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Spencer leans over the hole's edge and grabs Zander's hand, pulling him up. We all just kind of stand there for a minute with them, looking at her like they don’t know what’s happening. I don’t blame them; honestly, I’m confused as well.
She turns around to face us, and still, she’s smiling.
How can someone who clearly has been through hell smile so easily like that?
“Shall we go?” She asks, and her question is enough to pull me from my thoughts.
I step back, gesturing for her to walk ahead of me. As she makes her way around the desk and towards the door, we follow after her. I hear Spencer and Zander talking in hushed tones behind me, but I don’t care to be a part of the conversation. Instead, I let Jade take up all the room in my head as she strides up the stairs without a care in the world.
What is with this girl?
As we exit the building, we see that most of the cops are gathered around as if waiting to see what’s going on. So helpful. Trent is standing front and center. The moment Jade is through the door, his eyes go to her as if pulled by a siren's call.
He would have left this girl behind if Trent had been here without us.
The urge to knock him out comes over me so strongly I have to clench my jaw and dig my nails into the fleshy part of my palm to keep myself in check. I’m all but towering over him before I even make the choice to go to him. Unfortunately, he has enough common sense to take a step back.
“Where are the girls?” I hear Jade ask behind me, but I let one of the others answer her, choosing to keep my focus on Trent. At the sound of her voice, Trent’s common sense seems to vanish as he tries to sidestep around me in an attempt to get to her, no doubt. I mirror his movement, effectively blocking her from his line of sight as I hear Zander tell her he will take her to them.
I hear them walk away but don’t bother to look. I know Zander will keep an eye on her and get her to the girls in the van. I still feel Spencer at my back, choosing to stay as backup in case I should need it. I won’t, but I appreciate it nonetheless.
“Do you want to tell me again how you swept the building multiple times and still seemed to have missed a victim?” My words come out clipped as I try to hold in my anger, clearly doing a poor job of it.
“Or should we talk about how you don’t need our help?” Spencer says to him as he comes to stand at my side. I glance at him from the corner of my eye and see his stiff posture. Anger all but radiates off of him. I’m sure we appear every bit as unhinged as everyone says we are in this moment.
“The officers will be dealt with for their incompetence, I assure you. And while I thank you for your assistance tonight, I really must insist that we head out and you do the same.” Trent tells us, forever the good little rule-following cop, he doesn’t rise to the challenge we just laid out.
How disappointing.
When neither Spencer nor myself back down, Trent tries again.
“I’m sure the girls would appreciate getting medical attention and being someplace safe and warm. But, seeing as they are the victims in this situation, I think it would be best if we get them taken care of.”
He’s right, but I still want to hit him, and with him throwing my words back at me, it only makes that urge stronger.
Instead, I step back from him and nod to Spencer without taking my eyes off Trent. Spencer stands down as well before stuffing his hands back into his pockets in his usual no fucks to give way. He walks around Trent towards the car, making sure to shoulder-check him as he goes.
Trent keeps his attention on me, not taking Spencer's last attempt to bait him into a fight, but that's okay. I may want to spill his blood all over this dingy unkept parking lot, but even if I can’t, I still know how to win this round.
“You're right. Those girls deserve your full attention right now.” I turn towards the van to collect Zander so we can head out. I get a few steps away before I stop and call back to him over my shoulder. “Just worry about them. I’ll make sure the report gets to Froggie.”
He does an excellent job of keeping a straight face, but I’ve known Trent for years, and the panic in his eyes is clear to me. So I take a deep breath and let the idea of the punishment Froggie will dish out calm my need for blood thats pounding inside me.
I round the van and find Zander leaning against one of the open doors keeping watch. He gives me a nod in greeting but doesn’t say anything as he watches the girls. The youngest of the group has plastered herself to Jade and is once again crying so hard she can’t be understood. Jade just holds her tight and rubs her hair back from her face as she coos and feeds her sweet nothings about how everything will be okay.
The other girls in the van seem to be in better spirits now that Jade is there as well. Even if they hadn’t told me she was their caretaker, it’s clear now as they sit before us in the van. I feel my brows pinch in concern as I let myself take a moment to really think about what being their protector would mean for her.
How much bullshit has she been through?
I very well might never have an answer to that question, so instead of dwelling, I turn to Zander and tell him it’s time to head out. I turn away, letting them have their moment, and feel more than see Zander following behind me.
We only make it a few feet before she calls out for us to wait, and we both stop. I’m unsure how I know it’s her before I turn around, seeing as I’ve only heard her speak a handful of times, but I do.
Before I can turn around to face her, I feel her arms snake around my waist from behind. Her head rests on my back just below my shoulder blades. I know she's small, but seeing how small she is and feeling how small her body is compared to my own is almost jarring.
Her arms just barely reach around me, but I feel her squeeze. All the same, her face is pressed up against my back, but I can still hear her whisper “thank you” before she pulls away. It happened so quickly and without warning that I didn’t even get a chance to decide how to react before it was over.
I turn around with just enough time to see her launch herself into Zander's arms. Zander isn’t small exactly, but he is the smallest of the three of us. Spencer and I are both about six feet, Zander is just a few inches shorter, but somehow, he still looks like a giant in comparison to her.
