The Girl Worth Fighting for (The Girl #2)

by Julia Goda

  “There a meat lovers’ somewhere in this pile?” I heard him ask before I watched him open boxes until he found what he was looking for and dug in.

  “You okay?”

  My eyes left Jimmy and the eating and chatting kids and moved to Logan, who had made it to where I was still standing at the mouth of the hall.

  I shook my head. “No. Not even a little bit.”

  He took a step closer, invading my personal space so I could feel his body’s heat even though he wasn’t touching me, and looked down at me, studying my face. “Let’s eat some pizza and watch a movie. Take a load off.”

  I nodded.

  A good and easy night of pizza and a movie with the kids sounded good. I definitely didn’t want to deal with any more drama. Or with all the thoughts that were jumbled up in my head: my mom and what she was about to face, the memories of my father that had surfaced in the past couple of days, Ashley’s disappearance, heart-to-hearts with my boss, and last but not least, Logan and his unwavering determination that I was starting to realize was beginning to break through, no matter if I wanted it to or not.

  Yes, a good and easy night of greasy cheese pizza while watching an action movie was exactly what I needed to clear my mind.

  Chapter 11

  Rainey

  “WALK ME OUT?”

  It was close to eleven. I had sent everyone to bed fifteen minutes ago. Jesse and Logan had stayed to help with the clean up, and it was time to hit the sack.

  God, I was dog-tired.

  Instead of waiting for an answer, Logan took my hand and pulled me behind him.

  “Later, Jimmy. Jesse, you coming?” he said as we walked out the door.

  “Is he your new sidekick?”

  He stopped us at the side of his truck. His mouth was twitching.

  “No. I gotta drop him at the gym to get his car.”

  “Oh.” The twitching turned into a grin. Then he moved closer and cupped my cheeks with both hands, then moved them until his fingers were in my hair and his thumbs were sitting just below my ears.

  “I’ll come get you tomorrow morning and take you to breakfast.”

  I shook my head. “I’ve got my car here.”

  “We can come back and get it after breakfast.”

  “Logan—”

  “Hush, Rainey. I’m taking you to breakfast, where we will talk. We’ll worry about your car later. Now, kiss me goodnight.”

  “You know, just because I promised my mom not to be a bitch to you doesn’t mean I’ll let you boss me around.”

  “You promised your mom not to be a bitch to me?”

  I didn’t answer and glared at him instead.

  “Good to know I have an ally,” he murmured as he leaned closer. I knew he was going to kiss me. I pushed against his hands and he stopped less than an inch from my mouth.

  “We both know you want to kiss me, Rainey. Stop fighting me.” His breath was hot against mine.

  Yes, I wanted to kiss him.

  I had spent more time with him today than I had in the past month combined, and had learned a lot about him. I had misjudged him. Was he a pushy bastard? Absolutely. Was he cocky? Definitely. But he wasn’t arrogant. And he wasn’t a jerk. He seemed to be a genuinely nice guy. I had noticed tonight that the boys respected him. I already knew the girls swooned over him, but he didn’t feed into it, didn’t give them any ideas, but treated them more like he would a little sister. He was respectful and laid back. A fun guy.

  The opposite of what I had thought him to be.

  So I wanted to kiss him, and to my own shock, I knew I was going to let him.

  And so did he.

  I was about to close my eyes when I heard a harsh “Shit” and then running footsteps. Both our heads swung around and we watched as Jesse ran toward the street. Toward what looked to be a person dropping to the ground.

  “Ashley,” I whispered in horror and took off after him.

  When I got to her, she was lying on the ground with Jesse leaning above her. He lifted her head carefully and brushed the hair out of her face. I winced at what I saw.

  “Fuck,” came from Logan, whom I felt behind me then saw move to the other side of her.

  “Shit, Ashley,” Jesse cursed in a tortured whisper.

  “No.” That was me.

