Her Guardian Angel (Fire and Snow) (19 page)

Something dripping on her knee brought her back to her current reality and the peaceful river before her. She was now sitting with her head resting on her knees, her arms wrapped around her legs and she was crying. She brushed her tears away and focused back on the water. Two weeks, three days. That's how long she'd been free from hell. Her nightmares were finally getting better. She fingered the key that hung around her neck. She had a feeling living with Adele was what was making them better. Thinking about Adele made her smile. Adele had been so good to her. Kelly had panicked when Dr. Maynard told her she could leave the hospital. She didn't know if Adele had meant what she said about taking her in. After Adele told her, she had spent less and less time with her at the hospital. Now she knew why. She'd been getting everything ready for her. When the doctor had walked in with her discharge papers, Adele and Dominic had been one step behind him with big grins, ready to take her to her new home.

Kelly's biggest shock was when she arrived home. She liked that word: home. She'd never really had one before, but as soon as she saw the purple house, she knew it was home for her. Everything in the house was neat and clean and girly. Most importantly there were no bolts or chains. She'd dropped down on her bed when Adele had shown her around her room. Kelly had a beautiful white iron framed bed with a pretty pink and purple cover and sheets and a big window that let the bright autumn sunshine in. The biggest shock had been the wall of built in cupboards filled with clothes and toiletries. She had never owned so many clothes in her life. She couldn't stop the cringe at the memory of him ripping her clothes from her when he had first taken her as his slave. She hadn't owned any clothes at all since.

A soft whimper interrupted Kelly's thoughts. She stood up rubbing her arms, trying to shake free from the hold her past had on her. She walked up the bank a little and followed the noise. When she arrived at the top of the bank, she saw a garbage bag resting next to a large tree trunk. She looked around until she heard the plastic bag move. Kelly ran over to the bag and ripped it open. She fell back on her butt in shock. Inside the bag there was a dog and four puppies. The adult dog was obviously dead as were two of the puppies. The two live puppies didn't look well, they were all very skinny and they had all been harshly beaten. Kelly froze as she focused on the injuries and really saw them. They looked familiar. Oh crap. He'd found her. She was sure of it. She took off the fleecy jacket she wore and bundled up the two live puppies before she ran as fast as she could back to the house and back to Adele.

~ * ~

Adele was drinking her coffee and watching out the front window in the direction Kelly had gone walking. It was her first time out alone, and Adele wanted to make sure she was okay. She'd given Kelly a house key on a hospital lanyard so Kelly would know she could come and go whenever she wanted, and if she got lost, anyone who saw the hospital name on the lanyard would take her there. Not that Adele intended on letting her out of her sight long enough for her to get lost. She lowered her mug as she noticed a shiny black ute drive past slowly. Strange. It kept going so she dismissed it as just someone looking for a specific house number on Wattle Avenue.

She took another sip and looked back over toward the river. If Kelly didn't come back soon, she was going to have to go and find her. Sophie was joining them for a meeting at the school. Forms and tests needed to be attended to before plans could be made to get Kelly settled into school. Both her and Sophie were sure Kelly was going to need a lot of help to get up to speed. The poor
petit fille
could barely read or write.

Adele just about dropped her mug as she saw Kelly running toward the house. She was running as fast as she could and holding her jacket bundled in her arms. As she got closer, Adele saw blood on the jacket and on her shirt. What the hell had happened? She dropped her mug on the table, not caring that coffee sloshed everywhere as she rushed out the front door.

"Kelly,
cherie,
what happened? Are you hurt?" Adele asked as Kelly skidded to a stop and into her arms. Adele felt something move against her. She pulled back from the sobbing distraught child and looked down. There were two little white puppies poking their noses out of the jacket.

"He did this. He's found me. Oh hell, Adele. He's found me!" Kelly was in a panic; Adele could see in her eyes that her mind was lost to the emotions and memories swirling in their depths.

"Come inside,
cherie.
" She led Kelly inside, double checking the door was locked behind them. She grabbed her phone from her pocket and rang Dominic first. He answered her on the second ring. She quickly told him what had happened, and he was on his way before she ended the call.

While she waited for Dominic to come over, she grabbed some dark towels, a bucket of warm water and a sponge before heading back to Kelly and the puppies.

"How about we try to clean them up a bit? Then we can take them to the vet once Dominic gets here, okay?" She spoke calmly; Kelly was still shaking in panic and needed a distraction. Adele didn't want to risk going to the vet without Dominic just in case the bastard who had hurt Kelly and these puppies was lurking around waiting for them.

~ * ~

Dominic was struggling to not shift as he sat in the waiting room at the veterinary clinic. His body was vibrating from the rage he felt. Kelly's abuser had tortured a female dog and her four pups then left them out for Kelly to find. It was beyond cruel. It also meant the bastard knew where Kelly was living, and that presented a risk to his mate as well as Kelly. When he got back to the station, he was going to organize the cats to continue their protection detail. Someone needed to be watching Kelly and Adele throughout the day, and he would start spending the nights at their house to make sure they were safe.

He looked up as he heard a door open and saw Adele usher Kelly out of the examination room where they'd been with the two live pups and the vet. Kelly clung to Adele as they made their way over to him. She hung on so tightly Adele was having trouble walking.

"How are the pups?" he asked quietly as he ran his hand gently over Kelly's curls.

"The vet said one isn't looking good, but the other has a good chance of surviving. They've got the healthier one drinking some formula, so that's a good sign. His front right paw has to be set which they are doing now. He'll have to stay here for while, but maybe when he's better, we might be able to keep him. I'm going to ask the agent about it once we know if he's going to live." Adele had been rubbing circles on Kelly's back while she spoke, and the poor kid was starting to relax and loosen her grip.

