She smiled and stepped away from Lucy, moving closer to Sharp. "I know I will be safe."
Lucy took a step toward her, and Calla took another step closer to Sharp. She didn't want this woman forcing her to go to the shelter. She would not feel safe in a room with loads of other people.
“We will keep you safe,” Sharp said.
She waved goodbye to Lucy and turned to follow Sharp. He slowed so she didn’t have to race to keep up with him.
“The doctor is keeping Thario for the night. They don’t like that he got banged up again.”
“I hope he will be okay.”
Sharp nodded. “He’ll be fine.”
She felt relief and also a lot of pain for what had happened. “In a way, I always knew Brent was doing illegal things, but I didn’t know he was capable of attempting to kill someone. I should have known. I should have tried harder to escape.”
"Don't beat yourself up." Sharp stopped and pointed to a truck. "This is mine. Do you need help getting in?"
“I think I can manage.”
Sharp nodded and waited for her to open the door and get in before heading around to the other side. The engine turned over, and they took off.
“I know Danika will be happy to help get you settled. She will fuss over you. Frog isn’t staying with us tonight, so you won’t have to put up with him.”
“Frog?”
“Thario’s dog.”
“Ah. So Thario really will be okay, right?”
Sharp glanced over and then nodded. "Yes. He'll be fine after he takes a little break. He needs to rest. But he's not really into resting."
She nodded. "He seems really nice." She wanted to ask if he was married, but she didn't think it was appropriate.
The drive to Sharp’s place didn’t take too long. When he stopped, two women were in the driveway along with a man she recognized from earlier.
"That's Danika on the left, and Elowen and Griz are together."
“Thank you for telling me their names. I always get flustered when I don’t know someone’s name.”
"You're welcome. And I get that. I have to know names around the base. I think it's a skill that either comes naturally or you just don't retain names, and you have to work on it."
“I have no idea what type of person I am. I’ve been his prisoner for years.”
Sharp parked the car and glanced over at her. “I’m so sorry no one knew where you were. I hope we can help you start some kind of life.”
“Thank you.”
They got out of the car, and she wasn't sure what to do. The two women came over, their smiles wide. "Hello, Calla. Sharpsent a quick text telling us you were coming here. I'm Danika, and this is Elowen. It's nice to meet you."
“Um, thank you. I appreciate this. I was afraid to stay at the shelter.”
“I totally understand,” Danika said.
“Why don’t you come inside. I’m Elowen. I brought over some bread I made, and we can have tea or coffee.”
“Oh, I’ve never had coffee. I think it smells great, but he wouldn’t let me have it.”
“It’s an acquired taste,” Elowen said.
