The sun is rising when we arrive back at the bar, I'm beat. Before climbing out, I take her in. She’s extremely thin with long arms and legs she managed to keep wrapped around me. She is tall for a girl that much I remember, but she has curled herself so tightly into a ball, it’s hard to say. Her long straight brown hair does nothing to hide how beautiful she is, I remember Justin said she just transferred and was starting at SD University, so she can’t be older than 21 or 22 if I had to guess.

Damn, she is gorgeous.

I reach over and swipe my finger across her cheek, watching her sleep. This little girl is going to be the death of me, I already know. Leaning my head back on the seat, I pray to the power that be for strength.

“Get her back on her feet, and that's it. Nothing else, you don’t want to go to jail, Jimmy.”

Taking one last look at the sleeping angel in the passenger seat, I decide it’s time to get both of us inside. She’s in an oversized white shirt, obviously too big, with what I hope is something other than panties underneath.

Man up! You are just going to carry her inside so she can get some sleep. Stop being a creeper.

I take a deep breath before climbing out to head to the passenger side.

“Time for sleep, little one,” I say after opening the passenger door. As I reach to unbuckle her seatbelt, she kicks me in the stomach, hard, causing me to stumble backward, I was not expecting that.

“What the fuck was that for?” I growl, fuck that hurt.

“Oh shit,” she rasps.

Her voice catches me off guard, the sound shoots straight to my dick. It feels like silk caressing my skin, in complete contrast to the bruised and blooded look on her face.

“What the fuck happened to your face?”

I stalk towards her, the movement making her cower back into the truck before she changes her mind and stands her ground. This girl has been through hell and back, you can tell she’s a fighter. She knows nothing other than her brother said to trust me, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to lay down and take my shit. In an attempt to contain the rage I’m feeling, I take a deep breath, slowing my advance. I have to know who or what did this, so I can kill them. They have to pay for what they have done to this angel before me, I have to do it for Justin. He would want someone to avenge his baby sister in his stead. Yeah, that’s the only reason I want to rip whoever this asshole is limb from limb.

What the fuck am I thinking? I’m old enough to be her father for Christ sake. I need to get away from her and quickly. “I’m not going to hurt you…” I can’t remember what Katie said her name was.

“Emma,” she squeaks out.

The name makes me smile, it fits her perfectly. “Emma, let’s get inside, get you cleaned up, and we can crash for a few hours. I’ll have to open the bar tonight, but you can stay upstairs in the apartment, you’ll have the place to yourself for a while. Okay?”

She shakes her head in response,

“Are you going to show me the way to your apartment?”

I can’t help but chuckle at her response. I watch her slowly climb out of the truck, obviously in pain from her stilted movements.

I turn toward the stairs leading to my apartment, once we reach the stairs, I hold my hand out to her. “Do you want any help?”

I personally thought it was a nice gesture, but she looks at my hand as if I was asking her to blow me right here. “I can do it,” she says with determination before she begins her slow trek toward my front door.

I follow carefully behind her to make sure doesn’t fall or hurt herself further with her stubbornness. I absolutely DO NOT check out her ass as we slowly make our way up the stairs.

When we get to the door, I stop and put my hands on my hips as I force a breath out through my nose.

“Excuse me.” I lean past her, breathing in her intoxicating smell to unlock the door and push it open. She immediately walks into my apartment and begins to look around.

I don’t even have to give her a tour, she immediately asks where the bathroom is, and I lead the way.

“Why don’t you get cleaned up, I’ll grab you some clean clothes, then take care of all these cuts.”

Turning to leave before she can respond, I begin to envision her getting naked and kissing her senseless again the wall.

Heading into my room, I pull out a clean t-shirt and boxers for her to sleep in. Hopefully, Katie can bring some clothes by later today. Figuring she’ll be in there a while, I open the door to toss the clothes in when the water shuts off, and the curtain opens. My feet are frozen to the floor as I take in her wet body. Even completely covered in bruises, my dick stands immediately at attention.

My eyes are drawn to the mass of bruises on her chest and ribs covering her small but perfect breasts. My eyes keep traveling down her body, I can almost see her ribs, her waist isn’t any wider than my hand. I watch water droplets caress her skin, wanting to lick them off of her while kissing the multicolored bruises marring her flesh.

When I get to her hair free pussy, the rage boiling inside of me is more than I can handle. That piece of shit either punched her or raped her, either way, I have to get away from her. I wish I could shoot that fucker again, watch him bleed. My eyes flick to her, her eyes are wide, bright with tears, but they are absent of any kind of fear. I can’t imagine what this girl has gone through, but I promise she will never have to deal with any of that shit again, not with me around.

“He’ll never hurt you again,” I say before slamming the door closed and heading toward the kitchen.

Standing at the counter, I brace my hands against it until I hear her approach. I can smell her before I see her, like a magnet pulling me toward her. I want to mark her, make her mine so that asshole will think twice about touching her again. I’m too damn old for her, she deserves a nice guy her age, not a controlling old bastard that will do nothing but hold her back.

