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My heart seized in my chest as a tight band snapped across my ribs. Sawyer was here.
I glanced to my right,and Kane was on the floor, apparently having knocked the guard out with a punch or two.
They were all here.
Oh my god.
Then Liam was back in front of me and the final strip of tape was pulled painfully from my mouth.
I gasped openly, unsure whose gentle fingers were working at the rope around my wrists and ankles.
“You’re here,” I croaked, studying every detail on Liam’s face once more. “I don’t understand. You’re all here. How are you all here?”
Emotion swelled up in my chest and I couldn’t contain my sobs. The moment my hands were free, I clasped them over my mouth and glanced from Liam to Sawyer. Uncontrollable trembles swept down my arms and legs, and with how tight my chest was, I couldn’t manage more than short gasps.
“Of course we’re here,” Liam said.
The guard on the floor grunted and moved as Kane stood, so he turned and swiftly punched the man straight in the face once more.
“Fuck,” I gasped, “that was kind of hot. I think this might be a dream.”
“Not a dream,” said Sawyer as I was scooped up into Liam’s strong arms. “Not a dream at all.”
As soon as I met his gaze, a fresh wave of tears consumed me, and countless apologies fell from my lips, which were mostly incoherent. I was scared, exhausted and confused – mixing that with relief was one incredible elixir in my mind that fuzzed the edges of my world.
“Later,” Sawyer said, stepping close and placing his hand on my arm. “We’ll talk later. First we need to get you to a hospital.”
Fresh out of the hospital after a four-hour check-up, I sat in my apartment, wrapped up in a flurry robe two sizes too big for me – courtesy of Liam. Liam sat to my left. Kane sat to my right and Sawyer stood in the middle. They hadn’t left my side since my rescue, refusing to talk about anything until I had been seen by a doctor.
All three of them had been unwilling to leave me when the doctor requested privacy, but eventually, they relented. I was mostly unharmed. I had a few bruises and cuts and a nasty egg-shaped lump on the back of my head, but all in all, physically, I was okay.
Mentally? That remained to be seen.
“He just… appeared one day. I didn’t really understand what was going on and to some degree, I still don’t. One minute he was just at Bianca’s clinic, the next he was paying my overdue bill and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t have the money to pay him back and in the end, it slipped my mind. My own fault, I know.”
A strained noise escaped Sawyer, but he remained silent.
“Then he moved her. He just… took her and no one seemed to see an issue with it. It was a complete accident that he was put down with as my husband but none of the staff listened to me. I even called the police but they made me feel so stupid and so… so humiliated that I gave him. I had no idea what to do; I was caught between a rock and a hard place, and I just…”
My attention drifted down to the large sleeves covering my hands. I started picking at the fluff, enjoying the softness as much as being irritated that I didn’t deserve kindness and gentility right now.
“And then…” My throat closed briefly and I swallowed hard. “Then I found out I was pregnant and I had no idea what I was going to do. It was all so real. Too real. I thought I was just sick with stress because Eli had my Mom and he was demanding I steal all that stuff, so I did.” Tears stung at my eyes. “I stole it because my Mom remembered me and it was such a good feeling. I was selfish, and I clung to that feeling so hard because I needed her to know me. But then it was the wrong thing and I tried to tell you all. But you were fighting, and it was all my fault, and then Bianca lost her job, and I?—.”
I hurriedly wiped away a few stray tears. “So, I was going to hand myself in. I wrote you all a letter, and then I was going to hand myself into the police when Eli snatched me. I thought he was going to kill me. He was so angry.”
Sniffling, more fluff from the robe drifted past my picking fingers and down to the floor, scattering around my bare toes.
“So that’s it. That’s all of it. And I’m prepared, so if —if you want to take me to the cops yourself or have your lawyers deal with me, then I am ready. I am.”
“Callie.” Kane’s warm hand suddenly slid over my own, and he wound our fingers together so I could no longer tear the fluff off my sleeve. He gripped me with such comforting strength that my heart fluttered and my head spun a little.
How could he stand to touch me after what I did? How do they not hate me?
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, keeping my head down. They rescued me and got me medical treatment but I was still so scared I would glance up and see hate in their eyes.
“How far along are you?” Liam asked quietly. “With the pregnancy?”
“Uhm…” My brow pinched and I shrugged one shoulder. “Around two months, I think? Given how long I was feeling sick for and things. I was due another appointment but I haven’t had time. Given how we’ve all…” Shaking my head, I finally looked up. “One of you is the father but I had no idea who. I’m so sorry that the pill didn’t work. I swear this was unintentional.”