  Her face was bruised and bloody. Her lip was split and there was a cut on her temple that was still dripping blood. One eye was swollen shut while the other had tears running out of it.

  “Came after…me…tried…run…but…not fast…enough.” Then she passed out.

  “No, no, no,” I chanted as I watched Jesse pick her up gently.

  “We’re taking her to the hospital,” he ground out, not taking his eyes from her face, and then walked toward the truck without waiting for us to reply.

  I pulled my cell phone out of my back pocket as I hurried after him and called Jimmy. Logan bleeped the locks while he was jogging to the truck, then opened the back door for Jesse to get in. Jesse didn’t let go of Ashley but kept her safely in his arms. I was getting in the passenger side when Jimmy answered.

  “Rainey? What’s wrong? Where are you?”

  “I’m outside. We just found Ashley collapsed in front of the building. We’re taking her to the hospital.”

  “Shit! What happened?”

  Logan started the truck and sped out of the parking lot.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know. But she’s beaten up. Her face is covered in blood and bruises.”

  “Motherfucker!”

  I had to hold on to the dashboard as Logan took a turn.

  “I’ll call Taryn. You take care of our girl and let me know what’s going on.”

  “Okay.” I hung up then turned around. “She still out?”

  Jesse glanced at me and nodded, his jaw set. “I’m gonna kill the motherfucker who touched her.”

  I could see it in his eyes. He was ready to commit murder. I didn’t blame him. I was close to the edge myself.

  Ashley groaned and both our eyes shot back down to her. Her one eye was open and on Jesse. I watched in fascination as Jesse’s face gentled, giving her a soft look as he brushed his fingertips softly along her hairline.

  “You’ll be okay. We’re almost at the hospital.”

  Panic entered her eye and she started to struggle to get out of Jesse’s arms. “No,” she whispered. “No hospital. He’ll find me.” My stomach turned at hearing the terror in her voice. Heat suffused me, and I balled my hands into fists.

  “Shh. It’ll be okay. We’ll take care of you,” I tried to reassure her.

  “Listen to me, Ashley. He won’t touch you. Nobody’s gonna hurt you.” Jesse tightened his arms around Ashley, doing this gently so as not to hurt her. But his voice was firm and unwavering, full of promise.

  Ashley settled and stared up at Jesse. “You promise?” she asked in a shaky whisper.

  “I promise you, Ashley. No one’s gonna hurt you. I won’t let them.”

  She closed her eyes on a sigh and a breathy “Thank you.”

  I turned around to face the windshield. My hands were still in fists and I was grinding my teeth.

  Shit! Shit! Shit!

  I knew something was wrong when she didn’t show up this morning. I should have looked harder, should have asked more kids, should have…

  “Goddamn it,” I hissed under my breath as I continued to scold myself. Then I felt a hand grab my wrist and watched as Logan placed a kiss on the back of my closed fist.

  “Keep it together, baby,” he murmured. “She needs you. Don’t lose it.”

  I took a deep breath and gave him a quick nod as I unclenched my hand. He rewarded me with another kiss before he placed my open hand on his thigh.

  “That’s my girl.”

  Two minutes later, we stopped in front of the emergency room. I swung out my side and opened the back door for Jesse. We hurried inside and were led straight into one of the bays. As soon as Jesse carefully lay Ashley down on a s
tretcher, we were told to wait outside. Jesse’s eyes stayed glued to Ashley until a nurse closed the curtains. We walked to the waiting room, where he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms on his chest, his jaw clenched, his teeth grinding.

  I couldn’t sit down either. So I paced the small room, back and forth, back and forth.

  “Rainey.”

  I stopped. “I knew something was wrong. I should have—”

  Logan grabbed my arms and gave me a slight shake. “This isn’t your fault. You tried to find her. You drove around for hours. That’s all you could do.”

  “I should have tried harder to make her talk to me.”

  Logan shook his head. “She wouldn’t have let you. She would have taken off. You know that.”

