Page 117 of Volatile Waters

Now that I was paying attention, she looked even more fragile and weak. Had we come this far for her to die on me? “She may not have eaten well while I was gone.” I started walking down the hallway to get to the stairs while telling the slaves, “Follow me. I am setting you all free.”

Wolf was angry as he kept up with me. “What the hell does that mean? ‘While I was gone’?”

“She had not been permitted to feed herself. It confuses them. Slaves forget to feed themselves, fearing they don’t deserve it.”

“Jesus… Did you give her food when she earned it? She is emaciated.”

I turned the corner, not giving a shit who was following me. All I wanted to do was properly feed Whitney. “It was how things were done.”

“Were?” asked Wolf.

I stopped at the bottom of the stairs, all slaves in tow. “Are you blind to what I am doing? For you? Look.” I gestured to the anxious slaves staring at us. “Now, can you lecture me later about my poor Master techniques? We are possibly minutes away from all being shot. Help. Me. Save. Them.”

Wolf’s demeanor changed back to in-control FBI agent right before my eyes. “Tell me your plan.”

I climbed the stairs with a barely conscious Whitney in my arms. “On my ring of keys, there is one to the bedroom at the top of the stairs. Get them into some clothes. I can’t show up with naked bodies to get on this private jet I have waiting. Don’t forget shoes. There is snow on the ground. Don’t lose the keys. We need them for my car.”

Wolf raced up the stairs with Jewel and Sky. I raced into the kitchen with Whitney. Sitting her on the island, I made sure she could stay there without falling. She kept looking around, but her eyes were not properly focusing. They were distant and lost. I tried to talk to her, but nothing was registering. “You deserve so much more than what I have offered you.” I rushed to the refrigerator and searched for food and a drink. “Crash told me about karma once. If he is right, I have a horrible life waiting for me.” I grabbed fruit and orange juice. Grabbing a glass from a cabinet, I explained, “For the rest of my life, I will be helping others to make up for what I have done, not only to you but to all the others as well.” When her lips refused to grip the glass I held up to them, I squeezed her cheeks to purse her mouth, then dribbled what I could from the glass through them. I waited to see her throat working to swallow the juice down.

Himself dressed, and with two dressed slaves in tow, Wolf ran into the kitchen. “Master, she is too malnourished—”

Orange juice projected from Whitney’s mouth, drenching my shirt.

“—for the acid.”

It was such an alien experience to care for others, but once started, it ran like wildfire. I couldn’t control myself. The need to right any wrong and protect these two people became my sole focus. I handed Wolf a dish towel and positioned myself behind him.

As he gently wiped the juice vomit from Whitney’s chin, I slipped one of my guns in the back of his pants. If my suspicions were correct about Uncle being on his way, I needed another expert with a gun on my side. Trying not to be obvious, I quickly grabbed his hips and gave a squeeze. It was shocking to feel clothes on him after experiencing his nudity all this time. Not knowing if we were going to survive this escape, I needed him to know I adored him, beyond words.

As I slid back to his side, he whispered over his shoulder, “I love you,” then spoke normally, “Do you have a doctor available for her?”

I was terrified we were running out of time. “That would be my uncle. Not an option, since he is the one we are running from.”

“Okay, I am not judging, just assessing. How long has she been with this neglect?”

I was about to answer, “As long as she has been here,” but a scent I had hoped to never smell again drifted into my nostrils.

Sky shocked me by whispering, “Cigar smoke.”

Jewel was at his side, fear her only expression.

Uncle was already here. Panic seared through me. I wasn’t going to succeed in saving my loved ones if we didn’t run now. There was no time for my car. I was sure that the entrance was already blocked by now, but we still had the back kitchen door. I scooped up Whitney and silently told everyone to run for the door. As soon as it was open, Russia’s winter air burst into the kitchen. But something colder lingered. It was Uncle jovially calling for me from the living room where my dead father was. My eyes closed. His tone was almost playful, as if I had spurred his hunger to fight. The need for revenge eerily danced on his tongue.

Karma had come sooner than I had hoped.

Breathing in Whitney one last time, I laid my head against hers then said, “I will stay behind. I will buy you time.” Her precious eyes stared up at me as if understanding this was it, our last moment in each other’s presence. My throat tightened as I realized the hardest goodbye had yet to come. My eyes lifted to see Wolf, the courageous man I would have cherished spending the rest of my life with.

Underneath Whitney, he clutched my hand. His eyes screamed that he loved me and wanted to stay and help me, but that was not something I could ever allow. My arms stretched to hand him the girl who had to find her way back home. I silently begged him to take her, finish what I had started.

My ears rang as I struggled to hear all of Wolf’s whispered words, but I caught, “… severe shock… prolonged exposure… do my best to keep her alive…”

These words affected Whitney, too. As if waking from her starved state, she faintly smiled at Wolf. It was mesmerizing. Then she quietly said, “Go. Save the savable,” weakly pointing to the slaves he had a chance at saving.

Wolf was entranced immediately. He stared at her in awe. Maybe he was lost in the memory of his rape and recognized she was worth it.

Time stood still as the sweet angel nuzzled into my chest; she had decided to die with me. I didn’t miss the gently placed kiss she pressed to my chest.

Shell-shocked, I stood there, realizing she had finally chosen me.