Page 59 of Dodging Bullets

He looked over to the side. “We have to go; the van is here to transport the kids. Stay in touch.”

“You too. I’ll help where I can from here.” I paused. “I love you guys.”

Nim’s face softened. “I love you too, Polly. I can’t wait to hug you.”

Then she was gone, and my heart was both heavier and lighter.

For hours afterwards, I thought about Henry’s words and Nim’s face, and the thoughts that were going around and around in my head. Sister Roberta had known they were selling me.She’d branded me, while the other Brothers and Sisters held me still.

They should be punished too.

When Rio and Max finally arrived home, I ran into their arms and cried. I was so glad they were home and safe, that this nightmare was over. I dragged everyone into my nest and cuddled them close.

It was late when I rolled into Max’s arms, my body still pressed tightly into Rio’s body, August’s hand resting lightly on my hip. Llew slept by the door, my big Alpha. My protector.

The others they’d rescued from the Homestead didn’t have a Llew. Or a Rio and Max and August. No one to protect them the way a Pack could.

So I’d have to be that for them, until they could find their own Packs.

“Max?”

“Mmm?” he said sleepily, his eyes blinking open.

“I think I want to make a statement. Theysoldme.”

He was silent for a long time, then he leaned forward and kissed me on the head. “If that’s what you want, Beautiful. Whatever helps you heal.”

I kissed his chin. “I love you.”

He rubbed his face on mine, his low purr vibrating through my chest. “I love you too.”

Two days later, I stood in front of the Rock Hill police station beside Truett Heathstone. Max had been true to his word and gotten me a lawyer, who happened to be OJ’s Alpha, the very Alpha who’d allowed me to speak again. We’d talked on the phone for a few hours the night before, going over what I could and couldn’t say to the police so that my Pack, and his, didn’t get into trouble.

“Don’t forget, you haven’t done anything wrong. You aren’t guilty of a single thing. You just give them the facts, and they can do with it what they will.”

The guys had stayed at home, which I knew would be driving them mad. Truett was a happily bonded Alpha, twice over, but they still hated me going somewhere essentially alone. Truett had to swear on OJ’s life that he’d protect me if anything happened before they’d even let me in his fancy car.

Nodding at his instruction, I gave him a small smile. “I remember.” I paused on the stairs to the police station. “Thank you, by the way, for doing this for me. I know your time is valuable, and I can’t pay you?—”

Truett waved my words away. “Thankyoufor taking Satan’s turkey and the zombie dog back. I swear, that bird has told me to go fuck myself more than any other living being has in my entire life. I think it’s because it makes OJ laugh, and he does it for attention, the sneaky little birdbrain.”

I laughed, because I could imagine Rufio doing that very thing. He was super smart—scary smart, even.

I straightened my shoulders, but nerves still ran up my spine. Grasping my elbow gently, Truett led me up the stairs. “If you can love that psycho, you can do anything, Polly Barrie,” he murmured. “Let’s go and make sure those who hurt you can never hurt anyone else ever again.”

We walked into the bustling police station, and I took in the hard plastic chairs lined up in neat rows. An entire array of people were in there, from a woman who had no pants on, an elderly gentleman talking to the air beside him, two bored teens staring at their phones, and a woman in a business suit.

The officer at the desk looked stressed. “Can I help you?”

I swallowed hard, while Truett squeezed my arm reassuringly. “Hello. My name is Paloma, and I’m a victim of the Homestead Cult.”

You could’ve heard a pin drop in the room. The police officer in front of me blinked a few times. “That’s over in Arkansas, ma’am. This is South Carolina.” His tone said he clearly didn’t believe me, that I was just one more in a long line of crazies he’d seen today.

I looked him in the eye, despite my Omega wanting to run home with her tail between her legs. “I’m aware. I’m an Omega, and I was trafficked across state lines.”

Still silence.

Finally, Truett interrupted. “Either get her statement, or she can tell it to the press with a nice little caveat that the Rock Hill PD didn’t even believe her enough to take a moment to ask questions. I’m sure the Prosecutor’s office would love that.”

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