  I did know that. Still. I should have figured out a way.

  “I hate this part.”

  His grip loosened and his eyes softened. Then his arms came around me and he held me tightly against him. My arms snaked around his waist, holding him right back. I felt his lips touch the top of my head when he murmured, “I know, baby. I know.”

  We held each other like that for long moments. Moments in which I realized that this felt nice, being held like that. Nobody had ever done that. Not since my dad. My mom gave the best hugs in the world and I was tight with Ben, but this was different.

  Standing in Logan’s arms like this made me feel safe and cherished.

  Protected.

  Supported and understood.

  I took a deep breath, and on the exhale, I let go a little bit more, opened myself up a little further to the possibility of trusting this man. I tightened my hold on him for a few seconds before I leaned back and whispered, “Thank you, Logan.”

  He stared into my eyes, searching.

  Then I saw understanding hit and his eyes get wide before he kissed the tip of my nose and pulled me back against his chest. “You’re welcome, Rainey.”

  By the time a doctor came in, an hour had passed and I had gotten calls from both Taryn and Jimmy. Since I had no news, I promised to call them as soon as I knew what was going on.

  “You waiting to hear on the girl?”

  I stepped forward. “Yes. Ashley. We’re here to find out how she is.”

  “You the ones who brought her in?”

  I nodded.

  “No family?”

  “She’s a runaway. I work at the shelter on the east side of town. We found her outside the building and brought her here.”

  “I see.” I could tell he wasn’t happy with this news.

  “How is she?” This came from Jesse. He’d been waiting patiently for the doctor to tell us, but I could tell his patience was running out.

  “She’s doing okay, all things considered. Her face took the worst of the damage. Nothing is broken, but the swelling is severe and she’ll be in a fair amount of pain for a few days. She has a couple of bruises on her stomach and her wrist is sprained, but again, nothing is broken and there is no internal damage.”

  “Why did she pass out?”

  “She sustained a hit to her temple. And she’s exhausted. The bruises are several hours old and she’s dehydrated. All of that contributed to her losing conscience.”

  His eyes came back to me. “There is one other thing.” He glanced at Jesse then lowered his voice. I braced and could see Logan and Jesse do the same out of the corner of my eye. “She had dried blood between her legs, so we did a rape kit. She wouldn’t tell us, but if I had to judge on what I’ve seen, she’s been violated.” I closed my eyes and hung my head as tears started to blur my vision. No matter how many times this happened, the devastation knowledge like this brought never ceased. But I had to keep it together. Ashley needed me. And Jesse needed me to not lose it. The doctor kept talking. “I’ve admitted her for the night. She’s hooked up to fluids and I gave her something to sleep. She needs rest.”

  I nodded in understanding. “Thank you, doctor.”

  “Can I see her?” Jesse asked.

  The doctor nodded slowly. “For a few minutes. Then I want her to sleep.”

  Without another word, Jesse turned and headed out the door.

  “I better go with him,” I whispered.

  “Go. I’ll wait here.” Logan lifted his chin in the direction Jesse had disappeared. Sadness and fury were shining in his eyes.

  “We’ve got her now. We’ll keep her safe.” There weren’t many things one could say in a situation like that. The only thing we could do was take care of her now.

  “We do, baby. Go,” he whispered on another chin lift.

  The compassion and empathy, as well as the rage burning in his eyes, made me fall for him a little right then and there. But since I couldn’t give any thought to that right now, I gave him a small smile I knew didn’t fully reach my eyes before I turned around and followed Jesse.

  I found him standing next to Ashley’s bed, her hand in his. He didn’t say anything, just watched her lying there with her eyes closed.

  “Is she asleep?” I asked.

  Ashley’s uninjured eye opened and found me. Her lips quivered. I rushed to her other side and took her free hand in mine as I smiled down at her.

  “You’re safe now, honey. We’ll take care of you.”

  “I’m so scared.” Her whisper was breaking my heart.

