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Lenora bit her lip but nodded.
Faith blew out a long breath but nodded. "Okay, let's do this." She smiled at Lenora. "I want you almost pressed up against me as we walk out. We're going to head into the lobby, then to the left where the elevators are."
"Here." Becca went to hand Faith her keycard.
"No, you'll need it to get up the elevator. I'll take her to my room. Meet us there." Faith looked around. "Go now while it's crowded."
Becca looked back and saw a group of women standing near the doorway about to leave. "Good luck." She hated she didn't have more time to talk to Lenora, but they had to do this quickly if they didn't want the man throwing a fit because Lenora was taking so long. She had to give credit to the girl. She was trusting them blindly. She had no clue if they were leading her somewhere worse. Then again, there probably wasn't much worse than where she'd already been headed.
"Stay safe." Faith met her gaze for a moment.
Becca nodded as she started out of the bathroom. She noticed Faith and Lenora right behind her as she got to the door. She had to do this right, or she risked losing Lenora to the man, and she couldn't live with herself if that happened. As she stepped out of the bathroom, the man was leaning against the wall right beside the door. She turned, slamming into him hard, faking a surprised gasp as she managed to tangle her legs with his as she grabbed hold of his shirt and let herself fall to the ground. It was pure luck that he went down with her. She hadn't thought he would.
"Watch it." He pushed at her to get her away from him so he could get up, but she held on to his shirt as she appeared to be trying to sit up.
"Sorry. I didn't see you there." She felt sick even touching the man knowing what his intent was, but she'd do whatever she had to so Lenora was safe. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Faith walk out quickly and move away from them. Becca again grabbed the man's shirt, trying to use him to pull herself up, which kept him on the ground a few seconds longer.
"Let go of me." He shoved her hard and quickly stood, glaring down at her for a long second before glancing back at the bathroom door. He again cast her a hateful glance. "Watch where you're going."
Becca quickly stood, teetering a bit so he might think she was drunk. "I'm really sorry. I just didn't see you." She grabbed her purse from where it had fallen, thankful it hadn't popped open and spilled. "I'm so sorry." She put a hand to her cheek. "I'm so embarrassed." She stepped closer to him. "I really am sorry."
He glared. "Just go." He turned and focused on the bathroom again.
Praying Faith had enough time to get to the elevator, Becca turned in the other direction and walked away slowly. Part of her wanted to stick around and see what he did when Lenora didn't come out, but it was safer to get back to the room and hide. She needed to call the guys and figure out what to do now.
As she made her way around the backside of the lobby, then cut around again to the elevators, she pulled out her phone. She sent a quick text message to everyone on the team except Carter and Archer since they weren't in town yet.
CODE GREEN Xander's room.
Once she sent the text, she took a deep breath and stepped into the elevator. Code green was the alert to get to base as quickly as possible, but it also implied everyone was safe and there was no reason to panic. Getting the text while on vacation would make the men worry and she was sure they would rush back, but there was no easier way to get them together quickly than that alert. They would all understand what it meant. She hit the button for the top floor and leaned back against the elevator wall as her sudden rush of adrenaline left her and she realized what she had done. Bryon was going to kill her, but what choice did she have? She had to save the girl and there was no way they had time to plan something or wait for the guys to help. She had to act quickly and that was exactly what she'd done.
Once at the top floor, she quickly made her way to Faith's room. It was a large two-bedroom suite at the end of the hall that Matt and Xander shared with Faith. She knocked on the door, praying that Faith was in there with Lenora. If she wasn't, she had no idea what to do.
The door swung open, and Faith let out a relieved breath. "Thank God, you're okay."
"I'm fine. I'm just glad you two made it up." She rushed into the room, glad to see Lenora sitting on the couch. She looked scared to death, but at least she no longer had to worry about being sold to some man. "Lenora, I've got some friends coming to help. I don't want you to be scared of them. They might seem a bit scary when you see them, but I promise you they are safe. Their jobs are protecting girls and boys like you who are in danger. They won't tell anyone you're here. We're going to help you." She sat down on the couch beside Lenora.
She glanced up at Becca. "How did you know?"
"Know what?" Becca asked.
"That I needed help." Lenora rubbed her hands down her arms. "That he was buying me."
"I didn't, but I could tell you were scared and didn't want to be with them. I wanted to make sure you were okay." Becca smiled.
Faith handed Lenora a bottle of water before she sat down beside her. "Years ago, when I was around your age, a very horrible man kidnapped me and took me away. He kept me with some other girls in his basement. The guys that are on their way here were the ones to save me. They rescued me. So I guess you could say that we know what to watch for. We look for signs that something isn't right and as scared as you looked, Becca knew something was wrong."
Lenora stared at Faith. "You were auctioned too?"
"No, this man didn't auction us, but he did hurt us. My dad met Becca and her friends, and they all came to save me. That's why I don't want you to be scared when the men get here. I promise you, they will help you. They won't hurt you. They will do everything they can to keep you safe."
"They won't call the police?" Lenora asked.
"Nope, not unless it's someone they are sure they can trust. We'll find out who the bad people are, and I promise you won't have to go with them." Faith rested her hand on Lenora's arm. "What happened to your parents?"
"They were killed in a car crash. My brother and I ended up in foster care. I don't know where he is now." Tears filled her eyes again.
"It's okay. We'll see if we can find out." Becca stood and walked into the bathroom to get a box of tissues. She was returning to the couch when the hotel room door slammed open and Xander and Matt ran in, closely followed by Bryon, Beau, Kasey, Parson, and Noam. Becca held up her hand. "Everyone is okay." She met Bryon's worried stare. "We found a friend downstairs who needs our help." She nodded to Lenora. "She's nervous and scared, so don't go all He-Man on her, okay, guys?"
