Zane
I strode out of the house with my girl in my arms and walked up to Levi’s truck. He followed behind me and opened the back door so I could climb in without jostling her too much. After he closed the door he came around to the front, turned on the truck, and blasted the heat.
“Need five minutes inside with the guys. I’ll be quick so we can get her back home,” Levi said.
I nodded and offered, “I’m good if you take ten minutes and use the extra five to fuck Miller up for what he did to her.”
He smirked at me and closed the door.
In all honesty, I didn’t give a shit if he spent five hours in that house giving the bastard what he deserved. All I cared about was the fact that I had my girl sleeping peacefully in my arms. Truth be told, I wasn’t sure if I’d ever want to let her go, fearing that something else would come along and try to take her away from me. I knew in that moment I would spend the rest of my life doing whatever I had to do to keep her safe. I spent the next several minutes just staring at her, watching her sleep.
“Please stop,” she murmured, her voice filled with anguish. Her eyes were closed.
Fuck.
“Sweetheart,” I said gently, trying to wake her.
I heard the front door to the truck open and glanced up to see Levi hopping in. He must have realized by the look on my face that something wasn’t right.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“She’s having a nightmare.”
“No,” she called out. “Please stop.”
“Emme, you’ve got to get up.”
Her body went from relaxed to tense. I heard a pained groan come from her.
“Zane,” she breathed. “Baby, please help me.”
“I’m right here, Em. Come back to me, sweetheart.”
“Christ. She has these regularly?” Levi asked.
I nodded. “This isn’t bad yet.”
“Fuck,” he said.
Emme groaned again and started trembling. Then, she began crying.
“Come on, Em.”
“Please don’t….No,” she begged.
“You’re safe, Emme. I’ve got you.”
“Zane?” she called out.
“I’m here, Em.”
“No. NO, DON’T TOUCH ME,” she screamed as she woke up and struggled to pull out of my arms.
“Emme, sweetheart. It was a nightmare. You’re safe. I’m here. I’ve got you. Nobody is going to hurt you ever again.”
“Zane?” she called out in disbelief. Her head turned toward the sound of my voice and the second her eyes made contact with mine she lost it.
“Oh my God,” she said as she pulled at my shirt, trying to get closer. I swear if she could have climbed inside my body she would have done just that. She was sobbing uncontrollably and I just held her through it.
“It’s ok, sweetheart. You’re safe. He’s never going to touch you again. I promise you, Em. You are safe,” I whispered in her ear.
When I looked up at Levi I saw he was struggling to remain calm. I’m certain that’s what I looked like after the first time I witnessed one of her nightmares.
“Let’s move,” I mouthed to him.
He nodded.
The moment the truck began moving Emme tensed again and then began squirming. “NO,” she screamed.
Levi stopped the truck immediately.
“Where are we? Where are we going?” she asked, panic filling her voice.
“We’re in Levi’s truck, Em. He’s driving. We’re going to take you to the hospital and get you checked out.”
She looked to the front and saw Levi looking back at her. His face softened when she looked at him. When she looked back to me she shook her head. “No. No hospital.”
“We’ve got to make sure you’re ok, Emme.”
Her lip trembled and she pleaded with me, “Please. No.”
Fuck.
I looked to Levi.
“Mom?” he asked.
I looked back to my girl. “Ok, sweetheart. I’ll take you home.”
She visibly relaxed.
“You ok with my mom coming over in a couple hours to check and make sure you are alright?”
She nodded.
“Ready to go home?” I asked.
She snuggled into me and said, “Yes, please.”
With that, Levi took off and drove us home. Emme fell asleep. I had called Wes on the way to get Emme to let him know that we found her, but that she went through hell and that I still didn’t know the fullest extent of it. I knew the girls would be worried about her and wanted to set their minds at ease. On the way home I sent him a text and told him I had her and we were on our way back. He responded, saying they were all relieved, but that the girls didn’t have a good night. He told me they wanted to come and see her. I responded back and let him know that Emme was going to need some time, but maybe later that night would work. I didn’t want to overwhelm her and would leave the decision to have visitors up to her.
