Nasa wanted to tell her there was no way in hell he'd ever let that happen without sounding like a supreme dick, but there was no way in hell he'd let that happen.
Already having promised he wouldn't tell her how to run her business, Nasa had to hold back the urge to let her know, anyone she came into contact with from here on out would have their entire lives laid out at his fingertips before he allowed them close enough to make even the tiniest of waves.
He was fully committed to protecting her, and he would definitely be over the top, anal-retentive about clearing everyone Dillon came into contact with business-wise, but now probably wasn't the time to tell her so.
“I'm one hundred percent on board with everything you're saying. You can't help the people you want to help if you're a nervous wreck. So, what is it you're going to wait to decide on?”
Without hesitating or stuttering, Dillon firmly outlined her plan. “I'm going to give the shelter back to Patti. Monumentally will bankroll her for the next year, but after that, she's on her own and can go back to running things however the hell she wants.
“The lawyer who handles all the foundation's finances will be thrilled for the tax break. I'll keep building my safe houses, I'll probably set up another shelter in Austin with a manager who doesn't know me or have any reason to resent my protocols, and we'll start over.”
Satisfaction filled him as Nasa held her hand and listened to her work out an extremely generous plan he could totally get behind.
“If that's what you want, I'll be right there every step of the way to help however and whenever you need. Can I make a suggestion?”
“Sure,” she grumbled.
Nasa raised her hand to his mouth and kissed her knuckles, rubbing it in with his thumb.
“A while ago, Veracruz mentioned to me how much it sucked that after all the work his team did to get the victims of human trafficking back home, most times they have nowhere to go.
“No family, no way to rebuild their lives, and no way to afford the extensive treatment they'd need to recover.
"Most of the kids are underage, so they automatically go into the foster care system, and the services offered to them are mediocre at best.
“There are programs for victims but few specific to what the kids and the women coming back after being sold into sexual slavery go through.
"Before long, they wind up on the street to go at it alone because they feel like there isn't anyone in the world who cares or understands what they need to be safe.
“With the large economy and even larger population of immigrants, it's not a surprise Texas in the top three states with the biggest concentration of trafficking.
"At any given time, there are six thousand runaways in Houston alone, and thirty percent of calls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline come from Texas.”
Nasa glanced sideways to see he'd captured every ounce of Dillon's attention. Her dark eyes were wide with surprise, but he could tell she was paying rapt attention to every word.
“I wasn't kidding when I told you I knew investors who would leap at the chance to support your foundation, and if you put half the effort into building a place for those victims that you did the shelter in Dallas?
"Maybe some of those traumatized, victimized, scared kids won't run off again and spend what's left of their lives in a dirty hole with a needle in their arm, trying to forget the shit that happened to them.
“Collette and Teague both would donate their time, and they'd know where to find the very best specialized therapists to come in and help.
"You could make the building more of a halfway house and provide spaces for rehab, therapy, get the kids involved in self-defense, maybe even have space for some kind of schooling.
“In Spain, there are programs where victims of spousal abuse are given a dog like Elka, who protect and guard them, and I know there are sponsors here in the states who'll leap at the chance to pay for support animals if one of the women or kids need one. All that to say, you don't have to start over, Tiger Lily. You can start something new.”
Dillon was quiet for nearly five miles before she once again blasted him with an irritated glare.
“From here on out, I'm going to really need you to stop being thoughtful and amazing while we're in a moving vehicle.”
“I can regale you with statistics on infections and diseases contracted in public bathrooms,” he told her with a laugh.
“No more toilet statistics,” she begged, ignoring his shout of protest when she unbuckled her seat belt and slid over to grab his face to give him a hard, quick kiss.
“Put on your goddamn seatbelt, woman!” He took his eyes off the road long enough to scowl at her, but it was weak, and he knew it.
Dillon ignored his order in favor of kissing him again, softer this time, the whisper of her voice across his cheek raising goosebumps on his entire body.
“It's the most wonderful, amazing, generous idea I’ve ever heard, and I'd love some help scouting a property to house everything you're talking about.”
Her smile was that of a siren, calling to him with the most sensual of spells as she slid back into her seat, her fingertips cruising along the slope of his jaw.
He felt that gentle touch like a fist around his cock, and he got it now—why Roar, Saint, Raid, and Damon all talked about their women being able to bring them to their knees with
