28. Chapter Twenty-Six
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
ECHO
E cho’s head whipped to the entrance. Daddy was standing there, looking directly at her. What was he doing here?
“Do not fucking touch her hair,” he growled.
She turned her head to Malaika. “Please, I need it gone. I need it off my head,” she begged.
Malaika looked between her and Daddy, her face torn.
“Please.”
“Echo,” Daddy growled.
“I need it gone.” She turned toward him. “I need it gone. I can’t have it on my head anymore. I need it gone!”
Echo was becoming hysterical. She needed the hair gone so she could scrub her body clean. She needed it off.
“Little Bit,” Daddy gently said, stepping closer to her.
“I need it gone,” she whispered, tears running down her face. “Please, I just need it gone.”
“What happened, Little Bit?”
She tugged on her hair, ignoring his question. “Daddy, I need it gone.”
He shook his head. “We aren’t going to do anything in this state. Come with Daddy back to the clubhouse and we can talk about this.”
“No, I need it gone,” she sobbed.
Daddy took another step closer to her as she continued to tug on her hair. It was a reminder that anyone could use it to control her.
“Little Bit,” he softly spoke.
“Please, Daddy,” she whimpered. “I just need it gone.”
He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. Sobbing, she clung to his shirt as he picked her up.
“I’ll take care of her. Thank you for the call,” Daddy said as he started to walk.
“No, Daddy!” she whined. “I need it off. Please! I need to cut it!”
But Daddy didn’t stop. She felt the cold breeze against her skin, making her shiver and bury herself into him.
“Daddy’s got you,” he whispered. “Daddy is right here, and I’m going to make everything better.”
She shook her head. “I need my hair gone,” she sobbed.
Daddy placed his hand around her neck, holding her closer to him. “We aren’t going to cut your hair,” he whispered.
She continued to bawl into his chest.
“Daddy’s got you. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
But something had happened to her. Something horrific.
“Is she okay?” Xavier asked.
She buried her head further into his chest as she continued to cry. Daddy’s grip around her neck tightened, holding her in place.
“She will be. Can you call Doc and have him meet us in my room?”
Whimpering, she tried to push against Daddy’s hand, though her attempts were weak.
“You’re okay,” Daddy gently said. “Doc needs to look you over.”
But she didn’t want him to come into the room. She didn’t want anyone near her.
“N-no,” she whimpered again.
“I know, Little Bit, but Daddy needs Doc to look you over and make sure everything is okay.”
“I’ll get Doc. Text me if you need anything else,” Xavier said.
Chatter filled her ears as Daddy started to move again but quieted as they stepped into the clubhouse. Her grip tightened against his shirt.
“Shhh, you’re okay,” he whispered. “Daddy is right here.”
The noise picked up again, quieter this time as they walked away. Daddy had a firm grip on her, and part of her was thankful for that.
“Daddy’s going to place you on the bed.”
Whimpering, her grip on his shirt didn’t budge as he tried to lay her down. She didn’t want to let go of him. Which was worrying her since she had just been assaulted. The last time this happened, she didn’t want to be touched. Now, all she wanted to do was be held by Daddy.
“Okay,” Daddy agreed. “I won’t put you down. But Daddy is going to sit, so when Doc comes in, it’s easier for him to check you over.”
“No.”
“No?” Daddy asked.
She gave a slight nod against his chest.
“That isn’t up to you right now. Daddy said you are getting checked over by Doc, and that is final.”
Echo blinked back the tears that were forming. She didn’t want to be touched by another person. She didn’t want to answer questions. She didn’t want anyone else near her.
“Knock. Knock,” Doc said.
She whined and pushed her head into Daddy’s neck. There was no time for her to prepare for this. How did Daddy think she was going to do?
“You’re okay,” Daddy whispered. “You can come in.”
“Xavier didn’t tell me anything other than you needed me. I brought my bag.”
“I need you to look over Echo for me. I don’t know what happened, but she has a bruise on her cheek,” Daddy explained.
Before she could do anything, Daddy turned her so she was facing out. She squealed, trying to push her body around so she didn’t have to see Doc.
“Please, no,” she begged.
“You’re okay. Doc will just take a quick look and ask you some questions.”
Her whole body grew stiff. Questions . He was going to ask questions, which meant Daddy was going to have questions and may throw her out.
“Open your mouth,” Daddy commanded.
She opened her mouth, and Daddy stuck two fingers in.
“Suck.”
Without thinking, she started to suck, feeling herself start to relax in his embrace.
“Such a good girl. Daddy’s good girl. Doc is going to look over you now.”
She whined around his fingers but continued to suck as Doc came closer to her. Her eyes were trained on him as he knelt in front of her.
“Hi, Echo,” he gently said.
She sucked on Daddy’s fingers harder and faster. Doc raised his hand, and she pushed herself into Daddy, not wanting to be touched.
“She doesn't like to be touched. Makes her skin crawl,” Daddy explained.
Doc raised his eyebrow. “Doesn’t like to be touched?”
“Besides me. Everyone else, her skin crawls.”
Doc nodded and moved his head, looking at her. “I’ll see what I can do, but I may need to touch her depending on her answers.”
