by Leilani Love
Liam grinned back. "Nothing we weren’t able to handle. Let's get out of here."
Carefully backing out, he turned and drove back down the overgrown road. When they finally got to the main feeder road, Liam glanced at Emily. "Where should we go?"
“Turn left, then make a right about a mile up the road. There’s an abandoned barn we can use to put Hunter in the trailer without being seen."
Following her directions, Liam saw the barn before even making the right turn. One barn door was off its hinges, leaving enough room for him to pull the truck and trailer inside so they could move his son.
“We’ll need to be fast," Emily said before opening her door and sliding out of the truck. "I’ll take care of the girl."
"Girl?" Liam and Talon both said at the same time, staring at the door as Emily closed it.
Chapter 15
Emily walked around the back of the trailer and removed the pin holding the door closed. The first tug opened it just enough that a very thin person could slide in. The second tug was harder, and the piercing screech as the door protested being forced wider than it had in years made her wince.
The inside was dark, and Emily could feel the fear of the young woman hiding. "It's okay. You’re safe now."
Before she could hoist herself up, Liam came around the trailer. "Girl? What girl?"
Soft sounds of rustling in the back of the trailer caused his head to whip around. "What was that? Who’s in there?"
His nostrils flared, and he frowned as he looked down at Emily.
"Liam, go help your sons. You’re scaring her." Emily bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing as his mouth opened and closed several times. He narrowed his eyes down at her then put his hands on his hips and mumbled, "Fine."
Emily waited until he stomped off before letting out a giggle. "It's okay, my child. He went to the front. I'm coming in, okay?"
She continued to raise herself up to enter the trailer, betting the poor thing was holding her breath, pressing as tightly as she could against the wall.
Emily’s eyes started to adjust to the darkness. "I promise you’re safe now. No one will hurt you." She kept her voice low as she stepped forward.
"I will never be safe." The words were barely a whisper, and Emily’s heart tugged at the anguish in her voice.
"I promise you things will get better. You are a survivor," Emily said with conviction.
There was a long pause before she finally heard some shuffling and the girl stepped out of the back of the trailer into the light.
Emily kept her face neutral as she looked over the girl. Her left eye was swollen, her lip was split, and she was pretty sure the bruise on her throat was a handprint. Without looking any lower, she wondered if the girl was bruised from head to toe. When Emily inhaled, she could smell the girl, a mixture of sweat, dirt, and sex. It made Emily want to cringe. The girl might have been twenty, maybe twenty-one. Plastering a small smile on her face, Emily said, "Come, dear. They are going to need to use the trailer."
Emily stepped down first then turned back and reached up to help the girl down. She hesitated for a beat before taking Emily’s hand and slowly stepping down. There was no mistaking the small cry of pain that left her lips as she wrapped her free hand around her ribs.
In the light, Emily got to look at the rest of her. Her shirt and shorts were both torn and just as filthy as she was, revealing even more bruises as she stood in her bare feet.
Any moment now, the boys would be coming around the corner carrying Hunter. He was still in his bear form and should be shifting soon. "Come. Let’s get you something else to wear."
Emily gently put her hand on the girl’s back and walked her around the other side of the truck. Searching through the container they stored clothes in, Emily took out a pair of sweatpants and a shirt and handed them to her. "Put these on. They will be big on you, but that's okay."
"Thank you," the girl whispered before moving to the front of the truck to get dressed.
When the girl stepped back around holding up the sweatpants, Emily gave her a smile. "You are going to see and hear things you are not going to understand. I need you to know we will protect you."
She nodded, and Emily opened the truck door, reached into the cooler in the back, and grabbed a water. "Why don't you sit back here? I’ll be right back."
Without waiting for the girl to respond, Emily took the last of the clothes to the trailer just in time to see Hunter shift back into his human form. He looked thin. Even thinner than he had before she escaped. They were running out of time. "You are going to need to tie him up and gag him quickly. He’ll be waking up soon."