  A growl made both of us look at Jesse. I caught the shock on Ashley’s face.

  “Easy, Jesse.”

  Ashley tried to pull her hand out of his, but he held on.

  “Jesse—”

  “You know you have nothing to fear from me, Ash. You know I would never hurt you.”

  A few seconds passed until she breathed a quiet “I know.” He squeezed her hand and gave her a proud smile.

  Good lord. That boy was more a man than most of the men I had met or gone out with.

  “Get some rest, honey.” I brushed the back of my fingers against her cheek. “I’ll be back tomorrow.”

  “What’s gonna happen to me?”

  “We’ll figure it out tomorrow. The doctor wants to keep you over night so he can get some fluid into you and you can rest. I’ll be back in the morning and we’ll talk.”

  “You’re not gonna send me back, are you?”

  “Back? On the street? No, honey. You don’t have to live on the streets if you don’t want to.”

  “No.” She shook her head. “I meant back home. You’re not gonna send me back home, are you? I can’t go back there.”

  I clenched my teeth as realization hit me and the puzzle pieces came together. She had been hurt by someone close to her, someone who had come after her. It hadn’t been a random act of violence she fell victim to as a street kid. That’s what she’d meant when she’d said he’d found her before she passed out.

  “No, honey. You don’t have to go back.”

  “Swear?”

  “I swear. But Ashley, you gotta talk to me,” I pushed. In order to help her as best I could I had to know what we were dealing with. If the person who’d hit her was someone from home, living with her, we could make certain she wouldn’t be sent back. We could protect her.

  She gave me a small nod, her eyes hesitant. “I’ll tell you. I wanted to today, but then…” Her lip started to quiver again.

  “Shh. It’s okay. I promise you we’ll figure this out. You trust me?”

  She nodded again as a tear made its way down her cheek. Before I could catch it, Jesse did, making me smile and Ashley’s eye widen in surprise.

  “Good. Trust me to take care of you.”

  “Okay,” she whispered.

  I squeezed her hand gently in mine. “Rest. I’ll be back in the morning.”

  “Okay.” She closed her eyes, and it only took her moments until she was asleep.

  “I want to come with you to pick her up,” Jesse informed me as we walked back to the waiting room after we left Ashley to her rest.

  “You like her, don’t you?”

  “I do, but it’s not just that. There is somet
hing about her that I…I don’t know. I feel…like I need to protect her. Like I did with Chloe, but different.”

  I smiled to myself.

  Oh yeah. He liked her.

  But we had to be careful right now so she wouldn’t run scared.

  “Jesse, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now. She’s timid around boys and men. She doesn’t talk to them.”

  “She talks to me.”

  I looked at him, surprised. “She does?”

  He nodded. “Not much. A few words here and there. A nod. But that’s more than I’ve seen her talk to anyone else.”

  I hadn’t known that. That changed things. It meant she trusted Jesse at least to some degree; she had felt safe with him in the hospital room, knew she had no reason to be scared of him.

  I sighed. “All right. You can come. But you have to promise me to be gentle and mindful. Don’t push her too hard. And you can’t sit in on our talk.”

  Jesse’s teeth were clenched. “I just want to be there for her. I’m not gonna push her to do something she doesn’t want to do,” he ground out.

  I touched his arm. “Relax. I know you’re a great kid, Jesse. I just wanted to be clear. She needs to feel safe and supported, and it looks like she trusts you.”

  He gave me a quick nod, letting me know he understood.

  “All right. Let’s get you home.”

  Chapter 12

  Rainey

  I WOKE UP FEELING A heavy arm on my waist and heat against my back. I was lying on my side, facing the window, the rising sun in my eyes.

  The last thing I remembered was sitting in Logan’s truck on our way back from the hospital. I knew we’d had to stop at the gym parking lot so Jesse could get his car, but I didn’t remember actually doing that.

  Which meant I must have fallen asleep.