The slam of the bathroom door causes me to jump in surprise. He looked at me like I was his favorite meal, but right now I need to sleep, then figure out how to fix the mess I made of my life again.

I dry off quickly, dressing in the clothes Jimmy brought me. I have to roll the elastic to make them fit, and the t-shirt hangs almost down to my knees. I laugh at my reflection in the mirror, I look like a little kid playing dress up in her daddy’s clothes. Combing my fingers through my hair, I make the most of it before throwing it into a bun on the top of my head and attempt to find Jimmy. He didn’t point anything out as we came in, so I try to get my bearings.

The hallway empties into the living room, which is filled with a big leather couch, simple tables and lamps, and old-fashioned hardwood floors. The walls are covered with bookshelves that are bursting with books and picture frames. This room is the first I‘ve seen, but I’m sure it will be my favorite. I can’t help but take a deep breath, taking in the scent that can be described as nothing more than Jimmy.

As I walk through, I notice a doorway off to the left leading to what must be the kitchen. The light is on so I head in and immediately notice Jimmy's head bent forward like he’s trying to calm himself.

In the light of the kitchen, I’m finally able to take in his appearance. His slightly greying black hair, long on top and slicked back, buzzed on the sides. A dark scruffy beard with sprinkles of grey. I can tell he’s muscular as his jeans snuggly hug his legs while my eyes continue their journey up his body, noticing his muscular arms and chest, they meet his intense stare.

FUCK!

My cheeks immediately pink in embarrassment, I refuse to be intimidated. I meet his gaze head-on, he smirks in response.

“You’re a little firecracker aren’t you?”

“When I’m not doing stupid shit that causes me to need rescuing,” I respond as I enter the kitchen. He continues staring, it’s intense, going straight to my soul. Jimmy is going to be trouble if I’m not careful, I have enough to deal with right now. I just want to focus on getting my life back together, heal quickly, and move on.

I clear my throat. “Thank you.”

He narrows his eyes at me.

“For before. For finding me. For helping me.”

He continues to remain quiet, standing there and staring. Does he get a kick out of making me feel uncomfortable? I peak up at him from the corner of my eye, wondering what he sees when he looks at me. A broken little girl that needs to be rescued, just the thought makes me furious. I worked so hard to finally be seen as an adult, someone that can make their own decisions and take care of themselves. It’s all been washed away, again.

“He won’t ever hurt you again,” he repeats.

“You said that.”

I don’t mean to sound like a bitch, it just seems to be coming out that way. I’m exhausted, and I’ve been through way too much to play nice right now. Javier was beyond angry when we left, but Jimmy didn’t give a shit about it. He shot him and left with me in his arms. I’m glad it was him and not Justin that came to rescue me, this way I can handle things myself. Not be shipped back home to Hicksville, USA to live a life under the watchful eye of Mom and Dad.

He turns to face me, and all I can focus on are his hands. I really want him to hold me, protect me. I’m afraid to ask though, he‘ll see my weakness as something to take advantage of, just like Javier did. I will not make that same mistake again.

I came to San Diego to experience life and get away from my past. It was a condition of my parents to be near my brother so he could ‘keep an eye on me.’ I understand they wanted someone around in case I ‘messed up’ again. Man, what they would do now if they could see how well he’s been taking care of me. This isn’t his fault, I’m the one that fell for the lines and tricks. Javier knew exactly what to say, and I was apparently an easy mark, no matter how much checking I did.

“Are you hungry?” Jimmy’s voice breaks through my thoughts.

He’s standing directly in front of me, he’s hiding something behind his emerald colored eyes.

Tears fill my eyes as the emotional exhaustion takes over. His hand brushes my cheek under the bruise that surrounds my eye, and the dam breaks free. I fling myself into his arms, wrapping my entire body around him, letting all of my emotions loose.

My tears soak his shirt as he pulls me tightly to his chest. My grip on his neck must be choking him, but he doesn’t say anything or try to loosen my grip. I feel the cold counter against my thighs, as I continue to cling to him like a lifeline. He rubs my back in big soothing circles and kisses my hair, telling me to 'let it all out' and that I’m safe now. I cry for the girl that I used to be, I cry for the broken soul that I am now, and I cry because I don’t know what else to do.

The tears begin to slow, my grip loosens, and I sit back on the counter. I’m embarrassed to have broken down like that, my face gets hot as Jimmy looks at me.

“Feel better?” he asks, dipping down to look into my eyes.

All I can do is nod in response.

“Why don’t we get some sleep? Sound like a plan?”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

I slide down off the counter and make my way toward the living room. I stare at the couch trying to decide if I can lie down or if there’s a spare room before Jimmy speaks from behind me.

“Down the hall, second door on the left is a spare room. The sheets are clean, make yourself comfortable.” His voice is gravelly but comforting.

Making my way to the door he mentioned, I find a comfortable looking bed and sink down into it. I feel safe here, safe with him. It’s with that final thought that I take a deep breath and close my eyes for what feels like the first time in years.