"C'mon, let's get you girls home."

The drive back was a quiet one as all three of them were lost in their thoughts. Dominic pulled into the driveway and headed up to the front door with them. Once inside, Adele suggested Kelly might like to go have a shower, and she headed off to her room.

"I can't stay right now, beautiful. I've got to get back to the station to organize the guys to watch over Kelly until this guy gets caught. I'll be back by dinnertime. Then I'll stay tonight to make sure you're both safe. Does that sound okay?" Adele was still looking a little shell-shocked so Dominic pulled her in for a hug. He lowered his head into her hair, inhaling her sweet scent. Having her safe in his arms improved his mood massively. After a few minutes, he reluctantly pulled away then dropped a gentle kiss on her soft lips before heading out the door and back to the station.

Chapter Thirteen

Cole had followed his slave and the woman yesterday until they headed back to their house. A disgusting purple monstrosity only a girl would ever live in. After that he'd gone home and got his workout in. He'd come past this morning just in time to see his slave walking across a vacant block opposite the house. He'd left the bag of dogs for her to find. He'd then stashed his ute at a public car park at the end of the next street before walking back to the house. He was nearly there when Kelly ran across the street and the woman met her. He'd stayed back and hid amongst some bushes until another car pulled up. A man got out, went inside for a short time before all three headed out again. Once the car was out of sight, he jumped the back fence and pried open a window. He searched through the house before settling in the kitchen. He was certain they would be gone for a while with those dogs so he made himself a coffee and a sandwich before sitting down.

He'd just finished washing up and putting away his dishes--damn OCD could be a pain in the ass--when he'd heard a car pull up the drive. He'd quickly made his way down the hall to his slave's room where he stood by the door and waited. He heard the three car doors slam before the front door opened and he heard the deep murmur of a male's voice. Damn it. The man that had come to pick them up had come in with them. That was one big bastard. No way he could take him on and the two girls and come out on top. He was trying to form a new plan when his slave came through the door next to him. Her head down, she was not paying attention. Good. His trick with the dogs had worked in throwing her off kilter. He snapped forward, quickly wrapping a hand over her mouth and an arm around her waist. He leaned forward to whisper in her ear.

"Hello, slave. I've got you now."

As soon as he'd spoken, she'd gone bat shit crazy fighting against him. She'd grown stronger over the last weeks. She was going to be so much more fun to play with now. Despite her efforts, he kept her in a firm grip. Realizing he couldn't safely leave the house while that man was still here, he held her tight against his body while he breathed her scent in and listened for the front door.

As he heard the front door close, he smiled. Now it was just him and the two girls. This he could most definitely work with.

"I'm going to release your mouth now, slave. You scream and I'll shoot you then I'll take the woman you seem to like so much as my slave. Understand?" He growled his words into her ear. He'd felt her body stiffen when he'd threatened the woman. He waited for her to nod, which she did just as he heard footsteps come up the hallway toward them. He released her mouth and grabbed his pistol out of the back of his pants. He held it against the side of her temple and waited.

The door swung open slowly as he heard the woman begin to speak.

"Kelly, are you okay in here?"

Well, there you go. Her name is Kelly. Not that it mattered now. She would never escape him again.

"Oh, Kelly's just fine. For now." He said in a deep drawl as she entered the room. She cursed as she froze to the spot when she spotted his pistol against his slave's head.

"We're going to take a little drive, the three of us. Me and Kelly here have some catching up to do. Don't we slave?" He moved his arm from her waist and took hold of a fist full of her hair. He looked the woman over from head to toe. She was a pretty thing; built just how he liked a woman.

"And I think I might just save you for later. Now, here's what's going to happen. We're going to move real slow and easy out to the lounge. You're going to grab your keys. Then we're going for a car ride. You're driving. Me and my slave here will sit in the back. If you so much as twitch in the wrong direction, she gets a bullet. Do we understand each other?"

He watched as the woman slowly nodded before she turned to go back out the hallway to follow his instructions. Such a good girl, maybe he should keep her too. He followed along behind with his slave firmly in his grasp.

~ * ~

Adele had been stunned when she'd walked into Kelly's room and found her held at gunpoint. Now she was driving out her driveway with the bastard and Kelly sitting in the back seat, her mind was moving from stunned to flat out pissed. How dare this bastard break into their home and lie in wait for them! She took a deep breath. She needed to calm down and think of something. He was obviously taking them somewhere, and no doubt it would be secluded. Kelly hadn't spoken much about where he'd held her, just that it was in Strahan and that he'd killed her mother; before he nearly killed her. Adele vowed to herself she would not allow that to happen. She'd promised Kelly she would be safe. This bastard was making her break her promise. That just wasn't going to fly with her, not at all.

She needed to let Dominic know what was going on. He'd be able to help them get out of this. As quietly as she could, she slipped her phone out of her pocket then put the phone on silent. Sweat beaded on her forehead as she held the phone low in her lap. Worried that he would catch her, she gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles were white. If he took her phone, she had no way of contacting anyone. She said a quick prayer of thanks that she had put Dominic's number into her speed dial. She quickly dialed then muted the call and put it on speaker. She slipped it into the front pocket of her hoodie and hoped the thin fleecy material wouldn't muffle their voices too much and that Dominic would work out what was going on. She nervously checked the mirror to see if he had caught her. Phew, he was still focused on Kelly, talking in low tones to her. Kelly began sobbing at whatever it was he said, and he looked up and caught her eye in the mirror. She shot daggers at him. He chuckled.

"Where to now?" She had to get him talking, had to somehow let Dominic know where they were heading. He sat forward and she could feel his warm breath on her ear. She couldn't fully suppress the shudder of repulsion that ran through her. He chuckled at her again, a horrible evil sound.