Until the only two men in the room with me and Charise were Brutus and my brother.
“All right,” I said as I slowly lowered my hands and took a very deep breath. “Smells better without all of the sweaty boots, huh?”
That actually pulled a small giggle from her.
I wore that badge with pride as I took yet another small step to her.
“You okay?” I asked softly.
Another tear fell down her cheek and she hissed as it rumbled over a scratch mark. “I don’t understand.”
“And that’s okay,” I said softly as I stood maybe four feet away from her. “I know things are very scary and very weird right now. It’s okay to not understand. Just know that you’re safe here, with us.”
“It doesn’t feel safe,” she whispered.
I looked over at my brother, and the look that crossed his face was damn near painful.
I’d never seen him like that before.
I looked back at her. “Does my brother scare you?”
She peeked over at him, but I snapped my fingers and drew her attention to me.
“His reaction doesn’t matter,” I said as I took yet another step toward her, proud that she let me close the distance. “Yours does. Does he scare you?”
She swallowed hard before she nodded. “Yeah.”
A movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention, and when I looked over, I saw my brother slouching. Fucking slouching, of all things. He slumped almost in defeat, and I had to take a second to study what that looked like on him.
My brother always walked so tall and proud.
This woman completely disarmed my brother, and it was a little weird to look at.
“Hey,” I heard Marla say from behind me. “Knock, knock.”
Charise jumped at the introduction of a new voice, but I wasn’t sure why in the hell I didn’t think about getting Marla sooner. If anyone understood the PTSD that came from something like this, it was her.
“Hey,” I said without turning my attention from Charise. “Come on in.”
“No more people,” Charise whimpered.
“It’s okay,” I said as I held my hands out again in a mocking surrender. “Marla understands what you’ve gone through. She can help.”
Charise paused, her gaze flickering between me and Marla as she stepped up to my side. “She… she does?”
“I do,”Marla said softly. “I was held captive for quite some time before the guys rescued me.”
“Rescued,” Charise whispered.
It took Marla and I some time before Charise could speak in full sentences without shivering on us. But we eventually got her to a point where she allowed us to be a close barrier in between her and the guys behind us.
“I’m out in the hallway whenever she’s ready,” Doc said.
Charise’s eyes almost immediately welled with tears.
I took her hand in mine. “Hey.”
She whipped her gaze to me. “Hi.”
