My gaze now settled on tiny little Rose, the quietest one of us all, yet somehow the most stern when it came to both Mia and our kids. Sometimes I think that she treated them more like family to her than any of us ever did or ever could.
Though her road here to us was much different than Nicco and Chelsea's. Yet somehow she found not only her way here to us through Mia's bravery and heart, but also what some would say a larger than life reason to stay in the form of Tyler 'Axel' Decker.
Rose would have suffered a fate far worse than death before she had found peace. Whether that peace would have left her here in this world or a world beyond our own was another question completely. Looking back now though, I'm glad that not only were we able to spare her that torture, but also that she saw something in Axel that she wanted more than returning home.
We had been contacted by Houtter to go in and dismantle what he thought was a small trafficking ring, run by a small, but supposedly under funded trafficking gang. Houtter's intel seemed to be sound and reliable, even it would have been slightly bigger than the intel he gave us had been, it would have been easy for us to handle. We could have never imagined the true extent of what had been brought to us to dismantle. During the entire planning we never had second guessed the intel that Houtter had provided us, seeing that he had always had pretty accurate and reliable information that he passed to us. We decided that since this was supposed to be a small and rather simple outing that we would send a small team in, no more than five or six. In the past we had learned that with small operations any more than that would be quickly outed and captured themselves, which of course would cause more of an issue for us in the end.
Of course though, Mia being her stubborn ass self, had demanded that herself and a small group of only three or four others went it to take a look first. So it was talked about and decided that Mia would take the lead on this, considering the intel said that many if not all of the victims in this situation were female. Her feeling was that once they got them out, it would more than likely make the women and girls feel safer to see another female helping them, than a group of men, since they had been taken by men.
The whole goal of the group that she decided to take with her was to try to blend in to get a good head count of how many people they had there, so that we could properly set up outside the area with enough transport for everyone there to be taken to safety, until they were able to reach out to their families to get safely home again.
As they made their way through the underground area that everyone was being taken and hidden away, was when we realized that this operation was going to be much harder than we had initially thought it would be, because the intel that Houtter had received said that there were a maximum of 20-25 girls there. When in reality there were upwards of 250-275 victims that were being held there. Immediately I got on the phone with Houtter to inform him that we would be in need of more transport than we had, and that we were going to have to find a way to get more of our own people in than we had initially thought as well as informed him of the true size of what he had placed in our hands. This was by no means the largest operation that we had gone in to dismantle for Houtter, but this was the first time that his intel was this far off. Which put us in a position for things to go very wrong before we were able to get back-up into the compound for the small group that we had already sent in.
Mia had been going to meet up with Axel and his group when she spotted them dragging Rose into a room. She explained that she made her way over to the room that she had seen them take her into and listened to what they were saying, hoping that she would be able to get something that would help us do this as quietly as possible, with as few as possible casualty or injury to our side. What she heard was that they had grabbed her from four states away and brought her here because some sick son of bitch had seen her just simply walking home from her college classes one afternoon and had become obsessed with her and what he called her pure and innocent ways. All he saw was someone that he could have taken, brought to him and that he could then keep her and do with her whatever he pleased.
From what Mia had overheard he had apparently paid those idiots a high price for something he thought that he was entitled to just because he had money. Even then Rose must have had a good head on her shoulders, because apparently the man had stopped after he had seen her, offered to take her out for coffee, dinner, even offered her what he called a simple ride back to her home, but that she blew off every attempt that he made towards her, so this was the way that he chose to get his way and what he wanted from her.
After returning home that evening Mia explained that she couldn't let that true and pure type of innocence be ripped out of the world in such a cruel way. That there was just something in the way that the poor thing was acting. Eventually, after a large amount of prodding from myself in the privacy of our own bedroom she told me that she reminded her of herself, and that the situation that Rose had been forced into, reminded her of a situation that her and I had found ourselves in very close to the beginning of our relationship, that could have ended in a very similar way to how Rose was going to be taken advantage of. I understood then why Mia's actions had become so drastic so quickly and why her instinct had told her that this either had to be taken care of now or that there was no way that we would get another chance to get into the compound again to dismantle it.