When we arrived back home about an hour later I breathed a sigh of relief. I was home and I had my girl with me. Levi hopped out and opened the door to the back seat. Emme woke the moment she felt the cold air hit her bare legs. “We’re home, sweetheart.”
She moved and tried to scoot off my lap when I held on to her. She looked back at me, confused.
“You don’t have shoes, Em. Let me carry you.”
She nodded and settled back into my lap.
I got out of the car and walked toward the house. Levi used his spare key to my place and opened the door for us. We stepped inside and Emme wiggled in my arms. I set her down gently, but kept an arm wrapped around her waist. I knew her body had been through hell and I didn’t want to risk having her fall.
“Need anything?” Levi asked.
I shook my head.
“Emme?” he called.
She shook her head and looked down.
Levi’s angry eyes came to mine. He had the same thoughts I did. That motherfucker made her feel inadequate, ashamed, and embarrassed.
“Going to head out. I’ll give you some time alone with her and then I’ll call mom in a couple hours. You good with that?”
“Yeah. That works. Let me get her cleaned up and settled. Want to give her some time to rest before people start coming over. Tell mom to come around lunch time.”
“You got it. I’ll check back in later.”
I nodded.
“Levi?” I heard Emme’s small voice say beside me.
We turned our heads to her and Levi said, “Yeah, Em?”
She had been staring off not looking at either one of us, but after a moment she brought her eyes to Levi’s and with a single tear running down her cheek she said, “Thank you.”
His face warmed and he gave her a soft smile before he said, “You’re welcome. I’m just happy you’re home safe. You need anything, you tell Zane and we’ll get it for you, ok?”
She nodded.
“We’ll check in on you later,” he said as he moved to the door.
“Thanks, Levi,” I said, feeling grateful that I had two brothers who did what they did for a living.
After Levi left, I secured the house at the alarm panel and moved to pick up Emme. She curled into me while I carried her up the steps and into the bathroom. I set her down on the ledge of the sink. Keeping one hand on her I held her steady while I leaned over to the side and grabbed a washcloth. I turned on the tap and waited while the water warmed up. After a few seconds I wet the cloth, rang it out, and brought it up to her face. Her left eye was already bruised and swollen and her lip had a nasty gash in it from when he punched her. I gently put the cloth up to clean the right side of her face since that had the least amount of trauma to it. Despite my best efforts to be gentle, when I moved to the other side of her face she winced in pain.
“I’m sorry, Emme,” I said to her, hating that I was causing her any further pain.
I managed to get her face all cleaned up. I tossed the washcloth to the side and took my hands off her. Once I knew she was steady and wouldn’t fall I moved to turn on the shower. I saw the anxiety in her face as I walked back over to her. I framed her face in my hands and said, “We are going to wash away all of the bad and ugly, Emme.”
The tears spilled down her cheeks.
“You want me to help you do that, sweetheart?”
She nodded.
I took off my shirt, boots, and pants, but I left the boxer briefs on. She had been through enough and I wasn’t going to traumatize her any further.
I put my hands to the hem of Cruz’s shirt that was still covering her body and looked in her eyes.
“You ok with me taking this off?” I asked, gently.
She was beginning to tremble, but she nodded.
I carefully lifted the shirt over her head and had to swallow down the anger I was feeling really quick. There were bruises covering the majority of her tiny body. I picked her up carefully and set her on her feet, keeping my hands on her, supporting her weight.
“You ok?” I asked.
She nodded and brought her arms up to cover her chest.
Fuck.
I brought my hands to her hips. She turned her head to the side and began crying. Her body was quivering with uncontrollable fear.
“Look at me, Emme.”
She slowly turned her head toward me.
