Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 122440 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 612(@200wpm)___ 490(@250wpm)___ 408(@300wpm)
There was a hitch in her voice she couldn’t prevent. She was nearly certain her brother was dead, another victim of the senator and her mother. “Lives don’t matter to either of them—not mine, not my brother’s, not a single woman he hurt. Only power and money matter. I walked away, put myself through nursing school and keep as far from them as possible.”
Raine heaved a sigh and waved her fork in the air. “They’re doing their best to make that impossible now that they’re in trouble. They call and threaten to ruin her reputation and even go after her nursing license if she won’t comply.”
“That’s terrible.” Guadalupe sounded genuinely shocked. “Can he do that? Take away your nursing license?”
“He knows a lot of people,” Vienna answered for Harlow. “And before you ask, yes, he would really do it if he could, if Harlow doesn’t do exactly what he wants.”
“Then you’ll comply?” Guadalupe asked into the following silence.
Harlow’s head snapped up. “Absolutely not. I’ll destroy my entire world before I ever comply with that man or my mother. They’re evil. In the world I grew up in, if you make one compromise, they own you. You become a puppet dancing to their tune. If I have to give up nursing and selling my photographs, I’ll find something else.”
Again, there was a long silence. Harlow meant every word, but she feared they might have overplayed their hand. It was a lot of information about her past. Guadalupe might be questioning why, after all these years, Harlow was disclosing the details of her childhood.
“This is not just about Harlow,” Zahra said, not looking at Guadalupe but at their circle of friends. “Harlow isn’t just upset because of the continual threats and harassment to her.”
Harlow shook her head. “Zahra, no. You don’t have to explain to anyone.”
“You saved me. That night, you saved me. I know your father beat the crap out of you, and even though your mother did everything to help me, it was only because you refused to back down. You stood up for me, and it is because of you that I have citizenship and a good job. Because of you, he didn’t do to me what he did to all those other girls.”
Harlow couldn’t look at any of her friends. She had spent years not crying, and now she was so emotional she couldn’t breathe. Her throat felt raw, burning with what seemed to be such a large blockage she couldn’t even swallow down the emotion. She put her plate down and forced herself to her feet.
“I’ll be back in a minute.” She wasn’t even certain they could hear her. The words came out strained, trembling and barely audible.
Harlow didn’t wait for anyone to comment. She hurried out of the great room, down the hall toward the bathroom. To her shock, Wilder was leaning against the bathroom door. He stepped forward and took her into his arms, pushing the door open with his foot and walking her backward into the privacy of the room.
She buried her face in his shirt and cried. He wrapped her tightly in the safety of his arms, sheltering her, giving her the freedom to be emotional. She’d never had that before. Because he was so gentle and loving, she gave herself permission to have a breakdown in front of him, not that it would have mattered. The floodgates had opened some time ago, and she couldn’t get them turned off.
“I knew this would be hard on you, Harlow, reliving everything. But you do realize the good that’s come from it? Your friends are with you all the way. Very few people have what you have.” He interspersed his quiet statements with kisses brushed over the top of her head. “Each woman in that room would walk through hell for you and with you.”
“I didn’t want Zahra to have to relive the past along with me. She had nightmares for years. It was a very violent attack.”
“You still have nightmares,” Wilder pointed out, using that same gentle voice. “Zahra wanted to help you. You have to give her that. You’re so used to being the one to look out for everyone that you have a difficult time accepting it in return. Your friends need to give back. It’s easy to see that the give and take with you women is always reciprocal. This is your turn to receive, and you just have to let them.”
He made sense. He did. She might have a difficult time accepting that he was right—she wasn’t used to being on the receiving end—but it wouldn’t be fair to throw Zahra’s disclosure in her face.
“She did it out of love, concern and showing solidarity. It also was brilliant because if Guadalupe is the woman your father assaulted and sent back to Mexico, she might have been wondering if you were deliberately telling her everything about your family because you were suspicious of her. With Zahra bringing the attention to her and taking it from you, the conversation appears far more organic.”