Liam nodded and took the clothes from her, a single tear sliding down his cheek. Emily's heart ached for his pain as she whispered, "We’ll save him."
The three of them made quick work of dressing Hunter before carefully binding his legs and hands. Using a handkerchief and a rope, they carefully gagged him. If he were to start shouting, someone would hear him, and they would have more to worry about than just witches chasing them.
With Hunter tied, the four of them stepped out. Emily turned to face the others, knowing they had questions.
Dominic asked first. "Who’s the girl?"
Keeping her voice barely above a whisper, Emily shrugged and answered honestly. "I don't know her name. Just that she is important and needs our help."
Liam rubbed the back of his neck. "I can smell her in there. She is cut and with child. We can't kidnap her."
"We’re not kidnapping her. We are freeing her from her abusers. Her and her child's only chance of surviving is with us," Emily said, looking at each of them in turn. The indecision on their faces was clear to see.
Before they could voice their protest, Emily said, "She doesn’t know she’s pregnant, so don’t tell her. Now, we have to go. Aura is not so far behind that we can sit here and debate. Plus, we don’t need anyone realizing the girl is missing before we get back on the main road. And don’t scare the poor thing by staring at her bruises."
"Great, so we added crazy backwoods folk to the people chasing us," Talon mumbled as he crawled into the back of the trailer to sit with his brother.
Emily bit back a smile as she walked to the truck and sat with the girl in the back, leaving Liam and Dominic to sit up front.
Emily smiled. “My name is Emily. This is Liam and his son Dominic. We are taking Liam’s youngest son, who is very sick, to a healer in Colorado. What’s your name?”
Rage flashed across both Liam’s and Dominic’s faces as they took in the girl’s bruises. Her eyes widened in fear, and she curled into herself, trying to be smaller. “Madison,” she whispered.
Emily patted her hand, and the men both nodded before silently turning back to the front. Liam started the truck then pulled out of the barn and onto the feeder road. Both Liam and Dominic continued to glance in the side mirrors, keeping an eye out.
Before they reached the on-ramp back to the highway, Dominic gestured toward the side mirror. “It’s too far away to tell, but I think that’s the truck that was parked next to the trailer.”
Madison whimpered and tried see the truck, only to have her view blocked by the trailer. “Please don’t let them take me.”
Even from her seat, Emily could see Dominic’s jaw clench, and Liam’s grip on the steering wheel tightened to the point where his knuckles turned white. Emily said, “Madison, I need you to trust us. We will keep you safe.”
Madison turned and looked at her. Her pupils had dilated so much, her eyes appeared black. “They’ll kill me. They told me they’d kill me if I ever left. I shouldn’t have hidden in the trailer last night. I just didn’t want…” Her words ended in a sob, and she shook so hard, Emily worried she’d hurt herself.
Emily wrapped her arm around Madison and pulled her close. She felt a stab of guilt before she placed a hand on Madison’s back and whispered, “It’s time to sleep.”
Madison’s body was so weak and mentally
tired, the girl’s eyes closed almost instantly, and Emily adjusted her so she could sleep comfortably.
“Will you quit putting people to sleep!” Dominic exclaimed as he turned back and looked at her.
“Her body needs to rest, and you two were not dealing well with her fear,” Emily pointed out.
“She was scared of us but terrified of the idea of those men getting her back,” Liam said, meeting her eyes in the rear-view mirror.
“Can you blame her?” Emily asked. “You two are huge, but those men back there are monsters.”
Liam glanced in the side mirror. “Do you think they will find us?”
“They’ll be a worry for another day,” Emily said, gesturing out the window toward a swarm of insects that flew straight at their windshield. “Right now, we have more pressing issues.”
“Is she close?” Liam asked as he turned on the wipers.
“This is just a warning, letting us know she hasn’t forgotten about us,” Emily said, jumping when a large insect hit her window.
