Penny was standing at his back and lifted his shirt higher. “You have a lot of ‘flesh wounds’!” She saw the stitches and looked at him with wide eyes.
“Yes, uh, my vacation has been a little more… exciting than I hoped it would be,” he shrugged.
Karen lifted the front of his shirt and saw the older scars. “These aren’t new.” She ran her fingers over the rough tissue. Ben squirmed with the sensations.
“No, those happened earlier this year.”
Penny came around to his front to see the scars and reached out to touch his bullet scars which were much lower on his torso. Tingles shot through Ben’s body and he stepped back to find himself against the mirror. He looked at their faces but saw only innocent curiosity. He relaxed a little. “Those are from years ago.”
He pulled his shirt down and moved to sit on the edge of the table. The two women moved closer to each other and held hands. He saw it was an unconscious thing, drawing comfort from each other. They shouldn’t have been separated.
“How long have you been with Shakir?” he asked gently.
The two ladies looked at each other and frowned.
“Do you recall how young you were? Teenagers, younger?”
“Teens. Young teens. I think,” Karen said.
“Do you know how old you are now?”
“We’re twenty four,” Penny said decisively. Karen looked at her with wide eyes. “I heard Mr. Shakir telling someone that when we turned twenty five next year we would be retired and he would find young blood.”
Ben’s stomach lurched once more. God he wanted so badly to get his hands around the throat of that monster. He’d had these girls for almost half their lives. Twisted them into something he would enjoy. Playthings! The man didn’t deserve to live. Ben closed his eyes and took a deep breath, pushing the rage down deep.
He opened his eyes to see the two women looking at him. “Penny, I’m really impressed you managed to retain your names. That must have taken a lot of guts and effort! Can you recall anything else from before?”
The two frowned and concentrated but soon looked sadly at him and shook their heads.
“That’s ok. There is some information at least. We know your first names, your ages, and roughly when you were taken. Maybe the authorities can find your families and get you back to your homes.”
The two looked at each other then back to him. “We don’t want to go home,” Karen said. “We want to go with you!” Penny added.
Ben rocked back and looked at them in shock. They began to look nervous.
“But- you don’t even know me!” Ben said.
“You saved us!” they said in unison.
Favreau opened the door and stared at the three for a few seconds. “Are you ready?” he finally said.
Ben nodded. How the HELL was he going to explain this one to Gabriella and Catherine?
It turned out to be surprisingly easy to explain. He didn’t even get to say anything. The moment Ben returned to the hotel with his tag-alongs Gabriella and Catherine met them in the lobby and just shook their heads. They took the young women in tow, with their police escort, into the clothing shop to get them something to wear. Ben followed them in and sat with Gabriella.
“When you said to me this morning that the two women wouldn’t speak to the police without seeing you I guessed something like this might happen. I saw the two women in question last night. I saw how… lost they were. You must have made an impression when you rescued them,” Gabriella smiled and patted his thigh. “You can’t keep bringing strays home though.”
“I know. I had no intention of bringing these ones. They kind of latched onto me when I got to the station and wouldn’t let go.” Ben was silent for a bit. “The monster changed them. Erased their past. Did god knows what to them. They lost half of their life so far to that bastard. I want to hurt him so much.”
Gabriella reached up and took Ben’s face between her hands. She looked deeply in his eyes and didn’t see what she was expecting. It wasn’t rage there. It was fear, sadness, and loss. She wanted to know where that came from. What had happened to Ben to torment him like this?
There was a sudden flurry of giggles and the ladies burst from the change rooms wearing the most beautiful sun dresses. They might have been straining a little on top to contain the bounty they carried but they were smart and sophisticated and very stylish. Karen and Penny were beaming and giggling and Ben couldn’t help but show the delight he felt for their happiness.
“You two look lovely!” he gushed and their giggles increased. Catherine stood behind them with a huge smile on her face.
“Very chic!” he said. “We’ll definitely take those!”
They rushed over and kissed his cheeks then Catherine gathered them up and brought them back to the change rooms.
Ben looked at Gabriella. “They’re just kids. They may be twenty four years old physically but they stopped developing mentally in their early teens. They need counselling. Probably therapy and maybe for years.” His face fell.
“You can’t save everyone Ben. Maybe you can give these two a happy, comfortable place to live and get them the help they need but what about the next damaged souls you meet. You are such a good man but you are going to have to protect your heart as you are stretching yourself too thin. We need to get you home.”
Ben nodded then braced himself as he heard the giggles returning. Flattering silk blouses and sophisticated slacks with reasonably high heeled shoes. They were used to the extreme stilettos of five or six inches so these felt a little odd to them but they couldn’t deny they liked the new look. Ben stood up and collected two pairs of shades. He walked over and slipped them on their faces. He turned back to Gabriella and smiled.
“Very stylish. A mysterious and classic look!” Gabriella said with a smile. She bore the next burst of kisses and Ben got his share as the ladies followed Catherine back. Cat was laughing at Ben’s and Gabriella’s flustered looks.
“If you don’t mind, I’m exhausted and I really just want to go to bed for a little nap. Do you think it would be alright for me to head back to my room? Could I ask you to watch them for a time?” Ben asked plaintively.
“Not a problem. You need an hour? Two?” she replied.
“An hour would be lovely!” He gave Gabriella a tender kiss. “They’ll need swimsuits, sleep wear, underwear…” he suddenly felt overwhelmed by the list of things they’d need. Worse, they had no identification papers!
Gabriella saw his distraught look. She patted his arm and gave him a gentle push. “Go get some sleep!”
Ben walked out of the shop and went up to his room. He closed the drapes and went into the bathroom. He changed the bandage on his side and walked back into the bedroom to drop onto the bed. Sleep took him quickly.
Catherine crossed the street to collect her daughters from the beach. The shopping day had been postponed but the kids still got to play on the beach so they weren’t too disappointed. It was approaching the dinner hour so it was time to come back and get cleaned up for dinner. She spotted Daniel first and his face was grim. He relaxed when he saw her.
“What’s wrong kiddo?” Cat said.