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“Catie! Catie, no! Help! Somebody help!” She screamed out, thrashing her head violently from side to side.
“Emilee. It's just a dream.” He reached out and shook her gently, his touch light but firm.
“Emilee, wake up,” he commanded.
Emilee's eyes flew open. They were wide with terror, her breath came in ragged gasps. “They took Catie,” she whimpered, her voice trembling with fear. “Help! You've got to help me, please! Bad guys with guns, they took my friend!”
Arrow, who had his own experience with PTSD nightmares, saw she wasn't quite awake yet. He knew intimately what these types of nightmares did to a person. He needed to wake her up completely.
“Emilee. Wake up, baby girl.” He commanded again.
“What are you doing? Why won't you help me! Please! Someone, anyone! Call 9-1-1! I need help!” Her voice was broken, her wails filling the room around them.
Arrow's heart clenched at the desperation in her voice. He reached out and cupped her face in his hands. “Emilee, it's okay,” he told her. “Catie is fine. She's safe.”
Emilee blinked up at him, confusion clouding her eyes as she struggled to grasp the reality of her surroundings. “Where am I?” she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.
“You are at my house. I'm Arrow, remember me?”
Emilee nodded.
“You had a nightmare, sweetheart,” he reassured her, his voice gentle but firm. “You're safe here.”
Emilee's shoulders sagged with relief, her body trembling with the aftershocks of her nightmare. “I... I went to get help,” she whispered, her words slurred with exhaustion. “But I got hit by a car... ended up in the hospital...”
What was she talking about? She'd ran off from the scene, she hadn't gotten help. There wasn't a police report made about Catie's disappearance until her sister reported her missing after the kidnappers had contacted her. She must have been dreaming.
He reached out and pulled her into his arms, holding her close as she trembled against him. “You're safe now,” he whispered. “I've got you.”
“Could you...” she blinked up at him, “Could you maybe stay until I fall back asleep?”
Arrow reached down and picked up the ragged teddy bear off the ground next to the bed and handed it to her. Without hesitation, he moved behind her and wrapped her up in his arms and held her tightly.
“I've got you,” he answered her.
As she snuggled back into him, still obviously half asleep, Arrow rubbed her back. She wasn't his type, but damn if she didn’t fit perfectly, her curves pressing into the hardness of his body.
“Thank you, Daddy.”
Arrow doubted that she’d remember saying those words in the morning. But, she said them. And, they cut right through his hardened facade. Just like that, with those three little words, she'd wormed her way into his heart. Just like that, he knew. She'd been brought to him for a reason. He didn't believe incoincidences. He didn’t know what that reason was, but he knew it would become clear in time.
He knew he would do whatever it took to protect her, to keep her safe from harm.
It might not last forever, but for now, the little girl in his arms belonged to him.
CHAPTER 3
EMILEE
The morning light filtered through the curtains, casting a soft glow over the room as Emilee slowly blinked awake. Her body felt heavy, and then she felt it—a man’s arms wrapped securely around her, holding her close to his chest.
Her heart skipped a beat, her mind struggling to comprehend the intimacy of their position. She tensed, instinctively pulling away, but his arms only tightened his hold, his voice cutting through the haze of her thoughts. Had she relapsed? Was she hung over? Who was holding her? She blinked and looked at the wall, the light robin egg blue brought it all back.
Arrow.
He’d let, no demanded, that she spend the night at his house. But why was he lying in the bed next to her?
The events of the previous night flooded back into her mind—the nightmare. Arrow waking her up, and then wrapping his arms around her. His arms that were still around her.