“The girl would have been safer where she was,” Dominic mumbled under his breath.
Emily looked at Madison and shook her head. “No. She wouldn’t have.”
They rode in silence for the next few hours. Madison eventually moved so her head was in Emily’s lap. Emily stroked her hair, pulling out pieces of hay and grass. The girl needed a good bath.
When it was time to fill up on gas, they agreed to get food and pull down to a park they found on the GPS. The sky was overcast and looked like rain, keeping most people inside the small town.
Liam filled up the tank, and Emily went inside with Dominic. They heard Hunter moving inside, fighting against his restraints, and decided it would be best to keep the doors closed until they got somewhere private.
Dominic placed their order at the burger place attached to the gas station. When the two of them moved to wait for their order, he leaned against the half wall and kept his voice low. “What are we going to tell the girl when she sees my brother back there or we run into the witches chasing us?”
Emily tried not to smile. She knew his push back was from worrying about Hunter. “You know, despite all your grumbling, I know you would never leave that girl alone with those men. There was no one in that town who would have helped her. Not even the cops. And I can’t tell you why yet, but she is important. We’ll figure out what to say.”
He stood straight and towered over her, his eyes meeting hers. It was supposed to be threatening. After all, he was easily two feet taller than her and almost all muscle, but she could see his heart and knew he was more bark than bite. She gave him a bright smile, which made him frown. “I feel like your mother once told you if you kept making that face it’d get stuck that way.”
Before he could reply, the cashier called out their number, and Emily winked at him. “Come on, everyone’s hungry and Talon is eager to be out of the trailer and stretch his legs.”
Emily went to pick up the drink carrier. She noticed how the girls behind the counter were giggling as they looked at Dominic and how the boys puffed up their chests and tried to walk taller. Dominic took the bag from the girl, who could have barely been eighteen. He winked and said, “Thank you.”
The young girl turned red and looked away as she stammered, “You-you’re welcome.”
When they walked outside, Emily shook her head. “I can’t wait until we meet your mate.”
Dominic stopped in his tracks and frowned at her. “Why do you say that?”
Emily grinned. “Because I have a funny feeling it will be about time for a girl to tell you no and not get as giggly as the one in there.”
Dominic chuckled. “What makes you think she won’t?”
Emily snorted as she shook her head and continued to walk to the truck.
“Wait—what are you trying to say?” Dominic called after her, his voice going up an octave.
She laughed and handed Liam the drink carrier so she could get in the truck. As a grumpy Dominic got in the front seat, Liam looked at her, raising an eyebrow in question.
Emily shrugged. “Your son is just panicking that his mate won’t be falling at his feet like the rest of the women he meets.”
Liam laughed at her words. His eyes sparkled before he closed her door and got into the front to drive them to the park.
It didn’t take Madison long to start moving once the smell of food filled the cab. She stretched and her stomach grumbled, sounding much like a bear. She put her hands on her stomach right before her eyes sprang open. She sat up quickly, looking around, her eyes almost as large as her face.
Emily gave her most reassuring smile as she kept her voice low and soothing. “You’re okay. You just fell asleep. We’re about to pull over and eat some food at the park ahead. Okay?”
Madison nodded, and Emily patted the girl’s hand, trying to think of the best way to tell her about Hunter. Dominic frowned and rubbed the back of his neck, his frustration clear to see. Emily met Liam’s gaze in the rearview mirror, and he smiled and winked at her which made her heart do a tiny flip. He believed in her.
The park entrance was nestled off the road where no one would be able to see them if they just drove by. There would only be a few minutes of warning if someone entered the park from the main road, so everyone needed to stay alert.
Parked, Liam and Dominic looked at Emily for direction. “Madison and I are going to go the restroom. Would you mind putting our food on the table?”
Liam raised his eyebrow and glanced at Madison. Emily gave him a small nod, letting him know she would take care of it. After both had used the facilities, Madison washed her hands and looked at herself in the mirror. She was still moving carefully and flinched every time she moved her arm too much.
