Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Derrick

"Ms. Delgado, as lovely as your breasts are…"

A few minutes before I'd cut the ties binding each girl's wrists because I was confident neither represented a threat to me after what I'd just done. Now Sonja brought her arms up reflexively to cover her chest as the sudden realization she was still topless smeared her face with a mixture of horror and shame.

"You might want to think of joining Ms. Taryn and changing into some clothing, too."

She scrambled up off the couch and disappeared deeper into the house where Aubrey had gone a few moments earlier. I followed as far as the entrance to the hallway leading back, then stood leaning against the edge of the opening, waiting patiently.

Less than five minutes had passed when a door opened, and Aubrey stepped out. Closing it behind her, she began walking toward me. She'd put on jeans, a T-shirt, and a pair of sneakers. She'd also pulled her blonde hair back into a ponytail, and as she moved it swayed from left to right. She met my eyes briefly then her gaze fixed to the floor in front of her as she closed the remaining distance.

She came to a stop in front of me.

"Well, are you feeling more comfortable now?"

She didn't look up. "I… yes, thank you."

"Good." For a moment, I said nothing, simply watching her. She twisted her hands nervously, fingers interlaced as she squirmed in anxiety.

I needed to start the next phase of her life now. It would be better, easier for us both, if she were calm rather than hovering on the edge of panic.

I brought a finger under her chin, raising it until her reluctant gaze met mine. "I wasn't lying earlier; you did very well through everything that just took place."

Her lips trembled.

"I'm very proud of you, Aubrey. May I call you Aubrey?"

Her eyes went wide. "I… I guess so."

"If I could make an observation. I sensed… puzzlement when I told you I was proud of you. Did I misread that?"

She glanced away. "No."

I brought my finger back to her chin, gently returning her gaze back to mine. "Can you tell me why?"

"Why would you be proud of me?" she answered softly.

"Simple," I replied, smiling. "You took on an incredibly difficult task for your friend, sparing her from having to go through it herself. And once you'd accepted the undertaking—despite being given multiple opportunities to back out—you did exactly what needed to be done in circumstances that went far beyond what most people would've endured."

Aubrey's gray eyes searched my face, and the coiled-spring tension I'd sensed a moment ago was now several degrees less than it had been.

"Please don't think I didn't recognize that. The way you handled what was done to you…" I tilted my head. "Well, as I said, there aren't many people who would've followed through with it the way you did." Now I indicated down the hall with my chin. "Including your friend."

"You make it sound like I had a choice."

I came away from the wall. "But you did, Aubrey," I stated firmly. "If you remember, when I first started it was with Ms. Delgado. You could have let me continue." I placed my hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently. "Except you and I both know you never would have done that, would you?"

"No," she whispered.

I gave her shoulder another squeeze of affirmation before letting go. "Then surely you can understand why I say I'm proud of you. What reasonable, decent person wouldn't be?"

She stared back, her eyes fixed on mine. I could sense a war raging inside her head that I needed to let her work out, so I waited patiently. Two seconds became three then five as her mind raced to answer until she gave a tiny shake of her head.

"It's so weird to listen to you tell me how proud you are of me after what we… you… did."

Now I gave a shake of my own head. "No, you were right the first time. We did that, Aubrey. You and I, together. And in the end the message we'll send will be a powerful one. In fact, it will probably save Mr. Delgado's life."

"What do you mean?" she asked in a puzzled tone.

"Well, I explained to you why we had to do what we did. Now, there were other options Mr. Delgado's friends had on the table they could've exercised, but they chose this one first. Assuming the message we're sending is appropriately received and has the desired effect, he'll never make the mistake he did previously that led us to this point. And with that being the case, none of those other more ‘permanent' solutions to this problem will ever need to be set in motion."

"Would you… would they have killed him?" she asked.

"In a heartbeat." I let the words sink in before I continued. "You have to understand, for what he did, and considering the people we're dealing with in this set of circumstances… they've killed for far less."

"Oh, god."

I gave her a polite smile. "I know I said this when I first arrived, but everything that's taken place here today—and what will take place in your future—is, at some level, nothing more than a business transaction. It's easy to let the sorts of things you and I did seem very personal, because we've been taught from a young age they are personal. But that's a mistake. There are so many things in life we tend to personalize, but the reality is they're nothing more than a set of transactional circumstances we're presented with, and they should be treated as such."

