Bette took a deep breath before continuing.

"I met Shane and my friend Dana there. They were soldiers that Jodi had recruited. As time went on, they would bad mouth her, trying to expose her evil ways but for some damn fucking reason, I defended her. I’m so stupid! I can’t believe I didn’t listen to them"

Tina shook her head, "Sweetie, you were in love with her . . people are sometimes blinded by that. Its hard to see the bad in someone you care deeply for"

Bette nodded and was amazed by Tina’s understanding. She thought the blonde would be upset but she ended up surprising Bette again.

"As time went on, I started to see more and more what they were talking about. We started to rebel, go against her word a lot and on the day we told her we were going to leave the fortress . . she had us locked up in this chamber where she branded us"

Now Tina was the one to tense up but she was unable to form words. She wanted to listen to the rest of Bette’s story.

"Whoever bears her brand shares a connection with her. If she’s hurt, they hurt. If she’s killed, they die as well. Once Shane, Dana and I realized this, we did everything we could to escape. Each time we failed, we received a beating but that didn’t stop us from trying"

Tina clenched her jaw tightly in anger. She wanted to make Jodi pay for what she had done to Bette and Shane. She only hoped there was a way to kill her . . there had to be something . . something they were overlooking.

Before Tina could ask however, the last part of Bette’s sentence caught her attention. She mentioned three women yet she had never met the third. Dana was unaccounted for.

"Whatever happened to Dana? Did she go somewhere else after you all escaped?"

Bette froze as she replayed the day they escaped. She felt a soft hand stroke her cheek and she inhaled deeply. Bette looked into Tina’s concerned eyes and almost smiled at how much her lover cared for her. She ended up crying instead.