Chapter One
Caylee wanted to scream and cry as she hid with her friend. They made just one mistake, and now their lives were in danger, and she didn’t think they’d make it out alive.
The thought of exposing themselves terrified her, and if she’d been able to pee, her panties would be wet. But both women were dehydrated, exhausted, and weak.
Now, she was sitting in the back of an SUV with two men who scared her as much as the bad guys. She tried to hold it together for Holly, but her friend had always been the stronger of the two.
They’d both had to be tough in their own way to get through their childhood. Holly’s mom had been an absentee parent most of the time, while both of hers had been drunks, and she’d been hurt more times than she could count. Her arm had even been broken once when her father threw her across the room. Her parents had been good about hiding their abuse, and Caylee had been too scared to speak up at school. Both of them had been killed in a car accident they had caused, but fortunately, they hadn’t killed anyone else.
The accident had happened only a few months before she graduated high school and turned eighteen, so she and Holly had convinced authorities that Caylee would be staying at Holly’s. They’d even signed her mom’s name on the documents. Instead of staying at Holly’s with the verbal abuse they received, they stayed in the house Caylee grew up in. It wasn’t much, but they were together and didn’t have to deal with her mom’s gross friends. It had broken Caylee’s heart when Holly’s mother didn’t even try to find her.
They’d both gotten jobs to pay the bills and still graduate high school, and then they’d moved to the closest big town where they lived in an apartment together. They both worked and took classes at the community college because they wanted to be better than their parents.
Caylee hadn’t known she’d fallen asleep until the vehicle they were in went over a bump, which startled her awake. Holly grabbed her arm and pressed her finger to her lips.
Caylee couldn’t hold back her tears for another second. Holly took her into her arms and held her tightly while Caylee tried to get control of herself.
It got worse minutes later when their attempted escape from the SUV hadn’t worked as they had planned, and now they were in the arms of huge scary men. It didn’t go unnoticed that the one who held her was careful not to hurt her, even as big as he was.
“Easy. Nothing’s going to hurt you,” he said.
“That’s all boys do, and I’m so tired. I just want to lie down and never get up.”
His grip tightened on her. Then one of his huge hands cupped her cheek, and he used his thumb to wipe away her tears. “I don’t like hearing you say things like that.”
She sniffed. “Why?”
“Because I think even without knowing you, you’re abeautiful, sweet woman, and we need all of you and wish we had more like you. Sweetheart, just hold on to me, and I’ll protect you and get this figured out.”
“You don’t know anything about me.”
“I know. But I’ve always been good at sizing people up. I know it’s hard, but trust me.”
She didn’t know why. Maybe it was because she was tired, but she put her power into his hands and prayed silently that he’d take care of her and not end up hurting her.
“Rest for now, baby.”
She nodded, laid her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.
****
Nolan looked down at the sweet woman in his arms and couldn’t believe how quickly she altered his emotions. It was hard to see what she looked like because she was so dirty, but he could see a few shades of red hair, which excited him. He’d always been a sucker for a redhead, and to have one fall into his lap was crazy.
So many thoughts ran through his head. He had no idea if she was already in a relationship or what kind of trouble they were, so he’d wait to even consider anything with her.
The next hour was excruciating for him. He wanted to ensure the woman he’d found felt safe because he hated seeing the fear in her eyes. He and Jonah got them clean and wanted them to lie down and rest because it looked like they would collapse at any time.
It felt like someone punched him in the gut when he first saw her without the dirt and grime. He’d known she was pretty, but when she stood clean and in a man’s shirt, his desire for her ramped up to a high it’d never been before.
When she started to shake after the shower, he steadied her. “Here, let me help you.” He lifted her onto the counter. Thatwas when he noticed she’d only gotten one button done, and he could see pretty much everything. A drop of sweat rolled down his back. “I’m going to button you up.”
“Thank you. My hands are shaking so much.”
“We’ll get you taken care of.” After getting most of the buttons done, he grabbed a comb Jonah gave him and started working out the snarls in her hair. “We’ll get you some conditioner tomorrow.”
She nodded.
He started to blow dry her hair and was pleased with her hair’s dark mahogany, burgundy, and crimson colors. It went from one dark color to a burst of diverse colors merged together.