chapter 35

Chapter 34
Bree could make out very faint distant sounds but darkness kept her bottled up. None of the voices or sounds sounded like it could possibly be Justin. She remembered he left her at the abandoned building, but she had asked him to, Marnie and the others had to get help the way she had. She hoped they were okay, they were more important. She could probably slip into oblivion and be okay. Her mission to get Marnie safe and back to her family was finally complete.

Justin would move on, he seemed to have the reputation anyways according to Holly. Bree was curious if he was there with her right now. She tried to open her eyes, they wouldn't budge. Why couldn't she open her eyes? Was she slipping away? She felt a light pulling on her body. What was happening to her?

Justin couldn't get out of the car fast enough. "Remember, Ben, I want all interrogations on hold, I don't care what they say, make your phone call and get the FBI out here ASAP, these cops are pitiful, and I don't trust them and will never trust them again."

"I'll get it done, Justin." Ben called from the open window.

Justin rushed into the ER, he couldn't get to the counter fast enough. "Excuse me, a Marnie Benson was brought in here, I'm her uncle, has her mom and dad arrived yet?"
"No, they haven't yet, I can take you back to your niece if you would like, she wasn't checked into the ICU, looks like she won't be, here let me take you."

"I'm also here for a Bree Benson." Justin explained quickly as they went past the swining ER doors.

"Hmm, I don't recall a Bree Benson coming in, I'm sorry, is she your niece too?"

"No, it's a long story, I'm her fiance," Justin began, he knew he wouldn't get to see Bree without coming up with the lie, he had no real jurishdiction here, but by God with this towns police department he was going to. "She should have been here by now, paramedics took her, she had two gun shot wounds."

"Oh, the Jane Doe, yes, I can't take you to her right now, I'm sorry, she was immediately rushed to surgery, but I can keep you updated and let you know when she can been seen, you're going to have to let the doctors work on her, she was in really bad condition, but I can at least put a name down for her instead of Jane Doe, you said Bree Benson?" the nurse looked at him kind of funny when she repeated the same last name as his niece.

"Oh, no, did I said Benson? I'm sorry, you'll have to forgive me, it's Mathers, it's been a long, stressful few days ma'am, but it is Mathers, sorry I wasn't thinking clearly." He probably still wasn't honestly. To give Bree his last name without discussing any of it, but by the end of all of this it wasn't going to matter, he was going to marry that girl, age be damned, crazy meeting be damned, that girl was all he wanted from now on. She was his one, may not be under the best circumstances, but he had found his one and only finally.

He watched as the nurse took down the name and didn't seem to hesitate, he gave thanks as they headed down the starile smelling, long hallway. They went past about twenty empty rooms, turned down two more other long hallways before they finally arrived in front of a room with the teal and tan square pattered curtain pulled shut. The nurse gently knocked on the glass door before pushing it open.

Justin felt sick all over again when his gaze landed on his beautiful, young niece laying on the thin mattress, she looked paler than the sheet she was lying on and the one she was covered up with. Boy did it make her black, blue, purple, and yellow bruises pop though. The anger filled him intensely, these men were never going to get away with this if he had anything to say about it.

Marnie was only able to open one eye and gazed up at him. Tears instantly flew from her, sobs racked her body hard.

Justin was besider her in a flash, pulling her up to him gently. "You're okay now, bug, you're home, you're safe, I promise."

"Oh, Uncle Justin, I was so scared, I thought I was never going to see any of you again." She sobbed out. She pulled back a little. "Mom and Dad?"

"On their way as we speak, bug, you have to calm down, I know it's hard, but you're going to cause yourself more pain if you don't."

She nodded her head a little as she took slow deep breaths and he rubbed her back gently. "What about the girl who found you? One six nine, is she coming too?"

Damn, Marnie didn't remember what happened back at the house, hopefully a lot of it remained buried, for her sake, he didn't want her reliving everything, not the way Bree sometimes did. "Um, Marnie, the cops couldn't find the place, some of them we're pretty sure were in on it, but that girl does have a name, it's Bree, and Bree was very brave with showing them the way to house. I caught up to her but I let her talk me into letting her come with me." Justin paused for a moment, but quickly regretted it.

"No, why would you let her go back there? Is she there again? Are the others out?"

"Slow down, slow down, Marnie, yes she is out, the others are too, they didn't look as bad as you, the other four girls are at the police station, before you jump me, Ben has a connection in the FBI and is making contact as we speak, we don't want any of those cops to conduct any interviews, but Bree is," he choked a little as he fought tears, of all things, he hadn't been brought to tears in he didn't know how long. He cleared his throat to continue. "Bree is here at the hospital, she's in surgery."

"Why, what happened?" Marnie demanded.

"When I was trying to slip you out the window after the other girls got out, Sal, the man holding all of you, he came downstairs and he aimed to shoot me, Bree moved in the way, she took two bullets for me so I could get you all to safety." The lump of tears chocked him again but he had to stay strong for Marnie, her and the other girls were the real victims, he just was so worried about the one victim he had grown very attached to.

"Uncle Justin, do you love her? I've never seen you act like this."

"Yes, Marnie, your Uncle Justin is in love." The soft voice came from the door.

"Mommy!" Marnie yelled as loud as she could as their gazes fell on Iris. Justin moved back and let Iris take over his job and soon Clay burst through the door as well. "Daddy!" Justin watched for a moment at the family reunion and he slowly backed out of the room and took the empty, uncomfortable looking chair outside the room.

He hung his head in his hands, hoping he would get that reaction from Bree when they laid eyes on each other again.