We had heard Mia when she radioed for Axel and the other two to come to her position. Thinking that she would have enough time for them to get there before the girl was brough back out by the men again. Little did she know that not only did they not have enough time to get to her position, but that the room that they had taken her into was able to be entered from another hallway, leaving Mia highly out-numbered.
So when they exited the room again still dragging Rose with them, even with the increased amount of manpower, it mattered basically nothing to Mia, since she had already made up her mind that they were not getting by her with the girl. Though I think that is was that they telling her what was going to happen to her, along with groping and touching her everywhere that made the largest difference in Mia's decision to not wait for any back up to converge with her. It was within a split second that she reached out and grabbed Rose from behind pushing her into a corner a safe distance away, which meant that Mia had placed herself squarely between the group of probably at least seven or eight men and Rose, knowing that she was the only person who stood between them.
Axel confirmed later on that he had heard the first gunshot go off. He and the other two that were with him instantly knew it had something to do with Mia and what they had heard on her radio communication, so they bolted.
Eric said that it was right as the last man hit the floor that they had gotten to her location. None of them were surprised to see that Mia had managed to take down all of the group on her own, but I guess what did take them all off guard, and slightly shook them to the core was that when they got to her location, she was pushing herself up from the floor, where three of them had apparently been able to subdue her momentarily. When she managed to get back to her feet, Mia turned back to where she had put Rose, walked over to her, trying assure her that everything was okay and that she was safe now.
They all said that all Rose was able to do was just huddle into the corner that she was in, still shaking in fear. Even though it was against every rule we had, Mia stripped off her face shield, gloves, anything and everything that kept her from being identified again by anyone that was part of this disgusting group. Though apparently that was what Rose needed at that very moment that the sight of another girl around her age had been enough for Rose to trust at least Mia, because she instantly flung her arms around her sobbing. Although Mia would never allow anyone there to know how much of an ass beating she had just taken, it was apparently quite apparent to those who were there when she stripped of her gear, since the bruises were already starting to show, as well as the swelling of her right eye and the left side of her lip from the few good shots that they had gotten in on her.
Although apparently Mia had not been the only one that had been effected by Rose's presence. Since Axel had accidently let it slip almost immediately upon getting himself and Rose settled into the awaiting SUV, that it was almost as soon as he laid eyes on Rose, that he unknowingly had started to take off his glasses, hat and everything else that hid his face as well, something that was not at all common for him do, since he knew from experience what it meant to do that. When Mia cautiously brought Rose over to them, explaining to her that she would be safe with them, that they wouldn't dare put their hands on her inappropriately and informing her that if they did there would be consequences that none of them wanted to endure.
Mia was still in shock, as she laughed, explaining to me that there wasn't a strong enough word in any language to explain the way that Rose looked at Axel, when she pointed to him and asked him to get her to the vehicle.
In her words it was as if the moment that Rose looked at him, there was a moment of silence, followed by a rush of wind as Rose rushed into his arms hugging him like he was one that had just saved her from those men. The only way that She had been able to explain it to us properly was that it seemed as though somehow Rose just knew that there was something about him that she needed and wasn't about to pass up the chance to hold onto something good after all the horror and pain that she had just been through.
Of course at first, we all just played off as though it was because he had been the first male in almost three months that hadn't attempted to hurt her. But even though the time was short that they were together at first, it take any of us long to realize that it truly didn't have anything at all to do with that. I guess that you could say that those two were meant to be together is an understatement. Even from the start it was more than apparent that there was something between them that neither one of them had expected to find in each other in that moment, but that it was something that both of them had been searching for unable to find until they found each other.
That was made more than clear when Rose had been given the chance to go back home shortly after we brought her here with us to stay until we could get her in touch with her family, in order to make sure that she was able to safely return home again. When she declined the offer so quickly saying that it was because she wanted to stay here, because she wanted to be with Axel we were all more than a little shocked, even Axel seemed shocked when she said it.
