Page 79 of Ash Storm

Reka

The clock on the wall struck one p.m.

The men showed no sign of stopping, but Reka could feel herself fading fast. She didn’t think more coffee would help, either. She needed to get out of this room. She needed to—

Suddenly, a woman with striking green eyes stuck her head into the room.

“Hi,” she said.

Before anybody could react, Dark jumped up. “Alexia,” he breathed, walking towards her.

The woman blushed bright red as Dark’s arms went around her.

“I wanted to say hi to Reka,” she said, extricating herself gently from her boyfriend’s hold.

“Hi,” Reka said. She stood too quickly, without remembering her feet, and winced. Ash made a sound deep in his throat, jumping to her side. “I’m Reka.” She held out her hand, ignoring Ash. She couldn’t keep relying on him—she’d always stood on her own two feet, and had to go back to doing so. “Thank you for the lasagna.”

Her stomach rumbled. She hadn’t realized how hungry she was.

Alexia laughed. “My pleasure. Carrie and I were just about to eat lunch, if you would like to join us?”

It didn’t escape Reka’s attention that she didn’t ask any of the men to join, nor did any of them suggest they might be ready for a break.

Reka followed Alexia out the door and down the hallway, to the large eat-in kitchen where they’d grabbed breakfast earlier.

A dark-haired woman with soulful eyes was unpacking multiple small cartons of food.

“Hi, I’m Carrie,” she said. “I’m a support analyst for the team.”

“Nice to meet you, Carrie.”

“Is that Indian food?” Reka asked, sniffing the air. “My favorite.”

“Good. I’m glad. We ordered a bit of everything, since we weren’t sure what you might like to eat. That’s one of the things to be said about Zurich. There are so many options for delivery.”

“How long have you been living here?” she asked.

“I’ve been here almost two months,” Alexia said. “But Carrie was one of the first people onsite. She and Pascale, the other support analyst, are the ones who got the office ready for the team.”

“Well, the office was already here,” Carrie said quickly. “We just helped make it … suitable for our purposes.”

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask what the team actually did here, but she realized it wouldn’t be fair to ask that question of Carrie.

The three women sat around the table. “Please. Dig in,” Alexia said.

Reka bit into a vegetable samosa. It was delicious—puffy and crispy on the outside, but smooth and spicy on the inside. Next, she spooned some chicken Tikka Masala and some rice onto her plate. She had to force herself to chew slowly. Her stomach was nowhere near one hundred percent, and she didn’t want to end up embarrassing herself.

During the meal, Alexia and Carrie carried most of the conversation on their shoulders, not asking anything of Reka. Though they’d only just met, Reka could feel their gentle, undemanding support.

“Thank you both,” Reka said finally, when she couldn’t eat a single bite more. “For everything,” she added, so they’d understand she didn’t just mean the food.

“We know … we know some of what you’ve been through,” Alexia began cautiously. “And I wasn’t sure how to …”

“How to show you we’re on your side,” Carrie filled in. “We’ve also been through some things, and the only thing we can tell you is, it does get easier.”

Reka felt a flare of embarrassment, because what she’d gone through, as hard as it’d been, hadn’t been as bad as what other human trafficking victims went through. Her breath caught as she thought of Chloe. Here she was, eating a lovely Indian meal, while her friend Chloe, and those other women—

“No. I’m not the one who—“

“Don’t do that,” Carrie warned gently. “Don’t compare yourself with other people. In order to overcome the trauma you’ve faced, you’re going to need to begin by acknowledging it to yourself.”

Wow.

Reka sat back, stunned.

“I thought I was the psychologist,” she breathed.

Carrie smiled sadly. “I’m not a psychologist. But I do know quite a bit about guilt and self-blame, and I don’t wish them on anyone.”

“We’re here for you, Reka,” Alexia said. “Whatever you need, we’re here for you. That’s what I was trying to say.”

“Thank you both.” Reka’s mouth opened in an unexpected yawn. “Maybe I’ll go upstairs and take a nap, if that’s—“

“Of course. I need to go back to work, anyway,” Carrie said quickly, standing up to tidy the leftover dishes.

“And I need to go back to figuring out what to do with my life.” Alexia waved her hand in the air. “But that’s a conversation for a different day!”