Chapter 8 #2
We’re only a few steps in when I hear the loud sound of motors coming down the road, and I push Troy against the wall of the warehouse as they get closer.
“It’s late. If they’re on a joy ride, I don’t want to deal with them,” I breathe in his ear.
“The South apparently parties differently from what I’m used to,” Troy mutters.
“You have no idea,” Lyle snorts.
Three ATVs fly past the building, and one of the guys yells, “Little girl, where the fuck are you? You’re in a world of hurt when we find you! Come out and face the music.”
“What the fuck?” Lyle whispers. “That doesn’t sound good. Let’s check inside the warehouse and then get the fuck out of here.”
“I’ll drop a call to the police too on our way out,” I grumble. I’ve been pissed with my co-workers lately. I work in dispatch because it’s the best way to keep a bead on the crime happening in Savannah.
I have no interest in working as a cop anymore, though I have a lot of friends on the force.
Lyle and Silas hated not knowing if I’d come home or not, and the politics of it made me insane.
I am just involved enough to keep an eye on my city.
However, I’m having a more and more difficult time remaining neutral about all of the bullshit I see, and my filter is getting ready to take a vacation.
“I’m getting the creeps,” Troy mutters. “Let’s go see this broken window.”
Nodding, I walk straight back to where it is and pull my keychain from my pocket to shine my mini flashlight on it.
“I shouldn’t have left those bricks there,” I grumble, stepping over the glass and into the building.
I can see the culprit for what broke the glass laying just inside on the concrete floor.
“That’s what I get for being sloppy. Troy, stick with me.
We’re going to walk around and see who decided to stop by. ”
“You make it sound so simple,” Troy snorts, watching as I put the flashlight in my left hand so I can pull my gun.
“I mean, it’s not tea and crumpets but it’s relatively civil,” I tease him as Silas and Lyle spread out and begin walking with us.
“Hello?” Lyle calls out.
A whimper has me moving quicker, my eyes narrowing as I begin to see drops of blood.
“Don’t step in it,” I caution, moving carefully. That doesn’t necessarily help when I find a body curled up in a pool of blood. “Shit.”
This entire time, I thought the biggest issue was going to be cuts from a broken window but clearly that’s not the case. Ignoring the mess, I squat down and put my gun away. A tangle of dark hair hides her face, and I don’t want to scare her.
“Hey. Where are you bleeding from, honey?” My fingers brush her hair back and she flinches as she cries.
“No, no, please,” she whispers. “Don’t make it worse. Just let me die.”
“We’re not going to be able to do that,” Lyle murmurs, coming closer. Now that we know where she is, we all slowly surround her in an effort to help. “Please let us help you?”
The flashlight shows human teeth marks littering her skin, and the majority of the blood covers her oversized pants. None of the clothing seems to be hers, which pulls more and more questions to my mind.
The men on the ATVs come up quickly because they passed by us, and I wonder what she’s running from.
“Call a doctor, Lyle,” I breathe. “I know I’m asking for a huge amount of trust I don’t deserve, honey, but you’re bleeding a lot. Can you tell me your name?”
“I don’t deserve a name. I’m no one.”
“That’s not true,” Troy says softly, also ignoring the blood as he squats beside me. “Nobodies don’t bleed. If you’ve been dealt a shit hand in life, I don’t know anyone better than these men to help you. Either way, if we don’t get you help, you’re not going to make it.”
“What if I just want to die?” The words are choked out and hoarse, and I wonder if she’s been screaming for long periods of time. This girl looks like she’s been fucking tortured, and she’s too damn thin.
“These aren’t the kind of men who let that happen,” Troy says immediately. I love the way he sees us. It’s true that we try to be the best alphas we can be, but there’s a lot of darkness inside of us as well.
Lyle pulls out a blanket, and I wrap it around her before I lift her out of the blood. It’s way more than seems possible for her body to handle, and I know she needs medical attention immediately.
“Please,” she moans. “I can’t do this.”
“Do what?” I ask softly, standing with Troy beside me as I carry her.
“Be used and hurt again,” she whispers before her eyes slide shut.
Lyle took my flashlight once I picked her up and I stand still as I truly listen to her words.
“Troy.”
“Yeah,” he breathes, staring at the girl with haunted eyes. “She’s been through hell. I can feel it.”
“Are you going to be alright coming back with us?” I ask.
“My own hell doesn’t affect my ability to help others,” he says. “Let’s get out of here. Her passing out may be the best thing for her. She likely won’t believe we’re trying to help.”