Echo grabbed some of Daddy’s shirt behind her, holding it for dear life. She didn’t want to answer any of his questions. She wanted to be left alone to cut her hair in peace and alone.
“Can you answer some questions for me?” Doc asked.
She blinked as she used Daddy’s fingers like a paci. He pulled his fingers out, and she whined, turning her head to grab them with her mouth again.
“Echo, Little Bit. I need you to answer his questions truthfully,” Daddy whispered. “Can you do that for Daddy?”
Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she shook her head. If she did, then Daddy wouldn’t want her anymore. She just needed to push everything down and pretend it was okay.
“Little Bit, please. Daddy and Doc need to know what happened.” He cupped her face.
She shook her head once again. Fear was rolling through her as she thought about uttering the words.
“Daddy isn’t going to be mad about what happened. I don’t know what it was, but I don’t care. I still want you. I want you for the rest of my life.”
He wouldn’t want her after she explained everything.
“Can you look at Daddy?”
She shook her head.
“Look at Daddy,” he commanded.
Her eyes connected with his.
“Good girl. Daddy wants you to know that no matter what, I will still want you. I’m not going to get rid of you. You, Little Bit, are mine forever. We’re stuck together. Understand?”
She blinked.
“Understand?”
Echo nodded.
“I want words, Echo.”
“Yes, Daddy.”
He smiled. “Now, can you tell Doc and me what happened?”
Tears pooled before running down her face. Daddy pulled one of her hands off his shirt and held it.
“You’re okay. Take your time.”
She took a deep breath in. “I got.”
Echo shook her head.
“You’re okay,” Daddy gently said. “You’re okay. Take a deep breath for Daddy. Hold. And slowly let it out. Such a good girl.”
Echo hadn’t even realized her breathing started to pick up.
“Can you start from the beginning?” Doc asked. “Where were you?”
“Coffee shop,” she whispered. “I was at the coffee shop, Rainey’s Coffee shop.”
How could she have been so dumb to fall for it? Echo should have known when Daddy didn’t pick up that it wasn’t him.
“And what happened next?” Doc gently inquired.
“I got a text from Daddy.” She flinched. “But it wasn’t Daddy. I thought it was, but it wasn’t.”
Daddy continued to hold her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze occasionally.
“The person wanted me to come to the clubhouse. I explained that the two MC guys weren’t with me.” Echo shivered as she thought about what happened next. “Tried calling, and you wouldn’t pick up. The person said they couldn’t come to the phone and that I needed to come to the clubhouse right away.”
Echo turned to Daddy. “I promise I thought it was you. I really thought it was you.”
“Shhh, you’re okay,” Daddy kissed her forehead.
“What happened next? Did you leave the coffee shop?” Doc asked.
She nodded. “I walked away from the coffee shop, someone grabbed my hair and pushed me into the alleyway where another man was waiting.”
Daddy started cursing as his grip on her tightened.
“Did they do anything to you?” Doc asked. “I need you to be specific about this. I know it’s hard, but it’s important so I know where I need to look and where I don’t.”
Tears slid down her cheeks. “He had a tight grip on my hair as the other man came out. He only squeezed my breast and down there,” she whispered at the end, feeling embarrassed.
Why? She didn’t fully know.
“Fucking piece of shit,” Daddy growled.
She grew tense in his arms.
“Not you, Little Bit. The pieces of shit that did this to you. I’ll fucking go after them, just like I did the other guys.”
Her eyes went wide. Just like the other guys . But Daddy didn’t know about that. She hadn’t told him; how did he know?
“Daddy, what do you?—”
“Let me look at your breast real quick. You can hold your shirt up,” Doc said.
She shook her head, her focus on Daddy. “He just grabbed it and squeezed. It doesn’t hurt anymore.”
Doc eyed her. “I don’t need to touch it unless it looks injured. Just let me see so I can help you.”
Daddy gently pulled up her shirt, and she looked away. The room was silent as Doc looked at her. Why was it taking so long? Daddy pulled her shirt down, and she relaxed.
“There is going to be some bruising. You can ice it. If it starts to hurt or other symptoms start, contact me immediately,” Doc looked at Daddy before he looked back at Echo. “And the other place… You were talking about your?—”
“Yes,” she whispered. “He didn’t actually touch me. I mean, his hand was down in my pants, but my underwear was still there.”
Echo wanted to puke even though she knew she didn’t have anything in her stomach. He had gotten so close to pulling her pants down, to having his way with her like he wanted. She could have been raped again.
Sobbing, she clung onto Daddy’s shirt and arm.
“Shhh, you’re okay. Daddy is here. I’m going to keep you safe.”
“Okay, that’s good that he didn’t directly touch you. I want you to take a nice warm bath and relax and then wash yourself, okay? The warm water will help soothe your muscles,” Doc explained. “Do you think you can do that for me?”
“We’ll do it. Both of us,” Daddy informed him.
Doc stood up, and Echo couldn’t help but flinch.
“Sorry, Little One,” he gently spoke. “If you need anything, let me know. I’ll stay here for the rest of the day and night in case you need me.”
“Thanks, Doc. I appreciate it.”
She watched him walk out of the room, and Daddy rose with Echo in his arms.
“Let’s go get you cleaned up.”