Page 3 of Claiming Becca

“I ordered pizza,” Bass interrupts. I give him a grateful look and then focus on Becca.

She finally drops her arms, showing her t-shirt has a massive rip. “Could I shower and maybe get an old shirt neither of you wears anymore?”

I step toward her, but she backs up, so I force myself to stop. “Who did that to you?” She rocks back on the balls of her feet and looks down at the floor.

“This guy I have beef with.” She doesn’t look at me or Bass. My fingers are itching to wrap around the throat of this nameless and faceless guy.

“You’re safe here.” My voice is low. She lifts her head and finally meets my gaze. Her eyes are shiny as she blinks rapidly. “Come on. I’ll show you where the bathroom is so you can shower.” She gives me a small smile, and I want to pull her into my arms again.

“I have a t-shirt you can wear that my girlfriend left,” Bass says. “I’m sure she won’t care if you have it.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, it takes a lot of self-control not to roll my eyes. She’s going to care, but I don’t give a fuck. Bass gets her the T-shirt. I get her a towel and a pair of shorts. They’ll probably swallow her whole, but at least they’re clean.

While she’s taking a shower, Bass and I unpack a few boxes, trying to find the sheets to put on the beds. “I’m going to sleep on the couch tonight. She can take my bed,” I tell him.

He nods as we finally find the box with the sheets and extra blankets. Honestly, I don’t know how we wound up with so many sheets and blankets. I blame it on our moms, but I’m grateful to them tonight. The pizza arrives just as Becca steps out of the bathroom. She steps into the living room with the clothes she was wearing balled up in her arms. The shirt Bass gave her is still a little oversized for her, but at least it’s clean and doesn’t have a rip in it. The shorts I gave her are huge.

She lifts her shirt and shows the waistband of the shorts. “I had to use a hair tie to make them fit, so they didn’t fall down.” She lets out a low snort. My mouth tips up into a small smile. She walks over to us and hesitantly sits down on the couch.

I gesture to the pizza. “Help yourself.” I hand her a paper plate. She looks from it to me before grabbing it.

“Thank you,” she whispers as she grabs two slices of pizza. My eyes narrow at how quickly she eats. When was the last time she had real food that wasn’t snacks she stole?

“What happened to the box of snacks?” I ask her as I take a bite of my pizza. She swallows her pizza and takes a sip from the water bottle I gave her.

She looks away, taking a deep breath. “It was stolen,” she murmurs. A crease forms between my eyebrows. “That’s how my shirt got ripped.” I suck in a breath as Bass and I share a look.

She takes another bite from her pizza as I study her. The bruise on her cheek is more prominent, but that was there before. I want to ask her about it, but she’s so skittish I’m trying to be careful and not drill her with all the questions running through my brain.

Leaning forward, I grab another piece of pizza and place it on her plate. This time, she doesn’t shrink from me, so I consider it a win. “You can sleep in my bed tonight. I’ll sleep on the couch,” I tell her.

Her back goes ramrod straight, and she shakes her head. “No. I’ve already been too much of a nuisance. I’ll sleep on the couch.”

I raise an eyebrow at her. “This isn’t up for discussion.” She scowls at me, but doesn’t argue further. Good. I don’t know if the asshole may have followed her here, so I need more obstacles between the door and her. Just in case he’s foolish enough to try to break in.

After we eat, I lead her to the bedroom. “It’s still a mess since we just moved in, but if you need anything, let me know.”

She sucks in a breath as her eyes scan the room. “It’s still better than where I’ve been sleeping.” She pushes her hair behind her ear and glances at me. “I would have been fine on the couch.”

The urge to pull her into my arms hits me again, but I ignore it. Again. “Humor me, please.” She gives me a small smile, nodding slightly as she walks toward the bed. I pull the door shut to give her privacy, our gazes connecting one last time before the door clicks closed.

CHAPTER TWO

CONNOR

Six Years Ago

Sweat trickles down my neck as I drive through town searching for Becca. Still, I refuse to put my windows up and turn the air conditioning on in case I hear something. I’m relying on all my senses for this scavenger hunt. I passed the Quick Mart gas station a while ago. It’s considered the dividing line between the good part of town and the bad part of town. The college is a few blocks from the gas station, so it’s also in the middle of that dividing line.

Kids are playing in the rundown playground as I slowly drive past it. Stopping at the end of the street, I watch them for a few minutes, wishing I could fix everything for them right now. The grass hasn’t been cut in weeks, maybe months. There’s only one swing that isn’t broken. There’s trash everywhere; the one trash can is knocked over. I sigh as my mind whirls again on how to fix this. Doesn’t anyone care? I couldn’t imagine growing up like this.

And what will happen as they get older? Will they join Donovan and Victor’s crew? Will they become addicts from the drugs put on the street? Swallowing, I shake my head and force myself to move on.

I slowly creep along each street, hoping to see a flash of blonde hair, but I’ve come up with nothing the past two days. The night Becca ran off with our food, I searched for her then too, but she showed up at our apartment. She was gone when we woke up the following day, so I’ve been looking for her ever since. I’m not sure why I’m determined to save this girl. Seeing her dirty and bruised with clothes that were way too big for her pissed me off.

Coming to a stop at a four-way, I take my ball cap off and run my hands through my hair in frustration. Why did she run again? What if she’s dead? Or, worse, being sold to some pervert that will use her in unimaginable ways. A cold sweat breaks out on my neck thinking about the number of girls that have come up randomly missing in this town. Shaking my head to dislodge that thought, I place my ball cap back on my head and take my foot off the brake to continue my search.

A blonde-haired girl runs in front of my truck, not looking out for traffic, so I slam on my brakes. A guy runs in front of me, too, chasing after her. My heart takes off in my chest as I try to see where they went. I get another glimpse of the blonde as she’s rounding a corner and realize it’s Becca.

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