“Sweetheart, it’s me. I would never hurt you. Do you trust me to take care of you?”
“Yes,” she said through her tears.
“Can I get these off of you, Em?”
Her breaths came quick, but she nodded.
“Keep your eyes on mine. You don’t have to be scared.” I kept my eyes on hers while I slid her panties down her legs. When they reached her feet, I stood up in front of her.
“You ready?”
She nodded and began walking toward the shower. I stayed close, but let her do it on her own. She stepped inside the shower and stood underneath the spray. I walked in right behind her. Her arms were still bent and covering her chest while she dropped her head back and closed her eyes. I gave her a minute to stand there and let the warm water loosen her muscles and help relieve some of her tension. I’m not sure if it helped at all, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.
Her eyes were still closed when I put my hands to her forehead. She tensed for a moment, but quickly relaxed. I moved my hands back over her hair. I would gently turn her head one way or the other making sure all of her strands were wet. Then, I put some shampoo in my hands, worked it through her hair, and took my time massaging her scalp hoping that I was providing her some relief.
“Keep your eyes closed,” I said as I began rinsing the shampoo from her hair.
Once it was all rinsed out I filled my palm up with some conditioner and worked it through her strands. I ran my fingers through the length of her hair and then rinsed it out for her.
When I finished washing her hair she tilted her head forward and opened her eyes to look at me. She was fighting back emotions so I simply gave her a small smile. She still hadn’t dropped her hands from her chest and her hands were balled into tight little fists.
“You want me to wash him off your body, Emme?” I asked her.
She nodded, but still said nothing.
I grabbed a washcloth and lathered it up with some soap. I knew her front was going to be harder for her, so I put my hands to her shoulders and gently turned her around. I pushed her hair out of the way and moved the cloth across the top of her back and worked my way down. I wanted to help relax her a bit so after I lathered up her entire back I hung the washcloth a moment and worked my fingers into the muscles of her back. The soap allowed my fingers to glide smoothly over her delicate skin and after several minutes there was a noticeable difference. Her back wasn’t nearly as tight as it had been before I started. I grabbed the cloth again, ran it under the warm water, and lathered it up. After washing her entire backside down to her ankles, I stood and carefully turned her around to face me. I worked more soap into the washcloth and began to clean her front side. I started at her neck, where I remembered him putting his mouth. I cleaned every inch of her neck to make sure there was nothing left of him there before I moved out toward her shoulders. I wrapped my hand around her wrist, careful not to grab on the spots were the shackles had dug in and lacerated her skin, and pulled her arm away from her body as delicately as I could. I washed down the top side of her arm and back up the underside of it. When I reached her underarm, I cleaned her there before I moved the washcloth across the top of her chest to the other side. I repeated the same movements on the other arm. Knowing I was approaching a sensitive area, I wrapped my free hand around her waist and held her tight as I kept my other hand planted on her chest just above her breasts.
“Are you ok, sweetheart?” I asked her.
She looked up at me and nodded.
“Is it ok to move my hand down and wash away where he had his hands on you?”
Her lips began to tremble and her knees buckled. I quickly shifted myself behind her to support her weight as she leaned back into me. Taking my free arm to wrap it around the front of her to the opposite shoulder I looked down at her. Her eyes came back to mine pleading with me.
“Please get him off of me,” she begged, her voice hoarse.
I moved my hand holding the washcloth slowly across the skin of one of her breasts. I kept my eyes focused on her face. As I continued to wash her breasts one of her hands came up and wrapped around my forearm. Her fingernails dug into the skin of my arm. It hurt like a bitch, but I didn’t give a shit. She’d endured way worse and if that is what she needed to get through this, then I’d sacrifice my entire body for her. I finished cleaning her breasts and began working the washcloth down her abdomen, careful to not put too much pressure on the bruised part of her body. I washed her sides and her hips before I came back to rest my hand flat on her stomach, just below her belly button. Her body had gone completely solid again and I found myself struggling to maintain my composure. She now had both of her hands wrapped around my forearm. I hated this for her.
