Page 42 of Baja
“The bathroom is over there,” I say, pointing to my right. Only Lily doesn’t budge from my side.
“Do you want me to go with you?” I whisper.
At her nod, I take the articles of clothing from Juneau, lead Lily to the bathroom, and close the door.
“He’s kinda intense,” Lily mutters.
I snort. “Actually, he’s the least intense guy of the bunch.”
“I don’t know. He seems pretty scary to me.” Lily doesn’t meet my eyes as she wrings her hands before her.
“Hey.” I touch her elbow, forcing her to look at me. “Juneau is only acting intensely because he’s angry, but not at you. He’s angry at the situation. Because someone hurt you and your dad.Do you remember what Sage said to you in the kitchen? Nobody here will lay a hand on you. Not out of anger.”
Lily bites her bottom lip and nods.
“Okay. Now, let’s get you into some clean clothes.”
I wait patiently as Lily attempts to remove her shirt, but how she scrunches her face tells me she’s in pain. “I… I don’t think I can do it on my own. Will you help me?” she asks shyly.
“No problem, sweetheart. Here…” I pull the hem of her shirt up and stretch out the arm opening. “Can you slip your arm through there?”
Gritting her teeth, Lily carefully removes her left arm from the shirt. Then, we repeat the same maneuver with her right arm. Once she’s free, an audible gasp escapes my mouth. The evidence of why she could not lift her arms above her head is a large boot print across the middle of her back.
“Oh my God, Lily.”
She also has numerous bruises littering her torso, all in different stages of healing. Lily’s body trembles as she silently weeps.
I don’t waste any time pulling her into my arms. “Shhh. You’re safe now, Lily. You’re safe.” I stroke her hair. “Everything is going to be all right.”
“I can’t go back there, Alice. I can’t.” She sobs.
“You’re not returning to anyone who would hurt you like that. I promise.”
Lily lifts her head from my shoulder. Her tear-streaked face looks so broken. “You don’t understand. He will come looking for me.”
“Who will come looking for you?”
“The man my father took me from. He says I’m his property. He’s a bad man, Alice. Pure evil. I can’t let him have my baby. I’d die before I let him.”
I desperately want to ask who he is, but don’t push for more. It’s a wonder Lily is opening up to me now, so I decide to choose my words wisely. “Listen to me, Lily. Nobody is going to take you, and nobody is going to take your baby. You are safe here. I know it’s asking a lot, but I’m asking you to trust me and the men here. Do you think you can do that?”
Lily’s lips tremble as more tears fall down her cheeks. “I… I trust my dad. And if my dad trusts the club, I’ll do my best to trust them, too.”
We are interrupted by a knock at the door. “Is everything okay?” Juneau’s deep voice rumbles with concern.
“We’ll be out in a minute,” I tell him. When I turn back to Lily, she wipes tears from her face. “Let’s get you dressed before Juneau has a conniption.”
Lily giggles through a watery smile.
I help her put on a clean shirt and sweatpants.
“If you don’t mind, I need to wash my face and use the bathroom.”
“Sure, sweetheart. I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”
When I go to leave, Lily stops me. “Thank you for helping me, Alice.”
I smile. “You’re more than welcome.”
