Chapter 7

“Okay, darlin’ it is, for now.” Justin smiled at her a little.

“It’s my fault, you could have gotten to Marnie, she deserves to be saved, she at least has a family.”

“Hey, don’t think like that,” he reached up to cup her cheek, but she flinched, waiting for a blow. “Don’t worry, darlin’, I’ll make these assholes pay.”

He turned to the cop in the room. “Better get your chief to start sending out a search for this area now.”

“It’s past a creek, I fell in it when I ran away.” She whispered.

Justin turned those smoky gray eyes on her, “Thanks, darlin’, we’ll have them safe and sound soon.”

The young cop rushed to get the chief.

Justin stood up, taking hold of her hand, he pulled out of the interrogation room, “Darlin’, do you know any of their names?”

“No, Burly was the worse and most violent though, he’s one mean man and huge.”

“What were they going to do?”

“The man I bit yesterday was looking at us for his boss, the lanky guy said his boss would take four of us, Marnie and I weren’t on that list,” she squeezed his hand tightly. “He said in four weeks, Justin, I hope they don’t move faster now that I’m gone, I didn’t even think about it.” She stumbled a little, but Justin acted fast and scooped her up into his arms.

He headed to one of the couches and sat down with her in his lap, “Just leave it to me and the cops, everything will be fine.” He rubbed her back.

She laid her head against his shoulder, and exhaustion finally overtook her. Her eyes closed as the feeling of safety rolled over her. She felt lips against her forehead, and then sleep encased her.

Justin held his little darlin’ in his lap as she slept. His gaze flew around him, wondering where his sister could be. She should have been there by then. Just as his gaze roamed over his darlin’s bruised face, he heard the station’s door open quickly.

His gaze darted over and in walked Iris with another woman behind her. He stifled a groan when he saw Holly hot on Iris’s tail.

“Sorry, Justin, she showed up just as I was trying to leave, she yacked forever before I finally got her to shut up, I brought a t-shirt and sweats,” her gaze flitted over the girl in his lap. “What happened?”

“I ran into her out in the woods, she knows where Marnie is, we’re trying to get a good team together to head out there.”

“You won’t be going,” Chief Michael’s voice boomed a little. “I want you to stay with her, Mathers, you saved her, I guess, so I need you to keep her close and be there if she remembers anything else.”

Anger simmered through Justin, and he glared at the chief, “Fine, but you better get the best team you can on this because if you don’t, there will be hell to pay.” Justin growled out. He felt his darlin’ jump awake, and

she pulled out of his arms but stumbled to the ground. His t-shirt rode up her thighs, causing the skimpy red fabric on her to be exposed.

Iris let out a gasp, and Justin snatched the sweatpants from her.

He knelt beside the fragile girl and helped her into the pants.

“Justin, we have to take her to the hospital,” Iris whispered, her gray eyes meeting his.

"Well, that was in the plan, I just didn’t want to take her with barely any clothes on.” Justin adjusted the pants a little and helped his darlin’ up and sat her down on the couch.

Iris sat beside her slowly, “Are you okay?”

“Marnie?” his darlin’ gasped out. “How, how’d you get here, are

the others with you?” she rushed out.

Justin laid a hand on her shoulder, “Darlin’, this is Marnie’s mom, my older sister.”

“Oh.” She mumbled and looked away.

“Hey, it’s okay, you didn’t know, the search party is going to head out now, we’re going to get you checked out by a doctor too.”

“O-okay.” She stammered out.

Justin rubbed her back, “I want her swabbed, and her DNA ran Michaels, to see if there’s a hit on her DNA, also I want any other info you have on other missing girls in the last eighteen years at least.”

“Well, that’s easy, Mathers, there weren’t any, not until Tinley.”

Justin scowled, “So, no one filed a report on her?” he gestured to his darlin’.

“No, I would have remembered those eyes.” His gaze raked over the girl boldly.

Justin stepped in front of his fragile darlin’, man he really had to find out her name, so he could stop referring to her as his. He crossed his arms over his powerful chest and glared at the old man, “Then get the surrounding areas, someone has to be missing her, and I want them found.”

“Stupid big town cops.” The chief muttered.

“Yeah, and just think, I haven’t even started yet.”

All she could do was sit there as she watched the exchange between her savior and the chief. Could she not be from around there? Where ever they were.

She felt a soft hand on her arm, making her jump, she looked over to Marnie’s mom. Then she saw another woman rush up to Justin, placing her hands on his chest. She looked away quickly and fought the tears.

“Sweetheart,” Marnie’s mom began, but she pulled away quickly, knowing what that name would bring.

“Please, don’t, don’t send me back, I’ll be good, I’ll disappear, please don’t.”

Justin was beside her in a flash, “Look at me, darlin’,” her gaze flew to his face. “We’re not sending you back, and until we get these guys who took you and the others you’re staying here, we’ll figure this out together,

remember? I’ve got a friend who may be able to help us out more, okay?”

She saw the redhead who had been touching Justin shoot a glare at her, “You don’t have to, Justin, I just want to leave.”

“Oh? And what would you do?”

She froze and let her shoulders slump. He was right, she couldn’t do anything. She was as worthless in the outside world as she had been in her prison, “I, I don’t know.”

She heard the sexy man let out a huff, “I’m sorry, that was insensitive of me, we’ll find out though, there’s so much we can try to find out, Iris, can you take us to the hospital?”

“Of course,” Iris stood and held out her hand. “You’re safe now, we won’t send you back, and we’ll take care of you.”

She placed her hand in Iris’s slowly and was led toward the door of the station. She glanced back to Justin but stifled a gasp as the redhead practically crawled up him. She stared straight ahead. She was a fool, just because he helped her didn’t mean anything. No one wanted her, especially with looking the way she did. She bit every man who placed his hands on her at some point in her prison.

But Justin, she thought, was different, but of course, he was, he already had a girl. Besides, who wanted an abused freak, who didn’t even know where she belonged or know who she was. The tears fell slowly as Justin’s sister led her out the door.

It didn’t matter what she felt, none of it could be real, could it? She only felt safe because, obviously, he saved her. It couldn't be anything more than that, for one she really didn't know anything about

feelings, and second the men she had come into contact with were all disgusting in one way or another. But did she have to be so cautious around Justin Mathers? He seemed to really care for Marnie, and she wasn't the only one he was worried about, he wanted to save the others as well.

What on earth was she going to do?