Now, her sister-in-law was sitting on one of the other couches with Woody glued to her side. Her face was puffy and her eyes were red, despite everyone reassuring her as best they could. No one blamed her at all for anything that happened.
“I wish you guys could’ve seen Owl and Stone,” Reese said seriously. “I thought I was a goner, that those men would take me into Mexico and no one would ever see me again. And then through the storm came this helicopter out of nowhere. The wind was buffeting it around but Owl kept it completely steady.”
She looked at Owl, then Stone. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I doubt it was safe for you to even be up in that weather, and I’m thinking you probably broke at least ten aviation rules being there but…without you…”
Reese shuddered, and Gus’s arm tightened around her shoulders, pulling her more snuggly against his side.
“And you,” she said, pulling away a fraction and glaring at Gus. “What the heck were you thinking? I can’t believe you jumped into the river after me. Are you crazy?”
Gus stared at her with such love and devotion, Reese’s breath caught in her throat. “Haven’t you figured it out yet? Without you, I’m nothing. I have no purpose in life. I would’ve rather died with you than gone on living without you.”
“Don’t say that,” she breathed. “I mean…don’t say that!”
“It’s true,” he said with a small shrug.
Tears formed in Reese’s eyes as she stared at the man she loved more than she ever knew it was possible to love someone. The crush she’d had on him seemed so silly and superficial now that she’d gotten to know him.
A phone rang, breaking the intense moment, and Reese turned to look at her friends. Woody brought his cell up to his ear. She couldn’t tell what the person on the other end was saying, but from her brother’s facial expression, it wasn’t good. He thanked the person for calling, then clicked off the connection. He turned to Isabella.
Reese braced, dreading what he had to say.
“That was the Texas Ranger in charge of the case,” he told his wife gently. “They found Angelo. God…I’m so sorry, honey. His body washed up another mile down river from where Spike and Reese crawled out of the water…he’s gone.”
Isabella collapsed into her new husband’s arms, and Reese closed her eyes in sorrow.
“That wasn’t him,” Isabella sobbed desolately. “I don’t know what happened, but he couldn’t do this! I raised him better, I swear!”
“I know, honey. I know. It’s okay,” Woody soothed as he ran his hand over her dark hair, trying to console her.
Reese felt horrible for her sister-in-law. She should be on cloud nine, celebrating her marriage and new husband. “For what it’s worth, Isabella,” she said gently, “I think he just got in over his head. He was unhappy the entire time we were in the car.”
Everyone was silent, listening to her, but Reese’s concentration was solely on Isabella. She stood, and she felt Gus’s hand steadying her until she got her balance. She walked over to Isabella and sat on her other side, taking her hands in her own.
“He didn’t harm me. When the others tried to…hurt me…he refused. I don’t understand what was said, but it was clear he disagreed with them. I think he simply wanted to go home, back to Colombia. He didn’t expect those men to be at the Western Union. I saw the surprise on his face. He even told me to go back to The Refuge after dropping him off, but I didn’t want to leave him there all alone.”
“We reviewed the security tapes,” Brick said quietly. “The men didn’t drive there, they simply appeared in the frame on foot. Our best guess is that they came into town on a bus.”
Reese nodded and looked back at Isabella. “The main guy, the one who seemed to be in charge, was so worried about getting away from the helicopter that he left the rest of us behind without a second glance. All he cared about was himself. One of the other men ordered Angelo to get me across. The river was raging, it was difficult to cross with just yourself to worry about, but Angelo made sure I had a strong grip on that rope and he held onto my belt loop so I wasn’t washed away.”
“But you were washed away,” Isabella said in confusion, tears still falling down her face.
“No. I wasn’t. We stopped in the middle of the river,” Reese told her. “I was confused. Wasn’t sure why we’d stopped. I looked up and saw Gus hanging out the side of the chopper…and the next thing I knew, your brother shouted that he was sorry, and asked me to tell you that he loved you.”
“He said that? In English?” Isabella asked in surprise.
Reese gave her a tender smile. “No. But I know what lo siento means, and I’ve heard you and Woody saying you love each other enough times to understand that too. I just had to look up the word I didn’t know. ‘Tell.’ He loved you, Isabella. So much. I think he regretted what happened, and he did the only thing he could do to make amends.”
“What did he do?” she whispered.
“He made me let go of the rope, then pushed me into the water.”
“Madre de Dios,” Isabella whispered.
“It was the only way,” Reese insisted. “If I made it across the river, those men would’ve finished what they’d started. They would’ve abused me so badly, I’m not sure I would’ve lived through it. Angelo did the only thing he could think of to save me.”
“But the river…you could’ve…” Isabella’s voice trailed off and she cried harder.
“I didn’t. Gus got to me in time, and we both made it out.”
“There was a tree rushing downstream. It hit Angelo hard right after he pushed Reese,” Stone said. “I saw it from the cockpit of the chopper. It swept him off his feet, there wasn’t anything he could’ve done to prevent it…except maybe not have stopped in the middle of the river in the first place. But even if he did make it to the other side…I don’t think he would’ve survived.”
“Why not? What’d you see?” Woody asked.
“All three of the other men were waiting on the other side of the river with knives in their hands. I think they might’ve killed him the second he stepped foot on dry land.”
Everyone was quiet for a moment.
“I’m proud of Angelo,” Reese said, breaking the silence. “He made a mistake by contacting his friends and asking for their help in getting back to Colombia, but in the end, he did what he could to save me. To make amends.”
“I’m so sorry!” Isabella said, yet more fresh tears fell down her cheeks.
“No, I’m sorry,” Reese countered.
“I thought you’d hate me,” Isabella admitted.
“And I thought you’d hate me,” Reese countered.
The two women fell into each other’s arms, hugging hard.
Reese felt someone at her back, and she instantly knew it was Gus. Being there for her, just in case she needed him.
She eased back from Isabella and gave her a sad smile.
The mood was subdued, the previous day extracting a heavy toll, but Reese had never been more grateful for The Refuge employees than she was right then.