Chapter 19

Chapter 18
Bree took in a shocked breath; she was nothing but problems. Now she was causing them between Justin and his team. She needed to leave, the less Justin focused on her, the more he could focus on getting Marnie and the others safe.

Justin
turned toward her quickly and pulled her into him, “Hey, it’s okay.” He stroked
her back gently, catching Ben staring at them. 

“Yeah,
you’re fine, Holly’s just being Holly, no one in our group cares too much how
she acts, she’s more spoiled than anything else.” Ben chimed in.

“But
she wants someone to care, I know how that feels, to want someone to care,”
Bree whispered.

“Oh,
there are people who care, she just wants it to be Justin, you’ve snatched him
up though.”

She
glanced up at Justin. How had she snatched him up when she hadn’t even tried?
She didn’t even really know what it really meant.

Justin
caught a strand of her hair between his thumb and forefinger, stroking it a
little, “He’s just talking, pay him no mind, Holly will get over it, I’ve told
her I don’t know how many times that I’m not interested.”

“But,
she still has the right to be upset, if I need to go somewhere else I can,” she
began.

Justin
leaned down and covered her lips with his, “That’s not an option, I want you
where I know you’re safe, I’ll only trust myself, my team, and sister with you,
but they need some time to get a handle on things, here is the best place for
you right now. I didn’t think about it at first, but now that we’re here, this
is better, and maybe Cierra and you can work some more on your memory.” 

She
laid her head against his chest, she didn’t think about that, “Okay.” She
agreed timidly.

“That’s
my girl.” He smiled at her and kissed her forehead.

Was
she his now? He didn’t seem to be the kind who would see her as property, but
it was possible. She was just trying to help five other girls, and figure out
who she was. Bree wasn’t good enough for her. There had to be more. So much
more.

Ben
stood from the couch as he cleared his throat. She tore her gaze from Justin
and watched Ben closely. He handed her the pad he had been drawling in earlier.

She
took it and stared at the drawing. Her hands trembled as she stared, “Daddy.”
She whispered. Her fingers brushed over his strong jawline that Ben captured
perfectly. Then over his blonde hair, and over the cleft in his chin.

Ben
let out a breath, “So you’re sure that’s your real father?”

Bree
glanced up, tears blurring her vision but she nodded her head, “Yes, he used to
call me pumpkin all the time, his green eyes were always so warm and shiny, how
can we find him?” she looked back to Justin.

“We’ll
try our best, babe, as long as you can be with him I’ll make sure you are.”

“How
impossible will it be, though?”

“I’m
not sure, babe, but I’m going to try my hardest, we’ll just have to be
patient.”

She
nodded and handed the pad back to Ben, “Thank you for that, Ben, it’s like you
crawled inside my head and saw who I saw.”

“That’s
why Justin keeps me around.” He winked at her, and she smiled faintly.

“We
can look once you get Marnie back, right?” she looked back at Justin.

“Of
course, baby, of course.” He pulled her into a hug. 

She
wrapped her arms around him as she snuggled into him. He felt so warm, safe,
and she didn’t want him to leave, but if this was the only way to save the
other girls, then so be it. She had to let him go, and she would.

Justin
took her into the kitchen, “Let’s try something different to eat, I might
having something, but if not, I can order a pizza.” He pulled open drawers,
pantries, and shelves after he let her go. “Damn, pizza it is, I guess.” 

She
closed her eyes tightly, “Just cheese, stuffed crust?” she whispered.

“That’s
what you want on it, baby?”

“Yes,
please.”

He
was smiling at her when she opened her eyes, “Your wish is my command, darlin’,
I’ll order it, and then Ben and I need to get things ready.” 

“Thank
you, for everything, Justin.”

He
ran his knuckles down the side of her cheek, “No problem.”

She
headed back to the living room as she heard Justin talking in the kitchen. She
slowly curled up on one side of the couch as she stared at the brown carpet in
front of her.

Why
would she be his? She didn’t even have anything to offer him, or know how to
make anyone happy. She sighed, pulling her knees to her chest.

~

Justin
got done ordering the pizza, he went with just cheese and the stuffed crust
just like she asked. He paid over the phone then headed out to the living room.
He chewed on the inside of his cheek when he saw how tightly she was curled
into herself. 

He
sat down by her as Ben glanced up, “So, how long do you think we’ll be gone?”

“I
don’t know, Ben, I’d hope no more than a couple of days, we’ll look for that
long and if we don’t have any luck then I don’t know what we’re going to do.”
Justin huffed a little.

The
apartment door opened, and Cierra came in with a few bags, and Ben rushed to
help her.

“You
can put those in my room, for now, you two can go through them when Ben and I
leave.”

Cierra
nodded, and Ben helped her take them back to his room.

Justin
pulled his darlin’ into him, they sat there cuddling until a knock landed on
his wooden apartment door.

He
kissed her temple and went to get the food. He brought it into the living room
as Cierra and Ben came in, hand in hand.

They
all sat there, eating in silence. 

After
they ate, the men kissed their girl's goodbye and headed out to start their
search.