He had his woman back, and he was so fucking thankful. She could have been killed. They could have just shot or killed her. Closing his eyes, he ignored the stench and simply held her, trying to calm his nerves.
“Diego!”
“Baby, I need to know if those men did anything else to you. Did they touch you? Rape you?”
“They didn’t rape me,” she said. “Please, Diego, I don’t want to go to the hospital. I don’t want anyone to know this.”
He looked toward Richard as her sobs filled the air.
Diego didn’t question where they were going. He didn’t care. For now, he had four men who knew of Belle’s existence. He had to keep her safe. Everything else could fucking wait.
When Richard pulled into an underground parking facility, Diego finally realized the other man hadn’t dropped him at home, and he was somewhere he didn’t recognize.
“What is this?” Diego asked.
“This is my home. Don’t worry. You can’t be tracked here. My home is an extension of my business and is locked up fucking tight. It could be used as a high security prison. I figured you’d want something private for a few days, if not a couple of hours.”
Richard climbed out of the car, walking toward the side door of the van and sliding it open.
Diego didn’t let Belle go. He carried her as he followed Richard through to his home. There were several security systems Richard had to get through, including voice recognition as well as fingerprint scanners. Once they got inside, the house looked like any regular house.
“I’ll show you to your room,” Richard said, walking up the stairs.
“I can walk, Diego,” Belle said.
“No. I want to hold you.”
She didn’t speak again, and Richard showed him to a large bedroom with a four-poster bed. The space was incredible, and he walked toward a door that led into a massive en-suite bathroom.
“When I get bored, I build. This I what I do,” Richard winked at him. “I’ll be downstairs.”
Richard left them alone, closing the door behind him. He didn’t like trusting anyone, but he had no choice in this situation. Carrying Belle into the bathroom, he lowered her onto the toilet. He was about to step away to fill up the bath, but she caught his hand. “Please, don’t go.”
“I’m filling the bath. You want to get clean, don’t you?”
“Yes.” Her lips wobbled, and she stared down at her hands.
He took hold of her hands. “Look at me, baby.” He waited until she lifted her head. “You have nothing to be ashamed of. Nothing at all. This is not your fault. This has nothing to do with you.”
She sniffled. “I … I…”
“It’s fine, baby. I’m not going to leave you. I’m filling that tub so we can wash, and we can wash together if that will make you happy?”
“Yes. That will make me happy. Please. Yes.”
He gripped her hand tightly. “Let me do this for you.”
She let go of his hand. He stepped away, adding some salts to the water. He checked to make sure he wasn’t making it too hot or too cold. When it was just right, he turned the taps off and went back to her.
“Come on. Let me help you.” He helped her up, and slowly began to remove her clothing. He tried to ignore the bruising around her neck and wrists, but they seemed to be getting worse. He also noticed bruises on her face, including a busted lip.
When she was naked, he helped her into the water.
“I thought you said we were going to be taking this bath together?”
He heard the neediness and desperation within her voice. “I’m just getting naked now, baby.”
Quickly removing his clothes, he joined her in the tub. When he wrapped his arms around her waist, she leaned back against him. He held her as close as he could, trying to offer her as much comfort and warmth as was possible.
She sniffled against his chest, and he stroked her hair.
“Let me get you cleaned up.” He didn’t want her covered in piss a moment longer.
Grabbing some soap and a sponge, he massaged it to create some lather and then started to clean her body. She took the soap from his hands and washed her face. He got her as clean as possible before rinsing her hair.
He grabbed the shampoo and squirted a good amount on her hair. He’d never been the kind of guy to linger on washing a woman, so this was all new territory for him. Belle didn’t try to take over, and she leaned back against him, letting him do all the work, which he didn’t mind.
Tears fell from her eyes, but she didn’t make a sound. Seeing her broken like this tore him apart as he didn’t know what to do to make it up for her, or to make it better. He stayed silent, washing her hair, preparing her the best way he knew how.