36

We spent about three hours at Tessa’s apartment. Nadia had been sitting in the bedroom when we arrived and I could hear Tessa talking softly to her as we waited in the small living room. It looked exactly like I remembered it and Rev looked angry.
“Nadia,” I said her name from behind Tessa. She visibly tried to shrink away from me and I could see that this was going to be difficult.
“Lucas, just give us a moment,” Tessa said softly.
I pushed past Tessa and sat down on the edge of the bed. I looked at Nadia for several minutes and then motioned for Tessa to leave us alone. I took my jacket off and hung it over the chair and sat down on the bed again, this time a bit closer to her.
“I’m Lucas Grey and I’m not going to hurt you. I want to help you Nadia and I know Tessa told you about me and that she showed me that video you made. It was a very brave thing to do,” I said softly.
“The anger you feel from me is not towards you, it’s towards those animals that are doing these things. I can offer you protection, a place to stay where you’ll be safe. Tessa can come with you if that’s what you want,” I continued.
“Keep me safe?” she asked in a soft voice. The same soft voice from the video.
“Yes, I won’t let anyone hurt you either and you can stay there for as long as you want,” I said.
“What are you doing to do with me?” she asked.
“Nothing Nadia. I’m not like the people in that video, I want to stop them. I am going to stop them but I’m going to need your help and for that I’ll offer you protection until they’ve all been dealt with,” I said to her.
She flinched again as Rev made an appearance in the doorway and he smiled at her and then he slid down the frame and sat down, making himself smaller and less of a threat.
“That’s Rev, he’s bonded to my little sister and he’s one of the best people I know. You can ask Tessa about any of us. Would she lie to you?” I asked her.
“I guess not,” she said as she watched Rev.
“We will help you Nadia, I promise. We’ll keep you safe and cared for, that’s why we’re here. Listen to your gut instinct, what does it tell you about us,” Rev said to her.
“He phoned me this morning and said he’s going to find me,” she said as she looked down and I could physically feel the fear rolling off of her. I acted on instinct and before she knew it I was holding her in my arms, soothing her.
“That’s why you’re going to tell us everything you know so we can stop them,” Rev said.
“It’s going to be okay Nadia, I’m going to go speak to Tessa now while you start packing your clothes and then both of you are coming with me,” I said to her.
I let go of her slowly and only stood up once she was settled back into her corner clutching the pillow in front of her. I stood up slowly and then called out for Tessa to join us. Talking in front of her would give her more security.
“I want you to pack your clothes. I think it’s better if we move Nadia to the guest section of the house where I can have guards watching her and keeping her safe. I think Nadia might feel better if you went with her for a while,” I said.
“Okay, are you sending someone for us or…”
“No, we’ll wait for you,” I said to her and turned back to Nadia as Tessa left the room and I heard her in her own bedroom as she started getting some things together.
“I have a doctor on staff, would it be okay if she checked you out once we get to the house?” I asked Nadia.
“Okay,” she said and lowered her eyes once again. She was timid and withdrawn and I’d never seen somebody so afraid in my whole life.
“Rev, make some calls, get Stella to the house and arrange for Tina to meet us there too,” I said to him. Rev excused himself and I could hear him talking in the living room.
I stepped out into the hallway so that Nadia could get her things together. She didn’t have much and I came to the conclusion that she just ran to the first person she thought she could trust. I had a strange urge to help this girl and Baz agreed that we needed to help her. Perhaps it had something to do with the fact that she sort of looked like Chris, just younger.
“We’re ready,” Tessa said after another hour and Nadia cowered behind her.
“Okay, the car is out front, do you mind if we carry your bags?” I asked Nadia. Tessa nodded at her and she handed me the bag. Rev took Tessa’s suitcase and they followed us outside. Nadia’s eyes darted everywhere as she looked for any signs of danger.
We got Tessa and Nadia into the SUV and loaded their luggage in the back. Rev had a sad look on his face and I looked at him.
“We need to keep this quiet. The less people know about this the better,” I said to him and he nodded.
“This is fucked up Lucas,” he said to me and I had to agree. I had no idea what I had gotten us into but I would protect that girl no matter what it took.
“Let’s get them to the house,” I said.
We drove in silence to the house and at one point Tessa put her arm around Nadia and she lowered her head onto Tessa’s shoulder. This was a whole new Tessa I was seeing, the old Tessa from high school and right after never cared about anyone but herself and what she could gain. I had to admit that I liked this new Tessa and maybe I could use this to my advantage.
I parked the car in front of the garage and Sam and Neil appeared out of nowhere and opened the rear doors. Nadia started to shrink back and hyperventilate as Neil frowned. I pushed him out of the way and spoke softly to Nadia.
“It’s okay, they’re with me. Nobody here will hurt you, I promise,” I said as I held my hand out for her and after a while she took it.
