The steady beating of the heart monitor was making Alex sleepy. It was comforting to know that even if he almost killed her because he was a complete idiot, she was fine now and was going to be okay.

Virginie laid in the hospital bed, softly breathing and fast asleep after her surgery. Her face was peaceful as she slept.

It had been touch and go for a little while but they stabilized her heartbeat, drained the blood from her lungs, and took her into surgery to remove the bullet. She had lost a lot of blood but due to Alex's endless pressure, it wasn't enough to kill her.

At least I did one thing right.

Ethan walked into the room with a bouquet of flowers and placed them on the table right next to Virginie's sleeping head. He then sat next to his brother, taking a deep breath.

Alex looked at him expectantly. "So? What happened after we left? Is everything finished?"

Ethan shook his head. "It's far from done. We have two crime scenes to process for evidence and 20 girls to take statements from to send that bastard Robert to prison for good. Computer crimes has to take all of the technology in the house and see if we can find information on his clients. He's also going to be an excellent resource for learning about your father because that's where the real money is. I'm lucky that they allowed me to leave. I wanted to stay and help but I knew you would also need some support over here."

Alex chuckled. "So that idiot Robert never figured out that you and Jabari were off duty and out of your jurisdiction so you couldn't actually make an arrest?"

Ethan mock frowned. "A citizen's arrest is very valid, thank you very much." He laughed along with Alex. "We read him his rights and everything but the local authorities came and officially took him in. The FBI is probably going to end up taking over since there's human trafficking involved and it's a lot of work for one precinct, even one department to handle. The trail is most likely going to lead them around the world."

"What about Boss? What's going on with him?"

Ethan bit his lip. "I let him go before backup arrived. He's probably in his bed, nursing a bad hangover right now."

"How could you? That bastard tried to kill me!" Alex hissed between clenched teeth, trying not to be loud to disturb Virginie. He had done enough of that already.

"I know," Ethan agreed, putting his hands up to calm him, "but I think seeing Virginie almost dead is punishment enough, don't you think? I can't arrest him and disrupt his operation. It would be revealed that we were working with him and that agency does do a lot of good. They've taken down a lot of people that law enforcement wouldn't be able to because of legal restrictions."

"I understand all of that," Alex murmured. "It's just..."

Ethan raised an eyebrow and put his hand on his brother's shoulder, surprised at his distress. "What's going on? What are you holding back from me, petit frère?"

Alex smiled at his old nickname. He hadn't spoken French in so long but sitting here with his brother, it just felt right. "Ma moitié, elle était son escorte quand elle était adolescent." (She was his escort when she was a teenager.)

Ethan blanched and shook his head in shock. The French flowed from his mouth like they were still at home back in Guadalupe. "Qui était son escorte? Qu'est-ce que tu dis?" (Who was his escort? What are you saying?)

Alex looked up at him, his gaze wavering. "Virginie. C'est pourquoi il est tellement obsédé par elle. Il était amoureux d'elle quand elle était adolescent et a été tout ce temps. Il l'a violée. Plusieurs fois." (That's why he's so obsessed with her. He was in love with her when she was a teenager and has been all of this time. He raped her. Multiple times.)

"Je laisse un violeur sortir libre..." (I let a rapist go free...) There was a long and heavy silence as the truth settled in, sending goosebumps throughout Ethan's body. "Comment savez-vous tout cela? Pourquoi ne m'avez-vous pas dit auparavant?" (How do you know all of this? Why didn't you tell me this before?)

"Je viens de découvrir moi-même. Honnêtement, j'aimerais ne pas l'avoir fait. Je l'ai presque tuée dans le processus. Je laisse ma colère tirer le meilleur parti de moi," Alex muttered, shuddering at the memory. (I just found out myself. Honestly, I wish I didn't. I almost killed her in the process. I let my anger get the best of me.) He had almost passed out when he saw the monitor with the flat line. Knowing it was because he couldn't keep his dumb mouth shut only made it worse.

Ethan rubbed his shoulder affectionately. "Elle est encore en vie. Ne vous en faites pas." (She's still alive. Don't worry about it.)

"How can I not worry about it? Elle était morte, Ethan. J'ai vu la ligne plate. Elle était morte et vous ne voulez pas que je m'en soucie." (She was dead, Ethan. I saw the flatline. She was dead and you don't want me to worry about it.)

"The keyword there is 'was'." Alex stared at him as Ethan smiled warmly. "Regarde la. Elle respire et c'est parce que vous avez maintenu la pression sur elle. Elle ne serait pas en vie sans toi et c'est ce qui est important." (Look at her. She's breathing and that's because you kept the pressure up on her. She wouldn't be alive without you and that is what's important.)

"I hope she can forgive me..."

"Qu'y a-t-il à pardonner? Vous avez sauvé sa vie. Il n'est pas de votre faute que le bâtard l'ait violée et continue de la torturer jusqu'à ce jour. Vous êtes fâché parce que vous vous souciez d'elle et je suis sûr que c'est ce qui compte pour elle." (What is there to forgive? You saved her life. It's not your fault that bastard raped her and continues to torture her with it to this day. You got angry because you care about her and I'm sure that's what matters to her.) He got up. "Now, I have some business to attend to. I'm sure that you'll be fine being her protector for a couple of hours. Jabari will join you later."

Alex frowned. "What are you going to do?"

Ethan winked. "A bit of research."