Page 107 of Ruthless Vengeance
I glance sidelong at Andre and he’s looking at me with something like pride in his eyes.
“I’m glad he found you.”
“Me too.” Though as I stare out the window, my thoughts drift to what Marco is doing right now, and my stomach flutters with nerves.
I try to push the thoughts away, but it’s hard when the father of my children is walking into a warzone.
What if I never see him again?
I can’t help but shudder, and Andre glances over at me.
“You okay?”
“I’m worried about Marco.” I twist my fingers in my lap. “What if something goes wrong?”
Andre is silent for a while, which doesn’t make me feel much better. “You have to focus on why he’s doing this, Clara,” he eventually says. “It won’t take away the risk, but at least you know he’s doing something that will help a lot of people.”
I sigh. “I know.”
The forest surrounding us becomes denser as we approach the safehouse. The path up to the house is lined with spotlights built into the ground. The house itself looks like a renovated farmhouse, with slate gray paneling and a wrap-around porch with built-in floodlights to illuminate the exterior and security cameras at every corner.
It wasn’t what I was expecting at all, and yet I can see why Marco and Andre chose it.
Ignoring the cameras, the place looks warm and inviting, the sort of house an elderly couple would live in. Though I have no doubt that all of the windows are bulletproof and there are even more security features hidden among the surrounding trees. After all, this house serves a purpose. It’s the only thing standing in the way of these women and a life of sex slavery.
When Andre pulls the car up to the safehouse, I quickly climb out of the SUV and head around to open up the doors for the women. But Andre is immediately there, gently gripping my arm and pulling me away.
I look around but don’t see anything. “What’s wrong?”
He doesn’t answer right away, but his eyes flick toward the SUV, his body tense.
“It’s not safe,” he murmurs under his breath. “Not yet.”
I frown. “They’re scared, Andre. I just want to help.”
“I know. But they’ve been through hell, Clara. They’re disoriented and traumatized. What if one of them suddenly panics and lashes out?”
“They didn’t before.”
Andre shakes his head. “That doesn’t mean they won’t. If anything happened to you, Marco would kill me.”
I don’t want to be protected. I want todosomething.
I swallow past the lump in my throat.
I’ve already scared Marco once when I willingly handed myself over to Tommaso, and it’s a miracle he even agreed to let me come with Andre tonight. So, I can understand Andre’s hesitation to let me get too close, but I can’t deny it still stings.
“Okay, I get it.”
“Thank you,” Andre says, his voice softening.
The sound of approaching footsteps has Andre and me turning.
A woman appears on the porch. She looks to be in her late fifties, with graying hair pulled into a bun and soft lines around her eyes. When she catches my eye, she offers me a warm smile.
“You must be Clara.” She descends the porch steps and crosses over to me. “I’m Margot. Andre told me you’d be helping.” Hervoice is very gentle and calming, and I let out a long breath as I take her hand and shake it once. “How are they doing?” Her blue eyes flick to the SUV.
“They’re…scared. They don’t speak any English, so I couldn’t get much more from them than that.”
