Page 13 of Captive Heart

His plea fell on deaf ears; she was too panicked. Any minute now, she was going to upend the bowl of water and undo all of the good work that had gone into trying to warm and stabilise her.

When he stood up, Micah hated the way she cowered as he removed the distance between them, but he didn't miss the way she dipped her head in immediate deference, even while she tried to get away from him.

It was instinct which had him calling, "Stop. Sit still!" in his best 'Dom voice'.

It worked. The girl immediately collapsed back into the sofa, drawing the blankets protectively around her and keeping her face obediently averted, even though she was shaking like a leaf and biting her ravaged lips to avoid making any noise.

While he tried not to make any sudden moves and spook her further, Micah carefully grabbed a dining chair and placed it in front of her, not too close, but right where she could see him.

He sat down, softened his voice, and started over, now that he had her attention. "I know you don't know me and have no reason to believe what I'm saying right now, but I don't want to hurt you."

The girl peered cautiously up at him beneath lowered lashes without so much as raising her head.

Micah retained his relaxed pose and continued. "My name is Micah, and I only want to help you, okay? I understand that might be a big ask, and I promise that you can leave at any time, but if you feel the need to do so, at least let me or someone else take you to a hospital or a health care centre, or even some kind of refuge, so you're not back on the streets."

He drew in a cautious breath. She hadn't made another dive for the door yet at least.

"Otherwise, I hope you'll let me take care of you, even if it's just for a few days. I've had a doctor come in to look at you and he says you're suffering from hypothermia, frostbite, dehydration, and malnutrition. You've also sprained your ankle badly. It's really important that you stay off your feet, and we need to warm them gradually to treat the frostbite. He's left some medication for you. It's right there by the glass of water I've left next to you, I've added a glucose tablet to that to build up your strength." He gestured to the packets he'd left in plain sight on the side table next to her.

She said nothing, and she stayed statue still as if weighing both his words and her actions. It was unnerving if he was honest with himself.

Micah stayed quiet, too, now that he'd said his piece. He knew he needed to give her the time to come to her own conclusions and the worst thing he could do right now was to pressure her.

But then he decided to take it just one small step further.

"I'll leave you to consider everything I've said, and I'll leave the door open, so you know you're not being locked in. Just, please, keep your feet in the bowl. There's a kettle next to you. If it starts feeling cool, you need to add just enough to take the chill off."

With that, Micah took his own leap of faith and hoped he hadn't read her wrong as he left the room and headed for his office.

8

She remained still for a long time; alert, listening. Wondering whether she would be able to run even if she tried.

She considered things for so long she eventually became aware that the bowl of water was getting uncomfortably cold. Eyeing the kettle, she didn't see any harm in following the pretty surfer dude's request to keep it warm.

The glass with the glucose drink she looked at with a little more suspicion though.

There was a second bottle of water on the table as well, and closer inspection showed it still to be sealed. She chose to drink from that one instead, but she did examine the packet of glucose tablets. The individual tabs inside the packet were also sealed.

Emptying the water from the glass into the bowl at her feet, she poured her own instead and added a glucose tablet. She wasn't so stupid that she didn't realise she needed help of some kind, but she could still be cautious.

Although, if this man had wanted to do something rather more depraved to her, then he'd had plenty of opportunity while she'd been asleep.

So far, he hadn't shackled or caged her or even locked her in. She really hoped that meant something because, in truth, she would like nothing more than to rest her aching bones and painful feet, shelter somewhere dry and comfortable, and maybe get lucky enough to have a meal.

A hospital or shelter was out of the question. She’d run before she allowed anyone to take her there. Those would be the first places Master would look for her if he was searching.

She'd rather take her chances on the street, but she also knew she wasn't in any fit state to take care of herself right now. If she was, she wouldn’t be in this pickle.

After a few sips of the water, she picked up the box of medication. By reading over it carefully, she saw that they were tablet-form antibiotics, and a thorough examination of the packaging showed that they, too, were sealed and hadn't been tampered with.

She pushed one of the coloured capsules out of the blister pack and checked it again. It appeared genuine.

Did she really need it? She was tough, Master had never bothered giving her medicine if she was sick. He'd just raged at her or, if she was lucky, left her in blessed peace in case he caught something, himself.

Then again, as bad as things had been in the prison that had been her home, she'd never spent the better part of a week slumming it, freezing half to death, and eating leftovers out of rubbish bins while drinking whatever she could find that seemed at least halfway safe.

She closed her eyes, prayed she was doing the right thing, and washed the little pill down with a gulp of the lovely, fresh tasting water. That was like nectar on its own.

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