"Transactional circumstances," she repeated softly.

"Yes, I know, a very cold and dispassionate term for something society has taught should be the exact opposite, but… I find that the strongest and most intelligent people soon come to understand that even matters of the greatest passion have a quid pro quo attached to them."

Aubrey smiled weakly. "I'm not sure I'm that person."

I smiled back. "Ah, but you are."

As we stared at each other, I took stock of her posture, the way her tension had eased slowly but surely as our conversation had gone on. She'd impressed me earlier, and now that had increased two-fold.

"Someday, hopefully, Mr. Delgado will realize it was you who saved his life. Perhaps he might even have the opportunity to thank you for it. But that's for the future, and there are many other things that will shape your course long before that becomes a reality."

Aubrey's brow furrowed, but I was pleased when she nodded, the tiny gesture of acceptance exactly what I'd been hoping for.

"Earlier, before I got dressed, you said something about?—"

"Taking you with me," I interjected, confirming what I was sure she was about to ask.

"Yes."

"What do you need to know?"

"Well…" She waved her hand back and forth. "Why? And where?"

I pursed my lips before answering. "The why is easy; to leave you here would be a complete waste of the talents you possess."

"The talents I possess?" Confusion beetled her brow. "I'm… I haven't graduated from college yet, just so you understand."

"Your value does not lie in what's being taught to you at an institute of higher learning. Your value is far more ephemeral to the less astute, I assure you."

"Ephemeral."

"Yes. You possess something very few people recognize. I do. In fact, recognizing someone like you is something I take great pride in."

"It's not my becoming a chemist, is it?" she asked, her voice hesitant.

"No, Aubrey, it's not." I gazed down into her eyes. "Now, there's nothing to say that in the future you won't be given a chance to complete your degree, but for the time being, we need to focus on your latent talents, the ones that until now have gone completely unnoticed."

She looked away. "I don't understand."

"And given the dearth of information you've been provided, I wouldn't expect you to. To explain in detail would take longer than we have remaining here, so it'll have to wait. Suffice to say, you have an incredibly rich life ahead of you. It's just not the one you thought you were headed towards. It's a life you didn't even know existed."

She looked back up at me. "Do you have any idea how cryptic that sounds? Can you possibly understand how scared I am?"

"Actually, more than you realize."

"How?"

I blew out a small sigh. "Because this isn't my first time doing this, nor are you the first person to express that sentiment."

"Doing what?" she implored.

"Introducing a young woman to a life she never knew existed."

Aubrey started to reply, but I held up my hand.

"Where's your friend?"

She blinked rapidly. "I…"

I closed my eyes briefly then slipped past her, striding down the hallway. "Ms. Delgado?"

I came up to the door of the room I'd seen Sonja dart into earlier.

"Ms. Delgado." I spoke into the door. "I hope you're not doing anything foolish…"

The only answer was silence.

When I reached for the doorknob, I expected to find it locked. To my surprise, it wasn't, but when I opened the door and stepped into an empty bedroom, I felt only resignation.

Of course she'd run.

I glanced back as Aubrey came up, peering into the room. She took in the same things I had; the second open doorway that led into a bathroom where I was certain I'd find either another open door or a window ajar.

"Well," I said with grudging admission, "I'll give your friend credit—she's brave. Stupid, but still brave. Ah, well. At any rate, it's time we were leaving."

"I… I don't have my things," Aubrey responded softly.

I moved to her and gripped her arm lightly. "The things you're leaving behind you no longer require. For what's in store for your future, everything will either be provided for you or will come at your request."

"At my request." She shook her head tightly. "God, none of this makes any sense…"

"If I told you that was a common refrain, would you understand?"

"I… no. I wouldn't. I don't understand any of this."

"Thank you for your honesty. For the moment, you'll have to trust me when I tell you there is far more in store for your future than you can possibly grasp right now." I let go of her arm and leaned in close. "Do you trust me, Aubrey?"

"Do I have any choice?" she countered soberly.

"You will always have a choice," I replied. "The much bigger and more important question you need to consider is this: Are you going to be a good girl and make the right decision?"

I leaned back slowly.

"Or are you going to disappoint me and make the wrong one?"