Page 10 of Guarded from Corruption

“No.” My voice rises. “I don’t want the exam. I don’t need it.”

Rhiannon starts, “Jade…”

“No.” I’m adamant. “No one touched me like that. There were… men. They touched me. But not… sexually.” At Rhiannon and Niall’s skeptical expressions, I force myself to add, “They weren’t allowed. From what I heard… they were saving me. For whoever…” I trail off, unable to say the rest.

Niall lets out a series of muttered curses through a clenched jaw. His hands clench into fists.

“Jade,” Rhiannon begins again, more gently this time. “You said you were drugged.”

I push my anger aside—it’s not Rhiannon’s fault; I’d be saying the same thing—and try to answer calmly, “I was only fully out the first night. And only for a few hours. No one did anything. I would have known. And after… I wasn’t unconscious. I was aware of”—my breath catches—“everything.”

She still doesn’t look convinced, so I force out the worst part. Voice small and strained, I say, “I heard the nurses tell the men. When they were looking at me. They weren’t allowed to… they could touch my skin, but that was all. Everything else was only for the person who bought me.”

“Fuck!” Niall slams his fist into the wall. He turns away for a second, his back moving as he takes in several deep breaths. Then he faces me again, his handsome features tight with pain. “I’m so fucking sorry, Jade. We’ll find them. And you’re safe. Okay? No one is going to get to you. I swear it.”

Rhiannon frowns and glances at Niall. “We should call the police. Get them on this. We don’t have to tell them Jade is here. We can meet them somewhere?—”

“No police. No hospital.” I shake my head so vehemently, everything spins for a second. “It’s not safe. I’ll tell you why. Just not yet. Please. I just…”

Niall catches my hand, holding it like a fragile baby bird fallen out of its nest. “Jade. It’s your choice. If you say no police, we won’t contact them. Period. Okay?”

My fingers convulse around his. “Okay.”

“So we’ll let the IV finish,” Rhiannon says, briskly changing topics. “It doesn’t look like there are any serious injuries, just the cuts and bruises. I’d suggest food and some sleep to start. And if you change your mind about anything, or you want to talk…” Her gaze moves to mine, softening. “I’m here. I can come see you any time.”

“I’ll take her to my place,” Niall announces. “Get her some food. Do you have any clothes to lend, Rhi?”

“Of course.” Her gaze sweeps over me. “My clothes might be a little long, but otherwise…”

“Wait.” Puzzle pieces are slowly slotting together. I look up at Niall. “Your apartment? Where? Are we leaving? I… I don’t want to leave again.”

“Ah, no. We’re not leaving.” His thumb smooths across the back of my hand. “We all live here, in our own apartments. Mine isn’t completely done; it still needs some more furniture and Shea insists I need more… decor? Wall art? Anyway, there’s a bed and a shower and plenty of food. So I thought you could come back there?”

“You’re welcome at my place,” Rhiannon adds, smiling. “I have more decor, at least.”

Niall says, “Whatever you want to do, Jade. Any decision you make is okay.”

There’s no question of my answer. Stay with a stranger or Niall, who makes me feel the closest to safe? I meet his gaze. “Your apartment. Please.”

CHAPTER FOUR

NIALL

I can hear her crying in there.

While I change the sheets on my bed—the guest bedroom isn’t set up yet, and I wouldn’t put her in there, anyway—her soft sobs filter through the bathroom door.

With each sob, my heart twists into a tighter knot.

I feel helpless. Jade is in the shower, crying, and there’s nothing I can do to help her. There’s nothing I can do to take the trauma she suffered away.

Trauma that I think I haven’t heard close to the worst of. With only snippets, I already have a pretty good idea of what happened. Smart, stubborn, beautiful Jade abducted; held captive by a trafficking group, violated…

Fuck.

Everything about this makes me want to throw things. Break things. Track down whoever is behind this and kill them.

How did this happen? Was it random? Someone spotting Jade on the street? Or was it someone she knows? Someone who betrayed her?

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