“Madison, I’m going to tell you something you probably won’t believe, but I need you to trust me enough not to run, okay?”
Madison froze, her face paling even through the dirt and grime. When Madison’s hands began to shake, she brought up her arms and wrapped them around her waist. “Are you gonna hurt me?”
Emily wanted to reach out to comfort the girl, but she knew stepping any closer would cause her to retreat more. “No, child. I promise I’m going to keep you safe. I just need to explain some things you are about to see. I promise no one will harm you. I told you earlier that Liam’s younger son is sick, and we are trying to take him to a healer.”
Madison swallowed and nodded, her eyes darting around as she tried to look for an escape.
Emily continued, “His sickness is not natural. In essence, he has been drugged. One of the reasons we bought the trailer was because we needed to keep him from hurting himself and others if he tries to go back to the woman who’d been drugging him. Do you understand?”
Madison tilted her head slightly. “So…he’s an addict?”
Emily pursed her lips as she thought about it. “Yes. Very much like an addict. One of his brothers is sitting with him, and we should hopefully be with the woman who can help cure him sometime tomorrow.”
Madison visibly relaxed.
“The woman who was drugging him…she’s very dangerous and,” Emily paused, trying to think of the right word before finally just saying, “powerful.”
Madison frowned, her brow wrinkled and lips pursed as she processed the words. “I will do what I can to help.”
Emily smiled. “Thank you. Let’s go eat before our fries get cold…or the others get hungry and eat them.”
Madison’s face softened and she gave Emily a lovely smile before following her out of the bathroom. One table had a bag and two drinks on it, but the men were nowhere to be seen. Based on the noises she heard, they were in the back of the trailer. And based on the string of loud swear words coming from the back, trying to feed Hunter was not going well.
“I will kill you for this! Let me go!” Hunter shouted so loudly, Madison jumped.
Madison looked at the trailer and frowned. “Should we try to help them?”
/> “Let’s eat first, then we can try to help. You need to gather your strength as well.”
Chapter 16
Liam took a step back and looked at Hunter. He barely recognized him. His cheeks had sunken in, making his brown eyes look bigger and his cheekbones stick out. Despite how thin he was, Liam worried he would find a way to break the ropes as he pulled on them.
Without looking away from his brother, Dominic shook his head. "I don't think we’re going to get him to eat."
Liam took a deep breath and then let it out slowly as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't think he can afford not to eat. Let's go ahead and eat our food, then we can try again. Maybe the smell will make him more agreeable."
Talon snorted as he took a seat on the edge of the trailer, his feet hanging over the side. Liam joined him, leaning against the wall, and Dominic sat across from him, crossing his legs at the ankles as he stretched out. "How do you think Emily explained this to the girl?"
Liam shook his head. "I have no idea, to be honest."
Everyone got lost in their own thoughts as they finished their food. A soft shuffling of feet on the concrete made Liam’s ears twitch before a soft breeze brought in Emily's scent, calming his bear.
"Were you able to get him to eat?" Emily asked as she and Madison came to stand in front of them.
"Not one bite." Liam stood and offered her his hand, helping her up when she approached the trailer.
Madison stepped forward, and Talon offered her his hand. With extreme care, he helped her into the trailer. Madison winced before she pulled back so she could wrap her arms around her ribs. Her eyes averted, she moved away from Talon and whispered, "Thank you."
Liam’s jaw hardened, and a glance at his sons showed them both barely holding back anger, too. The only thing keeping them from turning around and beating the shit out of everyone who lived at the house Madison had come from was the limited time they had to save Hunter.
Madison avoided looking at any of them directly until her eyes landed on Hunter. A look of sympathy crossed her face, and she took a step forward. Before any of the men could react, Emily stopped her by putting a hand on her arm. "Don't get too close. He’s still very unpredictable."