Aspen continued to look at the pictures on the wall when she came across one of her favorites. A picture of Weston, York, Storm, Zin, and Winter standing together in uniform all dirty and as if they just finished some mission. Storm didn’t smile. No surprise there. It was hard to get him to smile. Winter was just as firm in his expression, but his eyes seemed to express it all. Like maybe he was relieved to be alive and to have made it to be part of the picture. Weston smirked, leaning on some huge-ass black gun that had a telescope or something on it. In fact, she noticed they all had the weapon either on them or leaning on it.
They were very capable soldiers. It was York who smiled the biggest, not that it was a huge smile but enough to call it a smile, not a grin. She was learning more and more about each of their personalities every day. They were different at work than they were at their home. At Pro-Tech they were serious all the time. Yet as organized, disciplinary, and hands-on as they were with the business, none of them knew or even suspected that there were spies in the company. Men and women though she figured about six in all in this specific building, were out to help Andrei take them over.
She wasn’t going to let that happen and she hoped that Dmitri could use his resources to help her, too.
Aspen ran her hand along the edge of another picture frame that contained more of a candid shot of Storm and his team when something caught her eye.
A hand gesture. Storm, dressed in black, half his face covered with something black, too, where only his eyes could be seen.
She gasped as the tears stung her eyes.
She looked toward the men standing at the bar laughing, enjoying themselves with their friends, but Storm looked at her over his mug of beer.
She turned away and headed toward the back door to get some air.
It was him. Storm was at the pier years ago when I was abducted. It was right before they were shipping her out. They drugged her because she fought the men holding her captive and they broke her arm, cut her skin, and bruised her up good. She felt the drugs taking over her body, but images flashed in her head now just like in her dreams. She heard no gunfire just gasps, then grunts and heavy things falling to the ground. She had tried to force her eyes to open when she saw shadows in the darkness then the hand gesture, like the one in the picture inside Casper’s. Palm flat then raised upward then back down flat. Eyes, dark blue, widened and then appeared angry. She remembered thinking he was one of the bad guys as she tried to use her one good arm to fight him, but she was too weak and darkness overcame her.
The back door opened and she turned to look and saw Winter.
“Hey, are you okay?” he asked her and she nodded her head and turned away from him to look out at the gardens in the back of the building. On the other side was a dance floor that extended from inside to outside. The sounds of country music could be heard even out here on the other side of the building. She loved this place.
She felt the hand on her shoulder and she immediately reached up and covered it.
She wanted to cry, to just let all the emotions she felt just go. She knew the truth now. That Storm, Winter, York, Zin, and Weston were the ones to save her life when she was seventeen. Ten years ago this month. It was an anniversary she hated remembering and experiencing every year. But it always stood out in her mind.
She had so many questions yet couldn’t get herself to confess that she knew the truth now. Why hadn’t they told her? Was it because the doctors told them not to? They had told her to not force the memories from her mind. That when someone experiences something so traumatic in their lives that they block it from their memory. They said sometimes things trigger the memories and sometimes the person recalls all the events they had initially blocked out.
It was this place. It was being with Winter, Storm, Zin, York, and Weston that brought back the past.
Weston wrapped his other arm around her waist and pulled her back against his front. “Are you sure that you’re okay? I know we got a little wild today after work before we came here. You’re not sore are you, Aspen?” He whispered his concern then k
issed her neck.
She sure wasn’t sore. Their lovemaking every day after work and every night before bed was heaven. Sometimes they would even take her in the morning and during the night after she awoke from her nightmares.
“I love making love to all of you. It’s when I feel most complete and safe.”
He kissed her neck again and held her snuggly in his arms.
“That’s a good thing baby. You are safe with us. Always,” he said, and her heart filled with such deep love and emotion. They risked their lives to save her those years back. They watched over her the past few years because of Porter and their friendship. But then they fell in love with her as she fell in love with them. That was crazy.
She was going to tell him that she knew but the door opened and there was Gia.
“Aspen, there you are. Come on, girl, they’re playing our song,” she said, and Aspen smiled as Winter let her go.
“I’ll meet you two inside,” he said and winked at Aspen.
She and Gia headed back inside.
* * * *
Winter smiled as he took a deep breath and released it.
He had been watching Aspen as he, Storm, and the others reminisced with their friends. He saw her looking at the old pictures she always seemed to gravitate toward whenever she came to Casper’s.
His chest tightened when he saw her staring at one picture of them in combat uniform. When Winter glanced at Storm, he had been watching Aspen, too, and they thought she finally figured it out. That they were the ones to save her that night from being shipped out as some sex slave. God, that fucking made him see red all over again. The broken arm, her battered skin and naked body curled up in a ball in some fucking cage like an animal.
But she didn’t say a word. She didn’t let on to knowing. He wanted her to know. He wanted to make her realize that they were always going to protect her and keep her safe. That they had a special connection and bond because of that situation. And now that she was part of them, part of their team, their family, they would ensure her happiness for the rest of their lives.