“Those assholes from earlier are starting to make a hell of a lot more sense,” Lyle murmurs as he follows behind me with Silas.
“I’ll text someone to come clean the floors so it doesn’t look like a murder scene,” Silas says.
He leaves us to find the plywood, leaning it against the broken window as we leave.
“I’ll get someone to fix this as well. She must have come inside to hide,” Silas murmurs.
“We won’t know much of anything until she’s willing to tell us what happened to her,” I admit.
I haven’t been able to smell anything but the copper scent of blood while in the warehouse. A cool breeze blows past us as we walk, and my nostrils flare in an effort to clear my senses. Instead, I almost trip with the girl in my arms as I inhale the buttery scent of orange blossom.
It’s impossible to tell her age with her hair in her face and how light she is in my arms, but the breeze is telling me something very important that’s going to change the course of my life.
“Jesus, East. Are you okay?” Troy asks, his hand braced on my elbow to make sure I’m not going to trip again. “Fuck. Guys?”
“What?” Silas asks, coming closer to check on the girl in my arms before his eyes widen in surprise. “Shit.”
“What the hell is wrong with you all?” Lyle asks, fixing the strap of the bag on his shoulder. “Easton, do you need me to take her from you?”
“I need you to smell her,” I growl.
“You what?” he scoffs.
Troy’s eyes slide to meet mine, and I can see the realization in his eyes as well.
“She smells like mine, and I think East needs you to see if you feel the same way,” he rasps.
Elbowing Silas out of the way, Lyle places his hand on my shoulders and pushes me into motion again. He’s right. We need to get her medical attention, but my mind is filled with wonder as well as worry.
Leaning forward, Lyle frowns as he breathes in deeply.
“The universe works in very interesting ways,” he growls.
“Whoever hurt this woman is going to be in a world of hurt. For now, let’s get in the car and the fuck out of here.
She was terrified of something, and we don’t have time to deal with whoever is responsible for the look she had in her eyes.
I’ll call Riley once we’re in the car and I’m driving back.
She’s already in your arms, we shouldn’t shuffle her around. ”
“Riley is working at the hospital tonight,” Silas sighs. “I’ll call Dr. Walsh. He has a gentler touch.”
As long as there is a fucking doctor, I don’t care. I keep that thought inside of me as Lyle unlocks the doors to the SUV since he still has my keychain. Troy opens the back door so I can get inside, and I don’t even think about the blood I’m tracking into the vehicle.
Nothing else matters other than the slight weight of the girl in my arms. Her wrists are sluggishly bleeding as I examine them, and her skin is a multicolor slew of bruises telling a complicated story all on their own.
She was definitely being abused, and she was also tied up at one point, based on the burn marks on her wrists and ankles. Fuck. This is so bad.
Troy jogs around as I hold the girl…no, woman. I can clearly tell now that I’m gazing at her that she’s at least in her twenties, and begin to catalog her injuries with the help of the dome light.
“There are bites all over her,” I say, pressing gently on her skin before I shake my head. “She’s dehydrated too, and I can see cuts from a knife in various healing stages.”
“Where’s the blood coming from?” Troy asks, his eyes on her pants. “Fuck, that’s probably a dumb question.”
“Tell Dr. Walsh when you call him that I think there may be sexual trauma,” I add.
Lyle quickly gets the car moving while I monitor my omega’s breathing and Silas calls the doctor.
Lyle drives faster than he probably should, but we’re back in record time.
Dr. Walsh is waiting in the driveway as we bail out of the car, and I’m unsurprised since he spends a fair amount of time at Rosalia’s home.
“Tell me the things Silas didn’t tell me,” he grunts as he follows us inside.
“The possibility that she escaped a kidnapping situation is very high,” I explain, telling him about the men we saw.
“She spoke like someone who has seen terrible things and she begged us to let her die. The area was very rural, perfect for keeping someone hostage. For all I know it’s the new area to traffic people, despite its location.
She’s been whimpering in her sleep as if her body hurts, but I still can’t figure out where she’s bleeding from with her clothes on. ”
“She’s having a miscarriage, Easton,” Dr. Walsh says grimly as he follows me into a bedroom on the first floor. “I can tell from the blood on her pants.”
“That would explain it,” I whisper, uncaring if I have to burn everything on the bed as I lay her down. “What do you need from us?”
“Time,” he grunts, pulling gloves out of his bag as he begins to work. “I also need towels, fresh blankets, and water to clean her up.”
Nodding, I almost run into Troy as he stands behind me, and I gently turn him around and out of the room.
“Easton?”