“Emme, I can’t do this if you don’t tell me it’s ok. Sweetheart, I’ll do everywhere else without a doubt, but I can’t move my hand down any more until you say that it’s what you need me to do.”
“Get rid of him, please, Zane.”
I moved my hand down, but couldn’t actually clean between her legs because she had them squeezed together so tightly. I gave her a minute, hoping she’d calm herself down and relax, but she didn’t.
“Em?” I called.
And that’s when she lost it. She completely broke down into a fit of tears. I moved my hand immediately and dropped the washcloth. I held on to her while I angled the spray toward the bench in the shower and then I picked her up and carried her over where I sat and settled her in my lap. She nuzzled her face into my neck and wrapped her arms around me. She kept using her feet to help move herself closer to me, but she was already pressed flat up against my skin.
“It’s alright, Emme,” I said, trying to calm her.
She continued to cry and finally said, “How can I get rid of him? I keep flashing back to when he had his hands on me, to when he…to when he shoved his fingers inside of me. It hurt so bad.”
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
Part of me now regretted not walking into the basement so I could beat the ever-loving shit out of him for what he did to my sweet girl.
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I’m so fucking sorry he got to you and he did that to you. We’ll get rid of him. I promise you.”
“How?” she asked, defeat in her voice.
“Together,” I answered, tenderness in my voice. “We will fight together and get rid of him. You hold the washcloth in your hand; I hold your hand. Ok?”
She thought for a moment and eventually said, “Ok.”
I reached out my hand and snagged the washcloth from the bench. I ran it under the spray once more and lathered it up with soap again. I handed her the washcloth and said, “Whenever you’re ready, Em.”
She placed the cloth on her belly and brought her eyes to mine. She nodded. I put my hand on top of hers. Emme parted her thighs and began moving her hand down her abdomen. I kept my eyes on hers as she cupped her sex. She didn’t move her hand and I kept my hand still on top of hers.
“Wash him away, sweetheart. I’m right here with you,” I encouraged her.
She slowly began moving her fingers to clean herself. I kept firm pressure on her hand so she knew I was with her every step of the way, but refused to move my fingers. I didn't want to do anything that would put her mind back in that fucking basement. Her sad eyes came to mine when she finished. I took the washcloth from her hand and cleaned her legs and feet while she sat in my lap. After, I set the washcloth aside and looked back to her.
“He’s not on you anymore, Em,” I began as I brought one hand up to her temple. “I know he’s still here and that’s going to take some time, but we’ll get rid of him there, too.”
“Ok,” she said quietly.
“Come on,” I said, standing with her in my arms. “We’ll get you rinsed off and then you can rest for a while. Alright?”
She nodded.
I set her down so she could stand under the spray to rinse off. She winced in pain and I realized that since she was no longer running on adrenaline the aches and pains were going to hit her full force.
“I’m going to step out and get you something to wear. Stay warm under the water until I get back, ok?”
She shook her head. “Please don’t leave me alone.”
My heart broke for her.
“Ok, sweetheart. I’ll step out to get you a towel and then we’ll head into the bedroom together.”
She nodded her agreement.
With that, I stepped out and took my soaked boxer briefs off before I wrapped a towel around my waist. I grabbed two towels for Emme, walked back to the shower, turned off the water, and helped her out. I took the first towel and wrapped it around her before I walked behind her and gathered all her hair up in my hand. I then used the second towel to get the excess moisture out of her hair. Once I had sufficiently done that I brought my arms to her shoulders and ran my hands up and down her arms over the towel to not only dry her off, but also to warm her up. Still standing behind her I brought my hands to the top of the towel and opened it up so I could use it to dry the rest of her body. I worked my way down her back, over her bottom, and down her legs. I stood and came around to her front. With the towel separating us I brought my hands to her throat and began drying down her front side. I applied gentle pressure since I knew she was really beginning to feel the effects of his assault on her. I dried her breasts and abdomen before I moved to her hips. After, I moved to her ankles and worked my way up her legs. As I worked my way up her legs I tilted my head to look at her face. She seemed anxious. I got so far as her upper thighs and stayed there.
