She gave Tate a hug on the doorstep as he departed, just as Jason flung open the door.
Chapter 6
“I’ll give you two seconds to take your hands off my wife before I kill you,” Jason growled angrily.
Hope immediately leapt out of Tate’s friendly hug, startled when she saw the murderous expression on Jason’s face as he stared at Tate.
“She was out wandering around in the woods. Maybe you should take better care of your wife,” Tate answered smugly to deliberately provoke Jason.
“Bastard,” Jason grunted as he tried to get around Hope to get to Tate.
“Stop,” Hope squeaked loudly. “Jason, I need to talk to you.” She stayed between him and Tate and pushed against Jason’s chest. “Tate, thank you for walking me home, although I could have found my way back quite easily.”
“I think it’s becoming a habit to get you back home safely, H.L. Sinclair,” Tate answered enigmatically. “I told you he cares about more than just sex,” he added quietly before he turned around and walked back toward the path to his house.
“What the f**k did he mean by that?” Jason rumbled. His sapphire eyes shot fire at Tate’s back.
“Nothing,” she hedged as she tried to push Jason back through the door. She’d made some decisions on her walk back from Tate’s house, and she wanted to talk to Jason, needed to try to explain. If she did, maybe he’d agree to help her become whole again. If she didn’t try, she’d have to live with the regret of never knowing what would have happened had she asked for Jason’s help.
And she’d lived through more than enough things she now regretted.
Turning abruptly, Jason stormed back into the house.
Hope let out a relieved breath, and walked behind him and into the house. She hadn’t been quite sure Jason wasn’t going to follow Tate. She closed the door behind her and followed Jason into the living room.
“Talk,” he demanded. He sunk into a leather recliner, his expression stormy. “Tell me how you end up making out with a guy you just met. Jesus, Hope. What the hell is wrong with you?”
“I wasn’t making out with him,” Hope answered indignantly. “I was hugging him. And I didn’t just meet him today. We’ve…met before.” She dropped her camera and the case carefully on the coffee table and sat on the couch across from him, drawing her legs beneath her.
You can do this. Just tell him. Jason’s the only man who can help you right now.
“How in the hell did you meet Colter? He never said he knew you. Were you sleeping with him between boyfriends and breakups?” Jason exploded. His expression grew cold. “I don’t get you anymore, Hope. One minute you’re freaking out over foreplay, and the next morning I find you wrapped up in another man.”
“I know.” Hope knew her behavior confused him. Putting herself in his shoes, he probably thought she was psychotic. “I’d like to explain. Please.”
“I wish somebody would,” Jason grumbled, his expression irascible.
Hope took a deep breath. “I knew Tate by the name of Colt. It’s what he used as a code name when he was in Special Forces. I didn’t know he was here, or that he was one of the Colorado Colters. He and his Special Forces team saved my life three years ago.” She saw Jason open his mouth to ask a question, but she held her hand up, anxious to get her story out before she caved. “Just let me tell you the story first.”
Jason nodded, not saying a word as he stared at her darkly.
Hope continued, “I was only a year into my career, and still trying to make a name for myself. I was just starting to get a foothold by taking pictures of extreme weather. I knew there was a cyclone that was going to hit on the coast of India. I got on a plane alone and traveled there, setting myself in a safe place on high ground. The storm was worse than was predicted, and the coastline became a disaster. I was safe, but the damage was enormous, and everything was very chaotic. No one really noticed when I was pushed into the trunk of a car and taken away.”
Hope started to breathe heavily, but kept talking to get everything out. “I was terrified and everything was dark for what seemed like days, but it was only a few hours. When the trunk was finally opened, I was far away from the coast and had been taken into a broken-down house outside of a village at gunpoint.” Hope shuddered as she remembered the stone cold, emotionless look in the foreign man’s eyes, but she shook it off. “There was a…man. I wasn’t sure what was happening at first and I begged him to let me go before the authorities found out. He spoke broken English, enough to understand what I was saying. He just laughed, and he kept laughing while he…he…” Oh, God. Just say it! “He raped me, Jason. Several times. I fought him, I screamed and tried to get away, but I couldn’t. And it hurt. It hurt so badly. After a while, everything got pretty foggy. He beat on me to shut me up, but nobody came to help me.”
The tears flowed down her face as she went on. “I think he planned on killing me, but I told him if he contacted the American Embassy he might be able to get some money if he kept me alive. Between—” Hope’s voice cracked, but she finished, “Between assaults, he contacted them, and the embassy stalled for time. Tate’s unit was there in India. I found out later they were really close by, actually tracking this particular man because he was a well-known terrorist hiding out in India. I think they knew their best chance was to attempt a rescue because he was going to kill me either way, whether they paid money or not. Tate’s team stormed the house and killed the terrorist while I was still alive. They saved my life.” Hope sobbed and tried desperately not to remember the pure terror she had felt that day, but failed miserably.
“Tate stayed with me all the way back to the States, talking to me, trying to help me. I never saw him again after that. I never even got a chance to thank him. I was grateful to see him today, happy to get a chance to thank him for what he and his team had done for me.” Hope didn’t look at Jason. She couldn’t. “I went through two years of counseling. The military treated me for my injuries. I had to be tested for HIV at three months and again at six months, and they were negative, thank God. There was never any case to pursue. Tate killed the man who assaulted me, and I thought I was over the incident…until I saw you again. I wanted you, Jason. My body came alive with something I’ve never experienced before. It isn’t that I’m not willing. I’d like to know what it would be like to be with you. I just emotionally…can’t.” She closed her eyes.