Isela's Love by Sasha Cain Page A

be.
    Tears trickled down Rone’s cheeks.
    “He beat her...bad. I guess he thought he needed to save face or something. I don’t know how she took it, but she did. She never made a sound.” She looked at Bernie, her tears glistening in her eyes. “I know it’s weak, but it’s easier not to fight him. He’ll get his way in the end, so why make it harder on myself?”
    “You listen to me, Rone. You are not weak. In fact, I think you’re very brave to have faced what you have alone. He hasn’t broken you. You’ve won, not him. Do you understand? And we will stop him, I promise.”
    The disbelieving look she gave him nearly broke his heart, but he understood where it came from. When you’re battered enough, that becomes the norm. He smiled weakly at her.
    “Can I go now?” she asked meekly.
    “Sure you can. Thank you, Rone.”
    “When all of this breaks, please protect Isela. I don’t know what he’s going to do, but he’ll surely take it out on her.”
    “We will. We’ll protect you all.”
    She got up and left, her shoulders sagging beneath the burden she carried. Bernie swiped his hands over his face. Nausea rolled around in his gut, reminding him how much he did not want to share the results of his inquiry.
    Darrios would go crazy, he knew. He had an extremely overdeveloped sense of righteousness where bullies were concerned and the word bully didn’t even begin to describe Guarros. Evan would be consumed with guilt for not jumping on board sooner. His only hope for a sane reaction and some solid brainstorming was Brendan.
    He sent for the men, assembling them in Darrios and Evan’s office overlooking the farm. Bernie waited for everyone to be seated before he addressed the group.
    “Gentlemen, it’s worse than we thought. He’s abusing the women sexually.”
    The other three men broke out into elevated voices. Bernie raised his hands. “Guys, c’mon, let me finish.”
    They quieted, stewing over his announcement. Bernie shared the details of what he’d learned, emphasizing what Jerric and Rone had said about Isela.
    “He’s focusing on her, but he doesn’t force her to do anything sexual. It’s like he’s trying to intimidate her into giving in. That’s the game. And when she doesn’t, he takes it out on the other girls. They don’t fight him because they’re afraid.”
    “I say we kill the motherfucker,” Darrios growled.
    “Now you know we can’t do that, Darrios,” Bernie said. “We have to follow the Council if we want him brought to justice.”
    “I’m with Darrios,” Evan said. “Killing him would be justice. I only wish I’d have listened to you earlier, Darrios.”
    “Uh, guys?” Brendan interrupted. “Instead of wasting time waving our dicks around, why don’t we concentrate on making a plan to nail this fucker so we can stop him from hurting any more women?”
    “Excellent suggestion, Brendan,” Bernie said. “Obviously, Guarros has some sort of obsession with this Isela. I think that’s a good place to start. Why is he so obsessed with her?”
    “She’s a looker,” Evan replied.
    “It’s more than that,” Bernie said. “It’s like he has her on some sort of pedestal or something. He must consider her special or he would have already forced himself on her like he did with the others. Rone and Jerric both told me she’s refused his advances. It angers him, but he lets her get away with it.”
    “Yeah, and then he takes it out on someone else instead,” Darrios added. “That’s so much better.”
    “Guarros had a thing for her mother,” Bernie remembered. “He said he took her in after the father was killed.”
    “I still think he had something to do with Kie’s death. His obsession with Isela smacks of it,” Darrios argued. “I’ll bet the mother knew the warden before her husband was killed. If we can make that connection...”
    “Jerric said one of the older inmates might be able to help.” He unfolded his notes. “The guy’s name is