn’t know.”
“No one knew except the guys on the team. It wasn’t something I wanted to talk about.”
“You guys were close,” she states. “I remember you talking about how she spent almost every weekend at your house when you were kids.”
“We were.” Mandy’s face appears in my mind—first smiling, as she always did when she was young, then pale and still, the way she looked the final time I saw her, lying motionless in hercoffin. “Even though I didn’t see her often, we stayed in touch. So I knew she was seeing someone. But I wasn’t around enough to actually meet him.”
Eden sucks in a breath. “Did he?—”
“Yes.” My jaw clenches. “He was hurting her. Beating her. And she never told. Not me, not the rest of the family, and definitely not the police. Not until…” I turn Eden’s hand in mine, stroking the fine lines etched across her palm. “He beat her badly enough that she had to go to the hospital. A nurse there convinced Mandy to call the cops. The asshole abuser—his name was Emmett Storm—got arrested. But he had money. Rather, his family had money. So it was easy for him to post bail.”
“Did he go after Mandy again?”
“Not right away. First, he paid for the best attorneys. Attorneys that were pushing to have the charges thrown out, claiming Mandy was nothing but a—” My teeth grind together. “A whore. That she was sleeping with more guys than she could count, and one of them was the one who beat her up.”
Eden gasps again.“Rafe.”
“She wasn’t. Sleeping with other guys. Storm was the only one. But this fucker… he had so much money. And it was her word against his.”
Belatedly, I realize the terrible parallel between Mandy’s story and Eden’s. “I’m sorry,” I hurry to add. “I shouldn't have?—”
She leans against me, tilting her head to meet my gaze. “Don’t hold back because you’re afraid of upsetting me. This is important. I can handle it.”
“While he was out on bail, he went after her again,” I continue, hating every word that comes out of my mouth. “And that time, he killed her.”
“Rafe.”
