Page 139 of Hidden

“You don’t have to do it alone,” Cain adds. “Lileah brought clothes. She can stay in the room with you if you want. Whatever makes it easier.”

He starts to rise. Before he can fully stand, my hand shoots out and catches his wrist. He looks down at my fingers, then back at my face. After a second, he sits again.

I wipe at my cheeks with the heel of my free hand, but the tears keep coming.

“Will you stay with me?” I whisper.

Cain is quiet for a moment, then he nods once.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

Miles told me once that Cain would protect anyone he considered family. Sitting here with his wrist still loosely in my grip, I finally understand what that means.

***

They give us a private room, and I have a feeling Cain made them give us one.

Cain stands with his back to the examination table, his arms folded, and he’s staring at the far wall so he can’t see anything, Lileah is just outside the door. The doctor is a woman, she’s calm and efficient. She explains every step before she does it in a low, even voice.

She checks the bruises on my face and the raw skin around my wrists. She takes photographs. When she reaches for the small kits to collect evidence, she tells me exactly what she’s doing, scraping under my nails, taking swabs, drawing blood. The motions are clinical and impersonal. I keep my eyes on the back of Cain’s shoulders the entire time.

“Does it hurt?” Cain asks without turning around. His voice is quieter than usual.

“A little,” I admit.

While the doctor works, I find myself talking, mostly to fill the silence.

“Miles told me about The Pit,” I say. “Not everything. Just that it exists. That you… were there.”

“I don't like talking about it,” he says. “But it might be the best thing that ever happened to me. The system lets too many people walk free. I get to make sure some of them don’t.” He pauses. “My family is the most important thing in my life. I would die for them without thinking twice. You’re part of that family now. And I promise you, we will find the man and the woman who did this. If it’s the last thing I do.”

My throat tightens.

“Will they go to the Pit?” I ask.

“Yes.”

“There… there was a girl with me…” I try to remember her name, but everything is still all over the place in my head. “Do you know if she’s okay?”

Cain is quiet for a moment, and I wait there scared he’s going to say something I don’t want to hear.

“She is, she’s the one we were looking for. She means something to someone close to me. A man I would do anything for. She’s safe, I’ll let her know you asked about her.”

His phone rings, and he stops it, it rings again, and again he stops it. “You can answer the phone, maybe listening to your conversation will help me not think about what is happening to me right now.”

“Hello…how is she?” There’s silence and I see the tense in his back relax slightly. “Lincoln, that’s good… Thank him yourself when he wakes up… They’re still working on him. Tell Renee that Sadie asked about her.” He lets out a small laugh; well I think it was a laugh. “I’ll let her know she asked about Sadie.”

“Ouch,” I snap at the doctor.

“What happened?” Cain demands.

“Sorry, this might be a little painful,” she says, and I look over at Cain who still has his back to me.

“Hurt her and I will make sure…”

“It’s okay,” I say quickly, and he nods.

“How many do we have? No leave them for a moment, Mason is back on the job now, he can work on it… Call me once you’re back.” He ends the call, and the doctor tells me to get dressed.