Chapter Three
“She’s bruised and filthy but I don’t see any injury that would keep her from coming out of here,” Sparrow said after looking the girl over. “How about I go on up, you can hand her up to me, then we’ll get you out of here.”
Ashes glanced at Sparrow, then turned back to the woman. He wondered what she’d been through. Could he get her to let him touch her? How would they get her out of there if she wouldn’t?
“Will you let us lift you out of here? There’s food, water, and more clothes up there.
And someone more qualified than Sparrow to make sure you’re okay.
” He moved slowly so not to startle or scare her as he extended one hand in her direction.
“It would help if I had something to call you, what’s your name? ”
“M-Miranda,” she whispered.
“Miranda, will you let me lift you out of here? Then we can make sure you’re all right and see about finding your family.”
She pulled back in on herself, and whispered, “No.” Almost unheard.
“All right,” Ashes kept his voice gentle and he hoped, soothing.
“If you don’t want us to find your family, then we won’t.
It’s that easy, Tiny Warrior. We aren’t going to force you to talk to them.
We’ll do what you need. That’s what this is about.
You.” He curled his fingers slowly, trying to convince her to let him help her out of this hole.
“Can I help you out of here? Can we get you some food and make sure all your wounds are taken care of?”
Slowly, she moved toward him. He stayed where he was and let her come to him. He didn’t want to scare or spook her, so he stayed as still as he could.
“Thank you,” he breathed, knowing only she would hear him.
He hadn’t expected the full sensation in his chest when she put her hand in his.
It made him want to be there, to protect her, to do whatever she needed to get her through this.
Moving slowly to keep from scaring her, he gently wrapped his arms around her and held her for just a moment.
Looking down at the top of her head, he wondered what color her hair was.
They needed to get her a shower. They were only a couple of hours from the clubhouse but he hated the idea of her staying like this.
“Let’s get you out of here, Little Warrior.
Then we’ll worry about the rest.” He moved until they were below the opening then looked up to make sure Sparrow was in place.
His brother nodded that he was ready. “All right. This might hurt a little but it’s the fastest and easiest way to get you out of here.
It won’t last long then we’ll do our best not to hurt you again, okay, Miranda? ”
She stared at him with wide eyes for a second, then seemed to realize he was waiting for a response. Miranda nodded then tucked her chin against her chest, as if she was waiting for a blow to fall.
“Can you hold your arms up over your head? Reach for him,” Ashes said, going down on one knee. “Then step here,” he patted his thigh, “and let him pull you up.”
“What about you?” she asked.
“Once you’re up and safe, he’ll pull me up too.”
Miranda’s eyes went wide. “He’s that strong?” A shudder went through her, making him wonder what she was thinking.
“We can do this. Are you with me?”
She met his gaze. Ashes watched her set her mind to this. She could do it. She nodded. He wanted to stand, to pull her into his arms again, but they had to get her out of here. That was the first priority. He held out one hand.
“Here, take this hand, step up on my leg, and reach for Sparrow. Catch his hand and he’ll pull you up.”
She did as he instructed and in seconds, she disappeared through the hole he’d come down to find her. A moment later Sparrow was back.
“Ready?” he said extending one arm.
Ashes shook his head. “Step back. I can do this easier on my own.” When Sparrow was out of the way, Ashes jumped and caught the edge of the floor with his forearms held flat.
It took him a moment and a little maneuvering but he managed to lift himself up and out of the space.
By the time he sat on the edge of the hole, he glanced around and found Miranda a few feet away, her eyes wide in what looked like panic, as she watched him.
“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere,” Ashes said to her before turning to Sparrow.
“Did they search the place? I want any and all evidence of this,” he waved one hand toward the hole where his feet still dangled, “and what he was doing with these women collected and taken with us. Anything that might be relevant, take it. We won’t be able to come back for more because when we leave, we’re torching the place. ”
Sparrow nodded then went to relay the message with Goliath. Ashes pushed himself to his feet and went to where Doc was asking Miranda questions but not having much luck getting answers.
“You can tell him,” Ashes kept his voice soft, the same soothing tone he’d used before they’d gotten her out from that pit. “Doc is a friend and he won’t do anything to hurt you. If he does, he’ll have to deal with me. He won’t talk to the hospital if you don’t want him to.”
She stared at him for a moment, as if not sure she could believe him.
“I know some of these are hard questions, even if they might not seem like it at first.” Doc spoke in an uncharacteristically gentle voice, as if he knew his usual gruff way would scare the girl. “Do you hurt anywhere now?”
Miranda shook her head.
“Not even all these bruises?”
“They’re sore if they’re hit, but they don’t hurt all the time.”
“Good to know. What’s the last date you remember?” Doc asked. It took everything Ashes had to keep his mouth shut and let Doc handle this. He knew what he was doing, Ashes needed to trust him.
Miranda tilted her head to one side. “I don’t remember the exact date but it was after classes let out but before Memorial day, so sometime in mid-May.”
Doc nodded as if she hadn’t given a date roughly six months or maybe eighteen months prior, depending on the year she disappeared. Ashes clenched his fists, but bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying anything.
“Can you tell me what happened after you were taken? Do you remember being taken?”
“Some, but it’s not clear. I went out on a date. He seemed like a nice guy, we had dinner and I went home. I remember going to bed, but when I woke, I wasn’t in my bed. I wasn’t in my apartment or anywhere I knew.”
“Were you down there?” Ashes couldn’t remain silent any longer.
“No. I was in a room with real walls and a floor. There was a bed and a toilet. He didn’t put me down there until after I tried to escape.”
“Did he ever say what he was planning? Tell you what he was going to do?”
“He said he was training me.” Miranda’s voice was so soft Ashes barely heard her at first, but the longer she talked, the stronger her voice grew. “I thought he was going to rape me. I thought I was going to die.”
“He didn’t?” Ashes asked, needing to know but not wanting to say it. He’d assumed she’d been sexually assaulted but hadn’t wanted to ask, even though they needed to know so they could get her the right help.
“How did he train you?” Doc asked, scowling at Ashes as if telling him to shut up or get out. Ashes ignored him and turned back to Miranda, waiting for her to answer.
“With pain. He seemed to get off on it. He hurt me in different ways, sometimes with his fists, sometimes he’d use a paddle, sometimes something that looked like those long-handled things they used on horses, like I used to see in the old movies my grandfather would watch.”
Doc’s scowl deepened.
“Did he ever break the skin with it?”
She nodded. “He used to leave cuts all the time, but not so much anymore.”
“How often did this happen?”
“I don’t know. I lost track of time. I don’t even know how long I was down there.” Miranda looked toward the hole in the floor.
“Don’t worry about that right now. Is there anyone we can contact? Do you have any family looking for you?”
Miranda shook her head. The tears in her eyes were impossible to miss. There had to be more to that story, but he wasn’t going to ask now. There were more important things they had to know.
Doc continued to talk to her, calming her as he checked her over, or at least the parts they could see.
“How are you feeling?” Ashes asked after Doc had declared her sound enough to make the trip back to the Sons of Sin MC clubhouse.
“Like I’m dreaming. Like any minute I’m going to wake up and be back in that hole again.”
“You’re not, but that’s okay. We’ll get you away from here. Get you somewhere you can feel safe, somewhere you can heal and start over if you need to.”
Ashes watched her, trying to read her expression.
All he saw was fear. He didn’t know if it was because she was so afraid nothing else showed or if that was all she felt.
Either way, they’d get her out of here, get her better, then see what she wanted to do with her life.
She was young, she still had a lot of life ahead of her.
She could get past this, he had no doubt.