Needless to say her parents weren't thrilled in the least either when she told them that she was planning to stay here with us because of him. Saying that she had Florence Nightingale Syndrome. Which made them decide to take the issue into their own hands, by flying out the next day with the intention of making her realize that it was only because of what she had just been through, the fact that he had been so kind her and because she was still recovering from the fear that she was feeling the way that she was. Mia laughed when they told her that on the phone that day, telling me that although she understood that Rose had been through something traumatic, that there was no doubt in her mind that it wouldn't matter what her parents said or did, that Rose would end up getting her way in this, which meant that she would get to stay here with Axel like she wanted. When I asked her why she felt as though this wasn't exactly what her parents told Rose it was, the only response I got was Mia looking at me with a look saying that I should already know the answer to the question that I asked her.
"You of all people should know the look on a women's face when she is in love with someone from the beginning. You should also know how it feels as a man when you find someone so suddenly that having them ripped away from you would take a piece of you with them."
Luckily once Rose's parents arrived, they were willing to sit down and hear Rose out and that they were able to distinguish the difference between what they thought was going on with their daughter and what was truly going on in her mind and heart. Though it wasn't until they agreed to meet Axel, as well as sit down with all of us as a group that they both agreed with what Rose didn't just want, but it was the only thing that she demanded of them. Even they said that this was the first time in her entire life that they had ever seen her this firm and unyielding about anything. Which to them only said that even if they had forced her to return with them, that she would have found a way back here to Axel in the end and since she was a legal adult that there was nothing that they could do legally to make her come home if she didn't want to. Though they made sure to tell her that if any point she changed her mind and wanted to come home that all she would need to do is pick up the phone.
I'll never forget quiet little Rose looking at her parents that day and what she said to them. "Thank you for understanding this, and I know that I will always have a home to come to with both of you, I somehow just feel as though I can tell you without a doubt, that I won't ever need to make that phone call to you. Even though I will always consider the home that I was raised the place where my family will always call home. I'm pretty sure that this is the place where I'll call home for a lot longer than that was home to me."
Hell, Axel had even flown them out about two weeks before he proposed to Rose, because he had wanted to get her father's blessing before doing so. In his mind if they had made her change her mind there was a high possibility that he would have never seen her again and that he would have never known what it meant to have someone look at him as if they were the only thing that mattered to them in the whole world.
Of course her father was more than hesitant in giving Axel his okay about marrying his daughter, I think mostly because he never lied to them about the line of work that we were in and any parent that didn't find concern in their daughter willingly wanting to stay with someone like that, let alone the man wanting her to marry into that life would not be a parent if they didn't question everything that they both had planned.
Personally though, I think that it was after finding out that Axel hadn't pressured Rose into anything that she wasn't ready for, or that she hadn't wanted that he eventually gave his blessing without a second thought.
Even to this day, I would hate to be the sorry asshole that would ever put his hands on Rose, because Axel would rip them limb from limb without a question being asked, let alone that they would probably never hear him coming if he was intent on that idea. Though I can't say I don't understand where he's coming from, since I feel the same way about Mia, the only difference is that I would only get what's leftover if Mia had her way.
The only thing that we have all been waiting on now, is to find out how much of an influence my girl has been on Rose so far, because she has still somehow managed to still stay so shy and quiet, though we all know that there is something underneath her skin that is just waiting to crawl to the surface and show us the strength and confidence that Mia has instilled in her over the time they have spent together and believe me when I say that I don't think that anyone will be ready for what that side of Rose is going to be, mostly because none of us have any idea what that part is going to be like.
The only person that may know what that part of Rose is going to be like is Mia, and I can almost guarantee that she wouldn't let it slip for anything in the world, just so that she can see the faces we all make when Rose finally comes out of her shell, while she stands back smiling one of her famous 'I told you so' smiles.