Page 56 of Compelled Obedience

I stiffened, uncertain of what to do, staring up at the girl who clasped her hands against her mouth, shaking her head, tears of relief sliding down her face. Gritting my teeth, I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him as tightly against my chest as possible. “It’s okay, honey.”

“Casey,” she repeated.

“It’s okay, Casey. You’re just fine. I’ve got you.” I rose to my full height, his little feet hitting me just below the belt. When I carried him inside, I felt some of his hysteria fading. The girl closed the door behind me, remaining silent.

The little boy continued to sob but pressed his head against my shoulder, his breathing becoming even a few seconds later.

“I don’t know who you are but thank you. I did everything I knew how to do to comfort him, but he wanted his sissy and I’m not her.”

His sissy. This was her little brother? What in the hell was going on and why would Kerri hide this from me? “It’s okay.”

“Can I get him chocolate milk? That usually helps put him to sleep. I promise I’ll be right back.”

The poor girl was nervous as hell around me.

“Of course.” I held onto him, rocking him gingerly as I paced the floor. I had no clue what to do with a child, but my instinct told me that he needed the closeness. Chocolate milk. The cereal. Her hesitation to allow me to walk her in. Now it all made sense.

When the girl brought a plastic sippy cup, I eased him back, touching my index finger against his nose. Suddenly, he was all giggles.

“Here you go, baby. Your favorite.” She handed him the cup and I studied the small child, realizing he was a special needs kid. Parker had told me what Madisen had done to Star Angel and I was furious, so much so that I didn’t give a shit about favors. The girl was gone. I’d make certain she was fired.

“I don’t know how to thank you, Mister…”

“Grant. Not Mr. My name is Grant.”

“Rebecca. Who are you? She’s going to kill me for letting you in.”

“Well, I’m her boss at Blackout.”

“You brought groceries the other night.”

“I did.” Chuckling, I was glad Kerri hadn’t tossed them into the trash.

“Oh.” I sensed she was in on the secret and who I was. “She said you were… a nice guy.”

“I like to think I am, but the jury is still out.”

“You really fought off that… bad guy in the alley?” Rebecca was careful with her words.

Grinning, I rubbed my jaw. “I was determined to protect her.” I realized only a few seconds later that the little man was about ready to drop the sippy cup. I took it from his hand and he immediately dropped his head against my shoulder.

“I don’t believe this. I’ve never seen him calm down so quickly. You are an angel. You have no idea. Kerri is at her wits’ end, but no one will help because she can’t afford to pay for the medical attention as well as the basic skills he needs to bring him out of this shell he’s in. And she’d also kill me for telling you.”

“It’s obvious you care about her.”

“She’s treated me like a sister. I would do anything in the world for her but I’m just one person.”

“My guess is you’re a huge support for her.” There were a thousand questions I wanted to ask but knew better than to do so. “Look, if you need to go, I’ll stay with him.” When she looked at me skeptically, I turned around. “My wallet is in my back pocket. You’ll find my identification, including my business card for the club.”

Rebecca was tentative in her actions but finally followed through, taking a very deliberate look at the terrible picture on my driver’s license then to my face several times, holding up the business card in such scrutiny, I almost offered her a job at the club.

“I guess you are who you say you are. If you don’t mind staying, I have an exam tomorrow.”

“I don’t mind at all.”

She kept a cautious look on her face. “She’s really been through a lot of crap in her life, horrible things she won’t tell anyone about. Casey is her whole world and she does her best for him. I couldn’t do it.”

“Casey is her brother?”

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