Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Cannon
It’s rare for me to get choked up, but I’m having to breathe deeply through my nose to maintain control. This sweet girl doesn’t need me to fall apart next to her. She needs someone to hold her up.
I can’t begin to fathom what she’s been through, but I suspect what happened to her this morning is just one item in a long list of shit.
I’m doing some math in my head. She said she hasn’t had fast food in four years and that she was with a foster family at the time.
Maybe she aged out about that time, which would make her about twenty-two.
Where has she been for four years?
I spot a car on the side of the highway and pull onto the shoulder. When I stop the SUV and turn to her, she’s staring at the vehicle. She makes no move to get out. She shudders and crosses her arms as if she’s cold before whispering, “I can’t believe I let him take me.”
I reach over and gently grip her shoulder.
“You couldn’t have known, angel. Guys like him can con anyone.
In fact, I know a lot about that particular asshole.
I’ve been watching him for two weeks. My team dug into his past, angel.
He was a very bad man. You’re not the only person he lured into his home. ”
She looks over at me. “June. His wife.”
“Yes, but she’s just one of many, and she left him three years ago. She’s been in hiding all that time, afraid he would find her. When she found out he was holding you hostage, she did everything in her power to get to you in time.”
My girl gasps. “She came here for me?”
“Yes. If we had discovered she’d taken off to get to you even one minute later, things might not have turned out the way they did. We stopped her just outside the house.”
My angel’s eyes go wide, and she covers her mouth. “She doesn’t even know me.”
“She didn’t need to know you. She’s got a heart of gold.”
“She would have come back to her abuser and traded her life for a stranger?”
I slide my hand up to stroke her cheek with my thumb…and take a risk. “Wouldn’t you go back to your abuser to save a stranger?”
Her jaw tightens. She stares at me for a long time. Finally, she licks her lips. “Yes.”
I smile at her. “It’s human nature.”
“Not for everyone,” she points out.
“No. Not for everyone. Some people are plain evil. But good people like you would do nice things for others.”
“How do you know I’m a good person?” Tears return to slide down her cheeks.
I set my other hand over my heart. “I can feel it…in here, angel. I know you’ve been dealt a very fucked-up hand in life.
I also know none of it was your fault. You deserve a break.
That piece of shit, Stark, may have scared the fuck out of you for several hours today, but it’s over.
I’m here now. Today, you get a new start. ”
Her tears flow harder. She sobs. “You can’t mean that. You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know everything I need to know about you, angel. I’m good at figuring people out.”
“What if I’ve done bad things?”
“Then I’m certain you had a good reason to do them, and whatever you’ve done, you did to stay alive.”
She lifts her hand and wipes her face on her sleeve. “I’m in trouble, Cannon.”
“I know you are, angel. But we’re going to get your stuff out of that car, move it to mine, and then I’m going to take you home with me. You’ll be safe there. I promise.”
“I’ll never be safe,” she argues, another sob escaping.
I grip her chin. “You will,” I insist.
She sniffles. “Just like that? You would take a stranger home with you without knowing what I’ve done?”
“Yep.” I nod toward her car. I don’t really want to linger here much longer.
I suspect someone is after her. She’s obviously on the run.
She’ll tell me who she’s running from when she’s ready.
For now, I want to clear out her car and get someone to tow it as soon as possible.
Whoever is after this precious girl is not going to find a trace of her today.
I release her, open my door, and jump down before rounding to help her out. With my hand on her lower back, I guide her toward the car.
She opens the door to the back seat and leans in. For a long time, she doesn’t move.
I slide my hand up to her neck. “What’s wrong, angel?”
She pulls out of the car, stands, and looks at me. “This is all crap.”
“Then leave it. Just take what matters to you. We can get you more clothes.”
She heads for the trunk, but when she tries to open it, it won’t budge. She keeps pulling on it while I hurry around next to her. Finally, she takes a step back and kicks it, screaming in frustration at the same time. “No, damn you. You do not get to keep my backpack.”
It takes me a moment to realize she’s yelling at the car.
She spins around, fists at her sides, and screams again.
I come up behind her and gently pull her into my arms. “I’m going to get it open, angel. I promise.” I turn from her to make good on my word. Indeed, the trunk seems determined to remain jammed as though it’s mocking her.
“See?” she shouts. “This is my fucking life. I was born with a hex or something. It’s been making fun of me for all of my life.
I can’t take it anymore. I almost begged that asshole to shoot me.
It would have put me out of my misery. For a while, I didn’t care if June never came back.
I wanted to die. If my mouth hadn’t been taped, I would have taunted that fucker until he killed me. ”
I twist around to pull her against me again. Cupping her face, I tip her head back and hold her gaze. “I’m fucking glad you didn’t get your wish, angel, because my life wouldn’t have been complete if I hadn’t met you today.”
She gasps. “You can’t mean that.”
“I mean every word. I know you’re broken, angel.
I can feel it. And I can’t explain it, but I also know you’re mine.
I know it like I know the Earth is round and the sun rises in the east. I don’t say that to scare you.
I say it so you’ll know your bad luck is over.
I’ll say it every day until you believe me.
” I step back, still holding her face. “Now, don’t move.
I’m going to grab a crowbar from my trunk. ”
I release her to jog over to my SUV and return a moment later with the crowbar.
She’s watching me, hands fisted at her sides again. “Will that work?”
“If it doesn’t, I’ll shoot it,” I tease.
Her eyes widen.
“I’m kidding, angel. Sort of. I’ll get it open with this.” I hook it under the latch, give a sharp pop, and grin as the trunk swings open.
My girl rushes forward and looks into the trunk. She reaches in to snatch her backpack and pulls it to her chest as though it’s the most important thing in the world.
“Thank you,” she murmurs.
“You’re welcome, angel. Now, do you want anything else?”
She hesitates. “I guess I should take some of my clothes so I’ll have something to change into.”
“Or…leave it all here and I’ll get you a new closet full of them.”
“You can’t buy me stuff, Cannon. It’s really nice of you to let me spend the night somewhere safe. I’d also love it if you bought me a burger. But you can’t buy me clothes.”
“I can buy you any damn thing I want,” I argue, chuckling.
She looks back at the car. She really doesn’t want to take anything from it. Maybe everything has bad memories. So, I take her hand and lead her away. “Leave it. Let’s go home.”
I help her into the passenger seat, pull the buckle across her to secure her, and round to my side of the SUV. Before starting the engine, I pull out my phone and tap the screen.
Rachell, the office manager who keeps the ship running smoothly at Black Blade Protection, answers on the first ring. “Cannon. What’s up?”
“Can you get someone out here to tow a car away from the side of the highway? I’ll text you the coordinates.”
“On it. Do you want it back?”
“No. I want it to have never existed.” I glance at my girl and lift a brow to make sure I’m giving the best instructions. She slowly nods.
Rachell responds, “What car?” She laughs right before she ends the call.
I smile. In an hour, that car will be history. Hopefully none of the local police, sheriff, or highway patrol have already stopped and run the plates. I doubt it since it doesn’t have a notice under the windshield wipers.
I set a hand on my girl’s knee and give a quick squeeze before starting the engine and pulling onto the highway.
For a few minutes, we ride in silence. When we get to the edge of town, my girl slinks down in the seat. I know she doesn’t want anyone to see her. I’m glad she knows to do so. She’s smart.
“Good girl,” I tell her as we get to the other side of town.
“Eloise,” she whispers.
I jerk my gaze to her. “Eloise… What a pretty name.”
My heart seizes.
Eloise.