When he heard the sniffing, his gaze jerked to Nolan, and he mouthed, “It’s a kid or woman.”
Nolan nodded. “When we get to the garage, we’ll go in on both sides before opening the door,” he whispered.
Jonah nodded.
They parked under their building, got out, and walked back. They both drew their guns. Nolan counted down while Jonah gripped the handle.
Jonah yanked it open and stared. There was not one but two women in the back, and they looked like they’d been beaten, filthy, and were extremely terrified.
They both tried to scramble out and run, but both men grabbed and then held them while they fought. When they started to weaken, he tried to talk to them.
“Listen, girls. Everything’s going to be okay.”
The one in his arms started to cry. “Please just let us go. You won’t ever see us again, I promise. Just please don’t hurt her.”
“Are you talking about your friend that Nolan is holding?”
“Yes, none of this was her fault.”
“You’re wrong, Holly. I went with them, too.”
Jonah tipped her head up. “Your name is Holly?”
He saw her struggle with her decision before she nodded.
“What’s your name, then, baby?” Nolan asked the other woman.
“Caylee.”
“All right, Holly and Caylee, I know it’s hard to trust anyone right now, but please believe that we would never hurt you. We can help you with what’s going on. I’m guessing it’s serious.”
Holly nodded. “It’s really bad.”
“I can feel you shivering. Let’s get you to my condo so we can take care of you.”
Nolan nodded and lifted Caylee into his arms. Jonah heard his friend whispering to the woman but couldn’t hear what was said.
“Wait, if you let us go, we won’t tell anyone. We promise,” Holly said.
Jonah held her against his chest and ran a soothing hand up and down her back. “Honey, we’re not going to hurt you. I promise we’ll take care of you two. This is what we do. We protect people. Before this, we were in the military, so we knew what we were doing.”
She stared at him for a moment, sighed, and nodded.
He led her over to the elevator where Nolan and Caylee were. Jonah smiled at the picture they made. Nolan still had her in his arms, and she had her head resting against his shoulder. It looked like his friend could have stayed there for hours and been happy.
Jonah steadied Holly before he put in the code to his condo. She started to lean heavily against him, and he could tell she was at the end of her rope.
“We’ll take care of you, sweetheart, and then you can rest. Okay?”
She nodded but stayed silent.
He led the group into his master bathroom. “You both probably want a shower. Can you do it by yourself, or do you need help?”
The girls glanced at each other.
“We’ll try by ourselves,” Holly said.
“Okay. Nolan will stand outside the bathroom if you need him, and I’ll go get something for you both to wear.”