Page 8 of Lost In The Dark

“Can we see her? I’d like to explain who we are,” I asked.

“I had to tell her who you are. She wanted to know who had sent me.”

“How did she take it?” Eli looked nervous about the answer.

“I think she’s too terrified of facing jail right now to really take it in. The police have not treated her well and she’s been manhandled a lot, causing her pain, and terrifying her. Right now, I think she just needs to hear soft voices and see friendly faces. She told me herself she’s scared.”

“I want complaints made about the handling of her. She shouldn’t have even been taken from the hospital. I’ve seen the injuries she has right now. She’s not strong enough to be here,” I hissed angrily as I glared at a uniformed officer coming down the hall.

“No, she’s really not,” Max sighed. “Complaints are already in motion, and I’ve put a call in to the commissioner too.”

“Good. Let me know what happens. I have some contacts of my own that I can involve if necessary.” I was so angry that Adeline had been treated that way. The doctors had made it clear she was a victim of prolonged abuse and had likely been held against her will. Why, just because this asshole was a senator, did the cops feel they had the right to treat her like trash? I would not stand for it. For once I was going to use the power my father had handed to me. I was going to make sure every damned officer or detective who had laid a hand on her, lost his job.

CHAPTER 3

ADDY

I jumped awake at the click of the door opening. I had tried hard to sleep, feeling exhausted, but that peace I wished for, just would not seem to come. There was just so much going through my head. Most of all I was terrified if I allowed myself to sleep fully, the memories of all that had happened to me would come rushing back, and I knew for a fact I was not prepared for what they would contain.

I sat up as I looked to the door, my wrist and right side protesting angrily at the small movement.

“Max?” My head was pounding so hard and it was making my vision fuzzy. I had been warned to expect some severe headaches for a while, due to the hit to the head I had taken, but this took headaches to a whole new level.

“Yes, Addy. I have Asher and Elijah with me too. They just arrived,” he replied.

Asher and Elijah. My half-brother’s. Maybe. It seemed so strange that I wasn’t thinking more about the fact this information had been revealed to me. In my normal, everyday existence, finding out I had two estranged half-brothers would have been a huge bombshell which turned my whole life upside down. But now? Now that I faced murder charges and was beingtold I had been kidnapped, sex trafficked, sold, and abused – yeah, the brother thing was not quite so major.

“Hey Adeline. I’m Eli…Elijah, but I prefer Eli,” The first guy told me as he came through the door and across the room until he was just a few feet from me. I couldn’t make him out clearly with my blurry vision, but he was tall, and he had dark hair. His voice was soothing and gentle, which put me more at ease.

“And I’m Asher,” The other spoke as he too came into the room, closing the door behind him. He was even taller and wide – so wide. I couldn’t make out details but it was obvious he worked out, because shoulders as wide as his could only be packed with muscle. His hair was lighter, blonde, or light brown maybe, and his voice was deeper, but still kind. “I know this must be quite a shock, us turning up like this. I hope it’s not too much for you.”

“I…no. Th-thank you…for sending Max. F-for helping me,” I stuttered.

“Of course we did. You’re family,” Eli told me. Family? That was a concept I wasn’t sure I had ever really known. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m okay,” I lied.

“Addy, be honest with them. They want to help you,” Max scolded gently.

“I…I am better n-now. I was sc-scared before, but it…it’s better now Max is here.”

“And your injuries? Max told us you were in pain?” Asher moved closer and dropped to a crouch before me.

“It’s j-just my wrist, my side, a-and my back…and my head now, I guess,” I shrugged. I was never good with strangers, but noweven if I didn’t remember what had happened to me, my body seemed to, because adrenaline was rising within me the closer these two intimidating guys got.

“Your head?”

“Headache…a b-bad one. The doctor told me they would happen until m-my brain repairs itself,” I explained.

“Can we get a doctor in here to check her over?” Asher asked as he got back to his feet and turned to Max. “She obviously needs some care right now.”

“Don’t worry. We’re going to take good care of you, Adeline. We’ll make sure everything is okay,” Eli assured me as Asher and Max continued to chat quietly. He took my good hand in his, and I tried not to react, knowing he was just trying to be kind. “You don’t have to be scared of us. We’re here to protect you. We would never hurt you.” His words sounded so genuine, and they were cemented by the gentle way he held my hand in his. Tears filled my eyes and I couldn’t seem to stop them from falling no matter how hard I tried. Could this be real? Were they really going to help me get out of there? Could they truly protect me? God, how many times in my life had I wished for just one person to care about me?

“Addy,” I whispered as I lifted my head and tried to focus on his face. “C-call me Addy.”

***

The next couple of hours passed quickly. Asher’s demand for a doctor was granted and Max had called a contact who arrived to check me over. He gave me some pain meds, for which I was hugely grateful, and advised Max I needed to rest, preferably in aproper bed. Since that wasn’t possible I had ended up curled up in the hard plastic chair, dozing in and out.

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