Chapter Five
Cason stood still and waited. The men had caught the blue piece of fabric under the desk and decided to get the girls out and meet in the conference room for him.
When he heard the sniffles, he sighed. It was either a child or a woman hiding beneath the desk, and he couldn’t take the crying another second.
He walked around and squatted. He didn’t want to frighten the girl, but she would still be scared when she opened her eyes and saw him.
“Honey?”
Her eyes flew open, and she screamed.
“Easy, I won’t hurt you, sweetheart. I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”
He kept talking even though he guessed she didn’t hear a lot of what he was saying. She freaked when he tried to reach for her.
She tried to push by him to run, but he stood with her in his arms. He made sure she couldn’t get away at the same time he didn’t hurt her.
He waited patiently for her to calm so he could get through to her.
She finally went limp in his arms. He carried her to one of the old chairs, sat with her in his lap, and rubbed her back. “Are you doing okay?”
She shook her head, hiccupped, and looked up at him. “I’ll never be okay.”
Cason took a second to catch his breath. Her eyes were the most unusual he’d ever seen. There was a ring of very light blue next to the pupil, and then around that was a ring of bright green. They were mesmerizing, and they took his breath away for a moment.
He cleared his throat. “Yes, you will. First of all, how old are you?”
“I’m twenty-three.”
She didn’t look that old, but she had several layers of dirt covering her at the moment.
“How long have you been in the building?”
She shrugged. “Three, no, I think it’s been four days.”
His eyes widened. “That had to have been scary for you.”
She nodded. “Will you let me go?”
“Where would you go, honey?”
“I don’t know.”
“Would you let me help you? You have to be desperate to hide here for that long.”
“You can’t help me. No one can.”
“You don’t know that. Are you hiding from a boyfriend?”
She shook her head.
“You’re an adult, honey. You shouldn’t have to hide from anyone. No one can get you to do something you don’t want. And if they try, you can always go to the cops.”
He got worried when her laughter turned to a sob within a split second.
He cuddled her against this chest. “It will be okay. I’ll make sure of it. No matter what it is.”
“You can’t.”
“We won’t know until you tell me.”
“You’ll take me back.”
“I swear to you, I won’t take you anywhere you don’t want to go unless it’s a doctor or a dentist.”
She squinted up at him. “A dentist?”
“Yes, because clean, healthy teeth are important.”
She looked stunned for a moment and then started laughing. Real laughter that made him feel better.
“You’re silly.”
He shrugged and smiled. “Sometimes. I just don’t like seeing you sad. I swear to you I will do everything in my power to fix whatever’s going on with you.”
She tucked her head under his chin, sighed, and relaxed.
That little bit of trust made his heart pump faster. “My name is Cason. What’s yours?”
“Lacey.”
“That’s a pretty name.”
“I like yours, too.”
He smiled. “My friends are waiting for us.”
“Why?”
“Everyone wants to help you, honey. Let us be your friends.”
“You’ll be my friend?”
“Absolutely.”
“Will you stay with me?”
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll not ever leave you if that’s what you want.” God, he couldn’t understand this burning desire to fix her problems, keep her safe, and make her happy, but he was going with his gut and keeping her close.
“Yes.”
He stood with her in his arms before slowly setting her on her feet. He grabbed her hand. “Let’s get this done so we can get you in a shower and get some food in you.”
“I’d like that a lot. I think I smell like a pig, and I know I’m as hungry as one.”
He laughed. “I’ll take care of you.”