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When he got to the room he wanted, he set me between him and the door, keeping his back to Rose and the huge man who was coming up behind Rose. The door opened and he carried me inside. He tried to kick the door shut, but the other man caught it with the slap of his palm.
“Atlas, now ain’t the time,” Eagle growled at the man entering the room behind him.
“Rose has your woman’s shit. And I know you ain’t being a bastard to my pregnant wife.”
Rose covered her grin with a hand as she looked up and met my gaze. There was a pull to Rose as someone I wanted to befriend, same as there was with wanting Eagle for protection. But I had no idea what to think or do with anything else. I wasn’t even really sure about Eagle. He was the one who’d pulled me out of my nightmare. I would probably have latched on to any of them if they’d gotten to me first. Maybe.
I liked this guy. He was gentle with me even if he was a bit gruff. He handled me like he thought I might shatter and to be honest, I thought I might. It felt like he was the glue holding me together. They’d taken care of Mick and Caleb and none of the men or women here had hurt me. In fact, they were taking care of me. How long that lasted was anyone’s guess.
Eagle snarled over his shoulder as he moved to the back of the room to a shut door. “Fine. Give us a minute.” He set me down and opened the door to a surprisingly clean and neat bathroom.
“I’ll be back with some clothes for you.” Eagle grasped my chin in his hand. “You’re safe here, girl. We’re all gonna protect you.”
Though I wasn’t completely convinced, I nodded my head anyway. I’d put my trust here for now, with these people. Well, mostly with Eagle. I knew absolutely nothing about them other than they hadn’t turned me away and had seemed angry that I’d been hurt. So far, they’d checked my wounds and dressed them, given me water, and offered me a place to stay with someone I was comfortable with. Maybe it made me impossibly naive, but I thought it was best to take it day by day. Maybe even hour by hour. At the first sign of trouble, I’d bail. Assuming I could get away.
Eagle shut the door behind him only to return soon after, knocking and waiting for me to open the door myself and not bursting in on me. When I did, he grunted his approval and handed me a backpack.
“Got shit in there. Rose said you dropped it when I picked you up.” He shifted from one foot to the other and refused to meet my gaze. Almost like he was uncomfortable about something, though I had no idea what it could be. “The girls put it together with what they had so if the sizes ain’t right we’ll fix it tomorrow. Ain’t got a bathtub, but you’re welcome to the shower if you want. I can have Stitches redress everything if you do.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“Towels under the sink. Should be a toothbrush in the medicine cabinet I haven’t opened yet. Clean up, then come to the couch. Sting and Iris’ll want to talk to you. Make sure you’re good with this arrangement.”
Again, I nodded. I knew I needed to say something else but couldn’t form words or thoughts. I was crashing. Hard. It was going to be hard to function soon, as the panic faded and my body shut down. Even still, I wanted a shower in the worst way, but didn’t think it was the wisest idea. The last place I needed to let my guard down was in a strange man’s territory where all his friends had his back.
God! I didn’t know what to do! I was still standing there when there was another knock at the door.
“Nyla? You good?” His voice was like silk over gravel. If I let myself get lost in the sound, he’d have me prisoner just the same as Mick and Caleb. And Milo. I shivered just thinking the name and quickly shut that part of my brain down. I couldn’t think about that right now. If I did, I’d lose what little hold I had left on my sanity.
“Yep.”
“Open up. You dressed?”
I froze, not knowing how to answer. If I said, yes, he’d probably open the door, but if I said no, I’d have to explain why I hadn’t showered yet. Last thing I wanted to do was insult the people who’d saved me.
“Nyla?”
I opened the door a crack and looked up into Eagle’s dark, dark eyes. He glanced down at my form at what he could see through the small opening and frowned.
