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“I didn’t pay close attention to the participants this weekend,” Braken said. “I should have—”
“Let’s go. We need to get to her,” I interrupted, hating only myself for not predicting something like this could happen.
Everything went by me in a blur as I stormed into the clinic determined to find Storee immediately.
“I’m here for Storee Brooks,” I said to the front desk. “I’m her father.”
The young woman from the desk looked up at me skeptically, clearly knowing exactly who I was. Heathens Hollow wasn’t a large town, and everyone knew everyone. But when she nodded, most likely grateful I gave her the easy out to cover her ass if anyone questioned her about only letting next of kin in the emergency room, I knew I’d chosen wisely to lie.
“She’s in the back waiting for the doctor to come in and speak with her.”
Without waiting another second I rushed to the back room, the sound of my boots echoing through the sterile halls. As I pushed open the door, I saw Storee sitting on the edge of the examination table, her hands clasped together tightly in her lap. She looked up at me with wide, tearstained eyes as I moved toward her.
“Locke,” she whispered, relief visible on her face.
She wore the white nightgown that was required for The Hunt. It was dirty and torn, and I instantly removed my jacket and put it over her shoulders. She was barefoot and appeared so broken.
“What happened, sweetheart?” I asked, concern lacing my voice. I sat down on the edge of the bed, taking her hand in mine. “Are you okay?”
She nodded her head, the tears spilling over. “I’m fine. I slipped and hit my head, but I’m okay.”
I looked at her, waiting for her to continue.
“I know I promised you I wouldn’t do The Hunt again. And, well…” her voice trembled, “…I’m sorry. I should have listened. But it’s not exactly what you think. I… everything just snowballed out of control.”
I felt my blood boil at the thought of another man hunting her… touching her… claiming her.
“What did the man do?” I somehow asked between clenched teeth.
I stood up, my fists balled. I needed to call Braken and demand a hit on the asshole who did this to her.
She shook her head. “Nothing. I ran as fast as I could to really get away. No game this time. I then climbed some rocks and fell. Next thing I knew, I was here. But nothing happened… sexually.” She looked up at me, her lip trembling. “You were right. I was in over my head. I’m sorry for not listening to you, for putting myself in danger. I know that I can be impulsive, that I don’t always think things through, but I promise you, I won’t do that again. I’ll listen to you from now on. But I was doing it because…”
I didn’t know what to say. Part of me wanted to scold her, punish her, lock her away so no one could ever come near her again, and to tell her that she was damn right she wouldn’t be doing The Hunt again. That I wouldn’t let anything like this happen to her again. But another part of me understood that she was just scared, that she had made a mistake and was apologizing for it. So instead, I pulled her closer to me, holding her tight as I whispered into her ear, “You don’t have to apologize, Storee. You’re safe now, and that’s all that matters.”
I sat down beside her and wrapped my arm around her shoulders, trying to soothe her as we waited for the doctor to arrive.
“I found the camera on my porch,” she said softly. “It was you, right? Watching?”
I hesitated for a moment before nodding my head. “Yes,” I admitted, “I was keeping an eye on you.” I wasn’t going to apologize but I wasn’t going to lie either.
“Has it always been there? Have you been watching me ever since—”
“Your father died,” I cut in. “I had to make sure you’d stay safe. Security.”
“I’m not mad,” she said. “Or at least not anymore. But I was going to teach you a lesson about spying.” She looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “It sounds stupid now, but I thought you would see me turn on the red light. I thought you’d come and stop me. I thought…” She trailed off, unable to finish her sentence.
“I should have been there,” I said, feeling the fury rage inside of me. “I didn’t see. I wasn’t watching. Fuck. Fuck—”
“It’s not your fault,” she interrupted. “I was playing a stupid game, and it backfired.”
I hugged her tighter, feeling a surge of possessiveness and protectiveness wash over me. I couldn’t let her go, not after what she had been through. I had to keep her with me, safe and sound. Locked up if I had to. Anything to never lose her.
“No more tears,” I said, lifting her chin up so that she could look me in the eye. “It’s over. You’re safe.”
She nodded, tears still streaming down her face. “I wasn’t breaking my promise in the way you think. I only turned on the red light to get your attention.”
I wiped her tears away with my thumb, then leaned in to kiss her forehead. “You got it. You most certainly have my attention now.”
