After telling Blakelyn our plan and getting her approval for what we need to do tonight, Lilly told us to go so we could get it done and over with. I’m with her. I may not be a parent, but I can only imagine how hard it was to let us do this. We pull through the gates and head out just as my phone pings with a notification.
Unknown-
Location sent.
Unknown-
Meet me here with the package.
I pass the phone to Damien and he clicks the location, pulling it up on the GPS for me. I hope this goes like we plan, because so help me God, I’ll light that motherfucker a blaze if she gets hurt. Once we hit the interstate, it takes us no time to get to the little town the GPS leads us too. We pull in the alley and Damien puts the car in park, while we sit and wait. I turn in my seat after a few minutes and look in the back to see that Blakelyn is leaned against the side passed all the way out. Poor girl, it’s definitely late for her.
“We’ve been waiting for a bit,” Damien states, looking at the clock on the dash.
“I know,” I say, and then my phone vibrates. Grabbing it from the cup holder, I slide the screen up and read the text.
Unknown-
Location Sent
“What the fuck?!” I say sternly, and Damien grabs the phone.
“Well, I guess we will see where we’re going now. Why the fuck are we moving locations?” Damien asks, and I just shrug my shoulders, because I have no idea what the fuck is going on.
“Fuck this guy! I guess, let’s go. We gotta get this done so we can get this baby girl home,” I say, looking back at Blakelyn one more time as Damien drives through the alley. Tonight is obviously not going to go as smooth as I planned it to, but fuck I hope no fuck-shit goes down.
Chapter 31
Raven
As we pull up to the gates at the safe-house, I roll the window down, and Ramone, the usual guard on duty, walks up to the truck.
“Hey, you just missed your guys,” he says and opens the gates to let us through.
“Oh yeah?” is my only reply as he backs away from the truck.
I drive through and wonder,What the fuck were they doing here? And why so late?That’s a phone call and problem for a later time, when I don’t have a van full of scared kids behind me. We need to get everyone set up for the night and comfortable. That way they can take a proper shower and finally have a decent meal. We pull up to the new section Eddie’s added on, and Chad parks as close to the doors as he can. The three of us open the doors, and some of the older girls jump out of the back of the van, but the same little girl from earlier jumps down and grabs my hand, pulling me with her towards the house. Her matted brown hair is sticking to the sides of her face.
“What’s your name?” I whisper as we walk inside. She just looks up at me with sad eyes and gives me a soft smile.
“That’s okay, you don’t have to tell me, sweet girl. How about some food and a warm bath?” I ask, and she nods. As we walk towards the kitchen, she pulls on my hand.
“B-bath first,” she mumbles softly, and I smile in return, redirecting her to the bathroom.
Turning on the warm water, I put the plug in and turn on some cold so that way it’s not scalding when she gets in. After the tub fills up, I step out, so she has time to undress and get in. I'm sure they aren't used to privacy, so when we bring in new girls, we try to give them as much as they need, including the little ones who still may need our help. Just because we saved them from that place doesn’t mean the demons didn’t follow or linger in their minds. It takes a while for some of that to fade, if it ever does. The older girls normally are the ones who need more help; they don’t forget as easily. Leaving her to it, I walk towards the supply closet and grab her some fresh clothes and towel, then knock on the door.
“Is it okay if I come in and help you?” I ask, peeking in the door.
“Yeah, that’s fine.” She smiles, and I walk in and shut the door behind me. There’s multiple duplex style homes here, with most of them being full teenagers. We will just have to try to find someone who can come in and help on this side of things.
“So what’s your name?” I ask again, hoping this time she will tell me as I kneel next to the tub to wash her hair.
“Maddie,” she replies, turning her head to look back at me and smiles. Her head is full of white soap suds, and I can’t help but giggle.
“That’s a pretty name. I’m Raven,” I say back and pour water over her head to rinse her hair out and move on to the rest of her bath.
I hand her a washcloth to bathe herself. I’ve done this too many times. It's like second nature helping these kids. It’s sad. I wish I could do more, but killing those that harm them and taking down the ring is all I can do for now. Once she’s finished, I grab the towel, hold it up as she stands, and wrap the soft cotton around her small body. Pulling the plug, I stare at the brown water draining, then spin and grab the brush sitting on the vanity. Running the bristles through her wet locks, I look at her in the mirror, and her brown eyes are more noticeable now that her hair is out of the way. They are more like a light honey color. A knock on the door takes me out of my trance, and I turn and see Lilly standing in the doorway.
“Hey, Lilly, this is Maddie. Maddie, this is one of my really good friends, Lilly,” I say introducing them, and Lilly walks up to us with the biggest smile on her lips. This is how Lilly became Blakelyn’s mom. Blakelyn didn’t want anyone but me, but I was in no position to take on a kid. Then Lilly walked in and it was like an instant connection. They have been so happy together ever since, and it’s the best when we can pair kids up like that with someone who’s willing to be a parent.
