Chapter 16
Oh, no.
Had she said those words out loud? To a guy she'd only met a few days ago, no less.
Damn it, Mariah was too exhausted to care about anyone's opinion tonight.
God, it felt so good in the toasty circle of his hard chest and thick arms. Like somehow those demons couldn't haunt her here, with Vaughn. He held her firmly, but it was different. Maybe because she knew he wouldn't stop her if she needed to get away. Maybe it was just... him.
Every inch of her body pressed against him registered his tense muscles. The guy was like a hard, warm radiator.
"What happened?" he asked. How long had it been since someone cared about her on a deeper level than as a professional? Besides Kevin, of course.
Poor Vaughn. He'd spent his evening getting threatened by the Brands and then letting her use him as a landing pad for a meltdown. The least she could do was explain why she had freaked out.
The act of taking a deep breath hurt. "When I was about eight, my parents got wrapped up in a fundamentalist religious group. The leaders brainwashed my parents into believing that all the kids belonged to the group collective."
"Okay. That's bizarre."
Flashes of sleeping in bedrooms with eight, sometimes twelve, children zipped in front of her mind's eye. Hot, stuffy rooms, packed full of members' kids. "Seemed normal to most folks there. But, yeah, my parents didn't have a lot to do with us."
"So not very supportive?" The rolling rumble of his voice from his chest into hers gave her even more courage.
"More like not very involved. My brother and I were raised along with the other kids. On the rare occasions when we saw our parents, they treated us exactly like the other children. Cold. Businesslike. As I got older, though, I saw what happened to other girls. It was obvious the next step would be to marry me off to one of the group members."
His arms tightened around her. "How old?"
"Me? Fourteen. The selected member was fifty or so."
"That's sick."
"No argument here. The story gets even better. The last several 'wives' had come back from their honeymoons beaten to a pulp or sexually abused. Because they weren't obedient or pleasing enough or some other bull."
"Damn."
She had that strange sensation of being in a cocoon again. Comfortable and secure but not confined. A headache came and went across her forehead. Probably due to stress. "At the same time my marriage was being arranged, my brother, Kevin, who's younger by two years, was getting systematically beaten. The older men did this to most of the adolescent boys to keep them in line. Then, as they approached their mid-teen years, many of the boys disappeared. The leaders always said that the boys 'ran away,' but I had my suspicions."
"No way."
"Yes. So, when our future plans looked like pain for him and lecherous love for me, Kevin and I snuck out one night, escaped."
"And?" It sounded like the word was ripped from his throat.
A pinch formed in her chest. For a second, she was back in those terra cotta hills—dusty, sweaty, and exhausted, running for her life. "We were caught."
"Shit. What happened?"
"We both got a beating, but Kevin's was way worse. For several days, I was trapped in a small plywood room while armed men kept me from escaping. During that time, they were systematically tearing Kevin down, mentally and physically. I didn't dare try to open the door because I didn't know what they'd do to me, or Kevin, if I broke any more rules." She sighed. "Actually, no. I had a good idea what they'd do to me because another girl had gotten caught escaping a second time. Those people hurt her in every way a human can hurt another human."
"My God. I can't believe you went through that." He ran his fingers through her hair. Not sexual. But safe. Something she could get used to, damn it.
"So I was trapped for days. The worst part? I didn't know if my brother would be alive when I left that room." The texture of Vaughn's thermal shirt under her fingertips grounded her to the present, but her memories took her right back to the compound and that damned room with the moldy floor. "After they let me out, I did my chores and obeyed like a good member. I even helped plan my upcoming wedding."
The motion of his fingers paused. "What happened to Kevin?"
"He survived, but he was severely injured. He should have gone to the hospital. They beat him and left him to crawl back to one of the houses and sleep on the floor like a dog. I felt so helpless. I should have been able to help my little brother."
He squeezed her arm. "I know how you feel, wanting to protect him."
"Yeah, I bet you do, being the oldest."
