Chapter 16 #3
At that, Bria turned to face him head-on. The look of hope on her face made his eyes tear up. Oz didn’t bother to wipe the tears away as they fell down his cheeks.
“I know, I was skeptical too. I mean, it’s not even close to Easter. But that’s what Logan told me to tell you.”
One of his niece’s hands reached toward him, and she touched the wetness on his cheeks. “Why’re you crying?” she whispered. “Are you hungry too?”
God, she was fucking killing him.
Oz shook his head. “I’m crying because I’m so happy to meet you.
Your mom was my sister, and we got mad at each other a long time ago and stopped talking.
Logan said your mom talked about me. I miss my sister so very much.
Just like Logan misses you. Will you come with me to see him?
And see if we can find that Easter Bunny? ”
Oz was never so thankful to Logan for telling him about his code words as he was in that moment. “Mommy told me about Uncle Porter.”
“That’s me,” Oz told her, backing up slightly and holding out a hand.
The second Bria reached for him, Oz was a goner. This little girl had him wrapped around her little finger in seconds. He vowed to do whatever it took to make sure no one ever hurt her again.
He took hold of her hand and waited patiently as she shuffled forward on her knees toward him. The chain around her ankle clanked against the hard plastic of the crate as she moved. Seth and Vanessa hadn’t even bothered to put so much as a blanket inside the cage.
Not caring that she needed a bath, Oz lifted her into his arms as soon as she got close enough. She wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his neck.
Oz felt and heard one of the officers come forward and cut the chain off Bria’s little leg. He stood without any trouble, as his niece weighed nothing at all. He began walking back through the house with Bria clinging to him desperately.
“You’re tall,” she whispered.
“I am, but I won’t drop you,” Oz reassured her. He frowned when she held on even tighter. Shit, he’d said the wrong thing. He hadn’t meant to scare her. But she didn’t try to get out of his arms or flinch away from him, so Oz kept walking. He needed out of this house. Needed Bria out of this house.
He was holding on to his shit by the skin of his teeth.
All it would take is one thing to push him over the edge, and he knew it.
He was seconds away from stalking to the car holding Seth and beating the shit out of him.
The only thing holding him back wasn’t the threat of being thrown in jail, but Bria and Logan. They needed him.
And he wasn’t fucking leaving without his niece. No fucking way.
When he walked out into the sunlight, Oz took a deep breath. He brought a hand up and stroked Bria’s hair. “You’re free, baby girl.”
She lifted her head and stared into his eyes. “Promise?” she whispered.
“Promise,” Oz told her.
“Bree!”
Oz turned to see Logan running toward them. He knelt on the ground and put Bria on her feet, keeping a protective arm around her. He caught Logan gently by the arm and said, “Easy, Slugger.”
Logan’s eyes widened and it was easy to see the anger he was struggling with. But the kid was a trooper, and he pulled himself together.
He gently hugged his sister, then he drew back.
“Are you hungry? I saved you some of my Happy Meal that we got on the way down here. This is Oz, he’s our uncle.
He’s good. You can trust him. And that’s Riley,” he said, pointing behind him.
“She’s awesome too. She lives next door and she’s Oz’s girlfriend.
She stays the night, and they don’t yell at each other at all.
She makes the best breakfasts, although Oz makes better-shaped pancakes.
Oz got me a baseball and glove, and I’m gonna join a team! ”
“You don’t have to tell her every single thing that happened since you last saw her,” Oz chided gently.
Then Logan broke his heart when he said, “But I don’t know when I’ll see her again.”
Oz knew he shouldn’t say what he was about to say…but he did anyway. “She’s coming home with us. She’s gonna live with us from here on out, so you don’t have to overwhelm her with everything right this second.”
“I am?” Bria asked, the hope in her voice almost painful to hear.
“She is?” Logan echoed.
“Um, we need to talk about this, sir,” the CPS employee said from next to them.
Oz shook his head and stood, keeping a hand on both Logan’s and Bria’s shoulders. “No, we do not,” he said, emphasizing each word.
“There’s protocol we have to follow. You can’t just decide you’re taking her and that’s that.”
“She’s my niece,” Oz said between clenched teeth. “You kept the knowledge of her existence from me, and I’m not very happy about that. And now that her father has shown himself to be a piece of trash, I want custody.”
“Be that as it may, we have to investigate the situation, and she might have other relatives who want custody.”
“Investigate?” Oz asked incredulously. “She was chained inside a damn dog crate,” he bit out. He took a breath to continue to berate the woman, but he felt a hand land on his arm.
Riley.
“Breathe, Porter,” she whispered. Then she turned to the CPS employee. “Please excuse Porter, today has been very trying. He wants what’s best for his niece, and right now he’s a little raw.”
The woman’s face lost some of its belligerence. “I think we all are.”
Riley nodded. “He’s still reeling from learning that he even had a niece, then finding her in this condition…it’s a lot. I’m sure there will be paperwork and investigations, but he’s willing to do whatever’s necessary to keep his niece and nephew from being separated again.”
God, she was being so diplomatic, and Oz was even more thankful she was at his side.
An ambulance pulled up at the curb the same time as a pickup truck. Grover, Lefty, and Doc exploded out of the truck and headed straight for them.
Oz could only stare at his teammates in disbelief. He had no idea what they were doing there. He’d obviously been inside the house with Bria longer than he’d thought. And Lefty must’ve driven like a bat out of hell to get down to Austin as fast as he had.
Oz looked at Riley and knew she’d called them. God, the knowledge that she had his back and was looking out for him settled deep in his bones.
He wasn’t letting her go. Not ever.
