Rushing forward, I stopped her by walking in her path and holding my hands up. “Sweetheart, Corey and Luke can get her. You need to be checked out. Shit, you’re bleeding.”
“No, I need to get her.” She shook her head, moving to the side to get past me.
“Corey, Luke? Get this Ava girl.”
They came over to us, Corey kissing his sister on the head before going through the concealed door that Kay had pointed out.
“We need to get you out of here,” I said gently, taking the gun out of her hand.
“I…I…” She didn’t take her eyes off the door that Corey and Luke had gone through.
Moving into her line of sight, I bent down and cupped her face with my hands.
“Sweetheart, we need to get you out of here.” Opening my vest, I pulled my t-shirt off and placed it over her head. Shoving my arms back through the vest, I took her hand and led her back outside. Aware of her slight limp and flinches every time she took a step.
Was this all a dream? Had I really just made it out of there?
I wasn’t sure whether I was hallucinating but Ty’s touch felt so real. I shook my head, hoping this wasn’t some kind of cruel trick that my mind was playing on me.
My eyes stayed on Ty’s as Corey went to get Ava. So many men ran after him and piled through the door. I had no idea how many girls were being kept in there, I just hoped that it wasn’t too many.
Looking over at Lindsey, I could see that Kitty was comforting her and had covered her with a blanket. Feeling Ty’s t-shirt touch my skin made me shiver and my whole body sagged in relief.
It was real. We really had made it out.
“I shouldn’t have left her,” I whispered. Why had I left her? I’d just gone through the door and left her with that brute.
“Sweetheart...” Shaking my head at Ty, I couldn’t quite meet his eyes while I was admitting that I’d just left her there. That poor innocent girl had been left with all those men. The lump in my throat became bigger and I desperately tried to hold back the sob that was bubbling up.
Ty walked me over to Lindsey and we held each other tight, neither of us looking away from the door, waiting for Ava to come out.
Corey walked out after what felt like hours, cradling Ava in his arms. He held her tight, her face buried into the crook of his neck as she clutched onto him. Rushing forward, I tried to check on her, but as soon as I touched her, she whimpered.
“What happened?” I asked Corey, his eyes blazing in anger.
Shaking his head, he walked straight out of the warehouse and into the truck. Not acknowledging anyone. What had he done to her?
“Kay, we need to get you checked out. You all need to be checked out,” Ty said, coming up behind me. Nodding my head, I moved toward the truck, Lindsey still holding onto me.
Hearing Serena shouting, I turned my head. “Just leave it,” Ty whispered in my ear.
Closing my eyes at the sensation, I did what he said, knowing that if I was to see her face, I wouldn’t be able to hold back from hurting her again.
“Ty,” I whispered, the lump in my throat becoming bigger. We were out, we were actually out.
His arms opened and I turned, going straight to my safe place. His arms came around me and I snuggled into the nook that was specially shaped just for me. At least, that’s what I liked to tell myself.
I was tired and drained, all I wanted was a bottle of water, my bed and a cuddle from Eli.
I hadn’t even registered the fact that Corey was here, or how they’d found us. I didn’t even want to know why Daley was stood talking to Charlie.
“Let’s get you checked out and then we can get you home.” Nodding into his chest, I let Ty lift me up into the passenger seat. His face coming so close to mine as he did my belt for me, that I couldn’t help but lift my hand up so I could run my fingers through his scruff.
“I missed you,” I whispered, my eyes filling with tears.
His brown eyes told me how much he’d missed me, without having to say a word. Leaning forward, he kissed me softly on the lips and leaned his forehead against mine.
“I missed you too,” he said, his voice deep and gruff. “So much.”