"But go on, please. It's your story."
"Kevin managed to get messages to me, begging to try again to escape. He—" She gulped. "He was going to end his own life if he couldn't get out."
"No," he whispered.
"So I couldn't fail. We planned. We waited. He endured more beatings. I had to meet with my future 'husband' and sit there while he touched me. Inspecting. Even with clothes on, it was disgusting."
Vaughn's hands tightened on her upper arms as a growl came from his throat. The cocoon sensation intensified, along with her headache. Her shiver certainly had nothing to do with the cold.
"A few nights before my so-called blessed union, I picked a lock on the window and escaped. Kevin and I crawled out again and got through the fenced perimeter. This time, we made it to Salt Lake City and found an aunt and uncle who took us in."
"And then you became a doctor?"
"Eventually. And Kevin made sure no one could ever beat him up again. He's into MMA. The guy is terrifying in the ring."
"What weight class?"
"Bantamweight. Why, are you a fan?"
"Well, yes. Again, not my story. Please continue."
"The rest is history. Here I am in Copper River, paying off my loans by working in an underserved area. Kevin's in Salt Lake City working at Starbucks to support his MMA habit." She smiled into his chest and inhaled his warm scent, as heady as mulled cider, and served with a hug. "And I help him out with the finances a little bit, too. He needs something in his life to be proud of."
"He's proud of you."
"Sure." She shook her head. "But I meant personally proud. Something he can call his own. Something he's created. I'm just the nagging older sister."
"Never." He rubbed his thumb over her upper arm, sending a welcome tingle down to her fingertips. "Are you two close?"
"Talk at least every week, usually much more." The remainder of her tight fear uncoiled and released, like a terrified animal finally brave enough to walk out of its hiding spot.
"He sounds like a good guy."
"He's great. For a little brother, that is."
"I know how about that sentiment." His rolling chuckle rumbled into her chest. "You still want to keep him safe? Even now?"
She rested her cheek against his torso. "Of course. Who wouldn't, after all of the junk we dealt with?"
"Good point."
Another few minutes went by until she leaned away. "So, I should probably do something about what happened back there."
"What do you mean?"
"The part where we were threatened with guys with guns."
He snorted.
She studied the shadows of his hard face. "What?"
"I'm not laughing at you. It's just... yes. You are correct, we should at least fill out a police report."
"But?"
"But it's not going to help. They'll just say they were defending their property against trespassers. And once they learned who we were, those guys did put down the rifles. Besides, Tommy Brand, who was the guy with the messed-up eyebrow standing in front of the truck with a gun? Yeah, he's the sheriff."
"How is that possible?"
"Bad luck, I guess." He whistled low. "That family is seriously nuts." He readjusted his grip but continued to hold her. "And I don't mean to get into your business, but please don't go back over there."
"You don't need to tell me twice." She sniffed. "So I shouldn't press charges?"
"If you want to, I'll go with you. Just don't expect any results."
"Wow. Okay. But I feel like there needs to be some documentation, in case..."
"In case something else happens?"
A shudder rattled her spine. "Yeah."
His arms cranked down around her, but stopped short of pain. "Excellent point. Then let's go fill out the report now. I'll help you."
"Really? Um, thanks. And, again, sorry for ruining your evening. I'm sure you didn't plan to be gone this long. You must have better things to do."
"This is exactly where I needed to be."
"Thanks." In the illumination from the dash, she craned her neck to meet his eyes, praying to heaven she wouldn't find pity there.
Instead, a burning intensity lit his face. Not desire, exactly, and of course not, what with her meltdown this evening. More like a guy who wanted to slay someone's demons.
Well, he could have all of her demons. He was welcome to them.
Although he loosened his grip, his firm, secure presence remained. If she needed his strength, she knew it would be right there, ready to go.
She scooted off his lap and buckled up. The lack of his heat, his touch, left her cold, and not only in temperature.
"Let's go file a report, shall we?" His teeth gleamed in the darkness.