Page 15 of Room Ten: Praise Times Three

Over the receiver, Mr. Kushner says, “Lambchop? It’s daddy. Are you okay?”

Something about his words breaks loose a dam within her, and she sobs, tucking her head into her blanket.

Reese takes the phone off of speaker and walks away with it to his ear. “Perhaps we should give her a few minutes in a safe space to decompress.”

…

“Yes, sir, we will do that.”

…

“Yes, sir, we will do that, too.”

…

“Who?”

…

“Roger that.” Reese hangs up and slides the phone back into his pocket.

“What did he say?” I ask with my brow furrowed.

“With Claudine and her accomplices on the run, he’s bringing up two guys from Tennessee so they can run the groundwork while we’re securing the clients.”

“Who?”

“Paddy from Ken’s team and Bastion from Stiles’ team.”

“Right on. They like getting bloody.”

“That’s what I remember, too. Meanwhile, we need a place to go.”

“Soren will know the closest and safest location nearby.”

We return to the car, surprised to not only find her feet tucked up underneath Soren’s thigh, but his hand resting on her calf. She seems considerably calmer with him touching her and I wouldn’t be surprised if she wasn’t starved for physical contact.

The right physical contact.

“We need a location,” I murmur to Soren at the same time Reese speaks directly to Leti. “We’d like to take you to the hospital.”

Her head snaps up, a wave of panic taking over her features. “No. No, hospital. Why do I have to go to a hospital?”

Reese speaks slowly and calmly. “So, we can have your cuts and bruises attended to and also have any evidence collected should we need it for a trial.”

She says nothing for a long time, staring at him like a deer in headlights. “I’m sure I look worse than I am, but there’s no evidence to collect.”

I swallow down the rage bubbling inside of me. “Leti—what about the bruises on your legs?”

Her eyes dropped to her lap, and her voice grows small. “They are just bruises. Yes, he stripped me, and yes, he touched me, but he didn’t rape me, so there is no evidence to collect. I never got a chance to scratch him, or pulled his hair, so I have none of his DNA on me.” Then she says so low under her breath that if I didn’t have amazing hearing, I wouldn’t have heard her. “Or inside of me.”

“We need to get you somewhere safe. Are you aware you were not the intended victim?”

“Yes. They thought they were grabbing Pip.”

“Although I advise against it, we can take you home,” Reese says.

“No!” her head snaps up again. “I don’t want my father to see me like this.”

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