Rev had gone ahead to unlock the guest side of the house and Tessa was following him inside. Nadia looked around frantically but still held my hand so I picked her up and she instantly buried her face against my chest and shut her eyes.
Rylee was standing on the balcony watching me carry her inside. She had a look of disgust on her face and her eyes were filled with pain as she watched me. I took Nadia up to the second floor where the rooms were bigger and they would have their own bathrooms attached to the rooms.
“I’m going to put you down now Nadia, this will be your room for as long as you need it,” I said to her. She nodded her head and I put her down on her feet. Rev announced himself from the hallway and then placed her bag on the bed.
“Tessa’s right next door and Stella and Tina have just arrived,” he said to me.
“Stella’s our doctor and Tina is a warrior in my lair. I’ve asked her to join us because I think you’ll feel more comfortable having a woman here that can help keep you safe,” I said to her and she nodded her head.
“I’ll give you a minute to settle into your room and then I’ll ask Stella to come up and see you with Tina,” I said to her.
“Okay,” she said softly and I closed the door behind me as I left the room.
I found Stella and Tina downstairs in the living room area and I had them both sit down so I could explain things to them. I knew Tina very well, not that sort of well, she trained with us and she was good. She was also one of the very few female warriors worth her salt in my lair.
“Thanks for coming guys. Tessa and her friend Nadia is upstairs. Stella I want you to check on Nadia, I don’t know if she has any physical injuries but mentally she might need something to help her sleep and cope with daily things. Tina, this girl’s been through literal hell, abuse, assault and what not. I want the guys to patrol the ground level but I want you upstairs with her. She’s afraid for her life and right now we’re offering sanctuary and protection to both of them,” I said.
“Lucas what’s going on?” Stella asked me.
“I can’t tell you more than this right now. I don’t have all the facts yet, but you’ll need to speak softly, no sudden movements and work slowly until she trusts your presence. Tina I’m entrusting this girl’s life to you, she won’t leave the house. I don’t think she’d even leave her room for the near future, but stay in contact with the guys, they need to leave the house if she ventures out of her room,” I said.
“No problem Sire Lucas, I won’t let her out of my sight,” Tina said and stood up.
They followed me upstairs and I knocked softly on Nadia’s door. I heard her stop moving and I knew for some reason that she wouldn’t open the door. I opened it slightly and then spoke softly to her.
“Nadia, is it all right if I introduce you to Stella and Tina?”
“Okay,” she said.
I pushed the door open the whole way and turned sideways so Stella and Tina could walk in. Both had cheery smiles on their faces and I made a mental note to speak to Tessa about getting Nadia everything she needed.
“Hello Nadia, my name’s Stella and I’m a doctor in Lucas’s lair. Can I listen to your breathing and make sure you’re doing okay?” she asked and stood in the middle of the room. Nadia nodded and Stella walked towards her slowly.
Nadia sat unmoving the entire time as Stella examined her and her eyes flitted from me to Tina. Stella was talking to her softly and telling her what she found like that her breathing sounded good and so forth, comforting her with information.
“She’s in good physical health Lucas, I’ll prescribe some anti-anxiety medication and that will also help her sleep,” Stella said and I thanked her.
“Hi Nadia, I’m Tina and I’m going to be staying in the room next to yours. If there’s anything you need, you can just call out or come to my room. I’ll be here with you the entire time,” Tina said with a smile and moved slowly towards the bed.
“Nadia, this is a panic button that you can carry with you wherever you go. If you press it once it will alert Tina that you need help and if you press it twice it will alert me that you need help,” I said and held out the remote for her.
“Thank you,” she said and took the remote from me.
Tina stayed with her in her room and offered to help her unpack. I made arrangements with Tina’s brother to bring her go-to bag over for her and anything else she might need. Nadia had looked a little bit better when I told her to test the panic button so that she could see that the messages came through to us.
I left Rev to take care of further details and made my way upstairs as it was already dark now. I hadn’t seen Rylee all day and I knew that I owed her an explanation for all of this. I was tired emotionally and I was angry.
The bedroom was empty and Rylee’s scent was faint meaning she hadn’t been in here for a while. The house had been quiet as well, nobody downstairs and I took out my phone. Rylee declined my call and I called Max.
“Where is Rylee?” I asked him as I heard the music in the background.
“She insisted that I bring her to a club just outside of town, Joey’s,” Max said and I ended the call.
“This is just fucking great,” I said and pulled my jacket on again.
I drove to the club that Max had mentioned and I spotted Rylee near the bar with another man’s arm draped over her shoulder. Baz was urging me to rip that man’s arms off and beat him with them as I stood and watched her.
She turned around and she saw me looking at him. She gave me a smile and then took the man’s hand and led him down a corridor towards the back of the club. I was ready to kill as I stood on the other side of the club.