The women start coming out, most of them dressed in almost nothing, their skin glowing white amid the dark figures of my brothers. Most of the women continue shrieking and crying even after they are freed. Some are running wildly for the trees.
“You’re safe now,” Cross yells over the noise of my brothers’ cursing and the women shrieking. “You’re going home.”
His assurances do absolutely no good and he realizes that, as he turns to the brothers.
“Try to at least keep them off the Interstate,” he says.
Good luck with that. The women are hitting anyone that tries to grab them as they try to escape. And I don’t blame them. I’d want the same thing if someone locked me in a windowless metal box.
I feel a tentative, light touch on my arm, and turn to look directly into Veronica’s large eyes in which there is no trace of anger or hatred left. Only softness. Only the kind of care and devotion I hoped she’d one day look at me with.
“Thank you for coming,” she says. “For saving us.”
“Anytime,” I say and try to chuckle. But I only manage to clear my throat because what I said wasn’t me being sarcastic. It was the truth of what I feel.
I steady her by laying my arms on the sides of hers, and she leans against me, resting her head on my chest.
“You didn’t have to come,” she says in a breathless voice. “I’ve been such a bitch to you and then I almost got you killed. And still you came and risked your life for me and my sister.”
“I promised to keep you safe,” I tell her and run my hand down her soft hair, which is something I’ve wanted to do since that night at the concert. It’s every bit as silky as I knew it would be.
She looks up at me, having no trouble staying upright now that I’m holding her. But she doesn’t stop there. She rises on her toes, leaning on me heavily for support. And then she kisses me. Just a peck really, landing half on my lips and half on my chin.
But the touch of her lips wakes a fire in me, the likes of which nothing else ever has.
And I’d love to just stand here and do a whole lot more of kissing her.
But she can barely stand and she needs a doctor. And this night’s work is far from done.