“Bria needs to go to the hospital,” the CPS employee told him. “Then we need to talk to her…we’ve got a licensed and very competent psychologist who’s standing by.”
Oz didn’t want to be separated from Bree. He’d just found her, and the thought of her being sent off to be poked and prodded by strangers didn’t sit well.
“You can go with her,” the woman added, and Oz breathed a huge sigh of relief.
“Me too?” Logan asked.
Oz looked down and saw that he was holding his sister’s hand tightly. He didn’t seem to care that she was dirty and smelly. He was obviously just happy to be back with her. And Bria was more than content to have her brother by her side too.
“You too,” the woman said with a smile.
Oz knew she was doing her best, but he couldn’t help thinking it was too little, too late.
“I’ll follow the ambulance to the hospital,” Riley told him softly.
Oz regretted that she couldn’t come with him, but knew that wouldn’t be allowed. She wasn’t related to him or the kids in any way. And that thought made a pang of regret shoot through him, but he pushed it back. He had to focus on the here and now.
“I’ll drive Riley,” Grover said, obviously hearing the tail end of the conversation. His eyes were glued to Bria, and Oz could see the anger in his face. Lefty and Doc were also more than pissed as well, but just having them here helped Oz keep a handle on his temper.
“Thanks,” he told his friend.
“She’s a little liar!” Vanessa screamed as an officer opened the back door of the car they’d stashed her in. They pulled her out to move her to a different squad car, and she continued to spew her vile words.
“She had to be taught not to lie! Bria lies about everything! Her imagination is out of control. You can’t believe anything she says!”
Her words only made Oz more determined to take anything Bria said more seriously. Vanessa was a little too desperate for everyone to think the little girl was a liar. The question was…why?
He caught Riley’s eye, and saw she was thinking the same thing as him.
“They did it,” she whispered in disbelief.
Oz nodded grimly. He was pretty sure Seth had killed the mother of his child. He didn’t know why, didn’t really care at the moment, but it was obvious Vanessa was in on it as well.
He felt Bria lean against his leg and looked down.
She was staring at Vanessa in terror, and it killed him.
He got down on his knees and put a finger under Bria’s little chin, turning her head so she was looking at him.
“You look like a very honest little girl to me,” he told her.
“I’ll believe anything you tell me, and you can trust the policemen and women to also believe you.
Don’t be scared now, you’re safe, and I’m gonna make sure you stay that way. ”
He wasn’t sure she believed him and was relieved when Logan chimed in.
“I’ll believe you too, Bree. It’s you and me together, right?”
She nodded.
“Sir?” an EMT asked from a respectful distance.
“How about taking a ride with me?” Oz asked Bria.
“Logan too?”
“Logan too,” Oz told her. He had no idea if that was allowed, but he wasn’t going to separate the siblings. They needed each other right now.
“I’m gonna go get my Happy Meal for her!” Logan exclaimed.
“Hang on, Slugger, I think we need to wait for that, but we’ll get her a fresh one as soon as we can, okay?”
“Say the word and I’ll bring whatever you need to the hospital or police station,” Lefty said.
Oz nodded at him in appreciation.
“I’m gonna pick you up again, Little Red, okay?”
Bria nodded, and Oz leaned over and sighed in contentment when she wrapped her arms around his neck once again. Logan grabbed hold of his sister’s foot and stuck right by his side as he walked to the ambulance.
After he’d reassured Bria and handed her to the EMT, he turned to Riley.
She immediately snuggled into his chest, hugging him hard.
“How can I love her so much after just meeting her?” Oz whispered.
“Because you’re you,” she told him. “She’ll be all right. She has you now. You’ve got this.”
Her trust and belief in him was overwhelming. And exactly what he needed. Oz looked up at his teammates. “Look after her for me?”
“Of course, man,” Grover said. “We’ll see you at the hospital.”
He owed his friends. Huge. Leaning down, Oz kissed Riley briefly. “I love you,” he whispered.
Her eyes widened, and she immediately said, “I love you too.”
This wasn’t how he thought they’d share their feelings for each other for the first time, but it felt right. She’d shown how levelheaded she was in the middle of a crisis. It made him feel amazing to know that she was as strong as he’d always assumed she was.
“If you need anything, just text me,” she said.
“I will.”
“I’ll stop and get Bree some clothes on the way to the hospital.”
Oz hadn’t even thought about that, but he nodded gratefully.
“And you need some too. That shirt is done for.”
Looking down at himself, he saw his polo was smeared with dirt, and he had a feeling Riley was right. If nothing else, he’d never be able to wear it again without thinking about this day, which probably wasn’t a good thing.
“I’m sure the guys know what size you are, so they’ll help me,” Riley went on. “Go. Make sure she’s okay. I’ll talk to the CPS lady and the cops about our suspicions. There’s no way they’ll let that little girl go home with anyone else when I get done with them.”
Oz smiled. Fuck, he loved her. “I’ll see you later.”
“Tell Logan I said he’s an amazing kid. He held it together really well, Porter. I was proud of him.”
“I will.”
“Sir?” the EMT asked. “We’re ready to go.”
Riley backed up and gave him a brave smile. “Love you,” she whispered.
“Love you too. Later.” Then Oz stepped into the ambulance.
Bria looked incredibly small on the gurney.
The EMT had taken off her shirt, and the bruises on her chest made anger rise up within Oz once more.
But then he saw Logan looking scared and worried, and he knew he had to do whatever he could to comfort his nephew.
He sat in the chair the EMT nodded toward and picked up Logan’s hand. As the ambulance began to roll, he squeezed the small hand in his. They’d be all right. All three of them. He’d make sure of it.