“Cash, you need to find her. Let me go.”
He set me on my feet but held my face in his hands. “I can’t leave you alone right now. I want to trust you, Rose. But what you just told me? What you went through—” He inhaled, closing his eyes. “I need to know you’re safe.”
“The old ladies are in the main room. Everyone was called in,” King said.
Cash looked down at me. “I need you safe.”
“I’ll stay with the old ladies. I won’t leave the room, and if I need to use the bathroom, I will ask one of them to go with me.”
He rested his forehead against mine. “I love you. I can’t fucking lose you.”
“I love you, too. I’m not going anywhere. I promise.”
Cash let me go, and I went to walk out of the room. King put his hand on my arm and said, “This wasn’t on you.”
“It was. But thank you for saying that.”
I walked past him through the double doors and found Sam sitting on the couch with Ellie and Beck. Ellie rushed over, pulling me into her arms.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded. She searched my eyes for a lie, and when she finally believed I was telling the truth, she hugged me again.
“Come sit with us.” She led me over to sit next to Sam.
“We’re here for you, Kytten. No matter what.” Sam put her arm around me and pulled me close. I couldn’t hold back the tears any longer. I laid my head down on her lap and cried.
I didn’t cry for me. The person I was now. I cried for Rosebud. The little girl who lost her mom and her brother. I cried for the girl assaulted by a woman she trusted. A woman who said she loved her. A woman who vowed to always be there for her and never hurt her. A woman who lied for her own sick, selfish fetish.
I cried for the girl who thought she would lose everything she had, only to find out what she was walking away from was nowhere near as important as what she was walking into.
Sam ran her fingers through my hair as she spoke soft words to me. Words a mom would say when her child was hurting. Words that made me feel safe, not scared. Protected, not used.
Charlie crawled onto the couch with me and snuggled up against my chest. She wiped my tears away and whispered, “Momma will make it better.”
I fell asleep in Sam’s lap to the soft murmurs of a mother’s love and the quiet whispers of a little sister’s promises. I didn’t know how long I had slept, but I woke to the yelling of a familiar angry voice.
I opened my eyes just in time to see Charlie kick Arsyn in the shin and yell, “Shut up! My sister is sleeping!”
“What the fuck?” Arsyn yelled as she reached down to rub her leg. She glared at Charlie, and I jumped from the couch. Rushing over, I grabbed Charlie and held her in my arms.
“It’s okay, little sister. She’s a friend.”
“She’s not very nice.” Charlie continued to glare at Arsyn, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“No, she’s not very nice, but she’s good to have on your side in a fight. So let’s not piss her off, okay?”
I set Charlie on the floor, and she scoffed before walking off. No doubt looking for Mimic. I turned back to Arsyn. Most people would see the long dark ponytail, the low-cut jeans and tattoos and immediately think Lara Croft. What I saw was my big sister. Arsyn was a protector. It’s why she was so good at what we do. But her personality tended to rub people the wrong way.
I could have gone to her immediately. I didn’t because I knew she would kill Syrena. I wasn’t foolish enough to believe that when a fire broke out in an area Arsyn rescued someone from, that it was a coincidence.
“What are you doing here?”
“Val called us in to help find Amber.”
Of course, she did. I should have known King would call Val immediately. Looking around the room, I wondered who else had arrived while I was sleeping.
“They’re still in church,” Sam said behind me. “Introduce us to your friend, Kytten.”