“We need to dry you, Em. You want to do this part?” I asked.
She reached out her hand and I brought the towel up to her. Instead of taking the towel from me she put her hand behind mine and then moved my hand to cup her sex. My eyes went to hers and despite the sadness and tears in them I knew at that moment that I’d get my girl back. Surely, she’d need some time, but eventually I’d have her back.
We finished drying her before I stood and wrapped the towel around her again. I put my hand behind her back and began to guide her out of the bathroom. I stopped and pulled open one of the drawers with medicine in it and grabbed some pain meds. After, I filled up a cup with some cool water from the tap and then grabbed her hair dryer. She had her back to me and walked out into the room.
I set everything down on the table by the chaise and moved to get her a pair of panties and a nightie. When I stood in front of her I put my hands to the towel and asked, “Can I help you get dressed?”
She nodded.
I removed the towel from her body and picked her panties up off the bed. She stepped into them and I slid them up her legs and over her hips. After, I picked up her nightie and brought it down over her head. She slid her arms through the arm holes before I pulled it the rest of the way down her body.
“Let me help you into bed,” I said, pulling back the blankets and helping her maneuver her body into the bed.
I walked over to the table and grabbed the glass of water and medicine. Emme was sitting up in the bed when I walked back over.
“You’re already in a lot of pain, Em. It’s going to be worse in a couple hours. Take this,” I said handing her the glass and the meds.
She swallowed them down while I put on a fresh pair of boxer briefs. I went back to the table and picked up the hair dryer. When I turned around, Emme said, “I don’t have the energy for that, Zane.”
I continued to walk toward the bed and moved the pillow behind her out of the way. After plugging the hairdryer in the outlet beside the bed and sitting where the pillow used to be I said, “You don’t like going to bed with wet hair. I’m not going to let you go to bed with wet hair. I know you don’t have the strength right now to lift your arms over your head and do this, which is why I’m going to do it for you.”
“You don’t have to do that. You’ve already done too much,” she said.
“I haven’t done anywhere near enough, Emme. You said you trust me to take care of you, so that what I’m going to do. I know I don’t have to do this, but I don’t want my girl falling asleep and waking up cold. So, I’m going to dry your hair and then we’re going to relax for a while and get some sleep. You alright with that?”
She nodded her agreement.
I turned on the hair dryer and dried her hair. Ten minutes later, her hair was completely dry. I turned off the dryer, got up off the bed, and moved her pillow back into place. After unplugging the dryer and putting it back on the table by the sofa I walked back to the bed and climbed under the covers. She dropped her head back to the pillow and pulled the blankets up to cover her body. More than anything I wanted to hold Emme while she slept, but I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. Deciding it was best to let her make that move I slid over far enough that I was within arm’s reach, but kept my hands to myself.
I was lying on my side looking at her. She was on her back looking at the ceiling. We stayed like that a long time before she turned her head to me. She took a deep swallow and that’s when I knew she had something she wanted to say.
“What is it, Emme?” I asked.
Her eyes roamed my face before she admitted, “I’m afraid to sleep.”
“I know, Em. I’ll be right here and if you have a nightmare I’ll do what I can to get you out of it quickly.”
She held my eyes a moment before she asked, “Will you hold me?”
I let out a breath and promised, “Forever, sweetheart.”
I moved toward her while she turned her body toward mine. Wrapping an arm around her waist I carefully pulled her into my body. Her face was pressed into my neck and I bent my head down to press a kiss to the top of her head.
Within minutes, exhaustion took over and we were both asleep.