Occupational Hazards Ch. 03

I groaned, noticing that Nikki's lips remained slightly parted. Her cheeks flush from her emotional release. Her eyes distant, yet she kept her gaze trained on my face.

Waiting. Just like...

No! Stop it!

Two words do not infer consent. Not without a full understanding of what she is getting into. She may not even be into that. We have to—

"Ben?"

I blinked. "Sorry."

"Hunter...he's not home right now. But I can't stay there. I—"

"Shh. I'll take care of it." I cupped her face, brushing my thumb over the rise of her cheekbone. Her skin was warm against mine. So soft. "If that's okay with you?"

She nodded slowly, rolling a corner of her lower lip into her mouth.

I shut my eyes. So many thoughts were running through my head. Most of them inappropriate, given the current situation.

Focus, pal. Get your mind out of the gutter. Her safety comes first.

When I looked at her again, Nikki was still worrying her lip. The words in my head suddenly spilled out. "Please don't do that. You're distracting me."

Her teeth released their hold, leaving a slight indentation behind. "Oh, sorry."

God, if she only knew the effect she had on me. It was actually painful to swallow now. "You said he was gone. For how long?"

"A couple of days. He had to go to Florida for business."

I hoped I masked the surprise and excitement from my face. Was he going for a drug run? I had to get word to Davenport. But first... "I'm going to take you to get your things."

She whimpered then, her shoulders hunching.

"Don't worry. I'll be with you. Take whatever you need now. You won't be back. If you leave something behind, I'll buy you another one."

"Where am I going to—"

"My place. Until I can set something else up."

Her whole face brightened for a moment before she dipped her head again. She must have remembered what I'd just said not a minute ago because she raised it, though she stared somewhere over my shoulder. Making me wonder if she was afraid I'd be able to read something in her eyes.

I was determined to unravel her mystery. I liked a challenge. It would just take more time alone with her. Which ironically, I would now have.

She scooted away, gathering her purse from the other end of the couch. "Let's get this over with."

As we made our way back to the stairway, she slipped her left hand into my right. I held my breath. Hesitating before closing my fingers around hers.

They were slender. Soft. Delicate. Just like the rest of her. And they fit so well within mine.

Bruce was standing at the top of the stairs, keeping watch over the lower level. He turned when we approached. Raised an eyebrow.

I gave him an upward tip of my chin. "Thanks, man."

"All good?"

"It will be."

His gaze darted down, probably noticing our linked hands. But like a professional, he only said, "Glad I could help."

While we maneuvered through the customers downstairs, Nikki's grip tightened. Maybe she was afraid I'd let go. If so, she had nothing to worry about. And once again, for the life of me, I struggled to understand why I had this inexplicable drive to protect her.

Her arm started shaking the moment we stepped outside. She let out a squeal when I tried to put my coat around her using one hand and bumped her injured arm. Reminding me of her fragile state. I didn't want to, but I had to release our hold. Which made her whimper.

I quickly adjusted the material over her shoulders. My hands stilled as I pulled the lapels tighter under her chin. It hit me that we were standing in the same spot we had last Friday. Minus the biting rain.

Our faces were only inches apart. And despite what she had been through, I saw something new in her eyes that hadn't even been there a few minutes ago. Trust. That moved me deeply. She knew nothing about me, yet she was willing to put her life in my hands? It was profound.

I groaned softly, and her head tilted back. Maybe in invitation. Maybe out of surprise for why I'd made the sound. Either way, the temptation called to me. But I pushed it away with the release of the jacket and took her hand again before continuing down the sidewalk to the opening in the wrought-iron fence.

She kept pace with my longer strides. I glanced at her as we went under the lights over the arched entrance. Noticed she was worrying her lower lip again. The urge returned. Rising up stronger than before. It was harder now, but somehow, I harnessed restraint.

My car was right where I'd left it twenty-four hours ago. I held the door open for Nikki. Helped her get the belt on without hurting her arm. And walked around to get behind the wheel. All the while, missing the feeling of that small, warm section of her skin touching mine.

###

Neither of us spoke on the drive. Instead of wondering what must be swirling through her brain, I used the time to consider the next step of my impromptu plan. After we picked up her things, we had to find an open restaurant. My stomach was uneasy. I knew at least part of it was due to a hunger for food—that sandwich had definitely not been filling. The rest? Hmm...

Nikki let out a muffled cry as I pulled into the spot the Charger had vacated.

Reaching out, I squeezed her hand. "Remember, you're not alone. And he's not here."

Her hand shook so much when she tried to unlock the front door that the keychain made a dull ringing sound. I placed my hand over hers. Steadying it so she could get the key into the keyhole.

The door swung open. But she remained outside. Breathing heavily.

I rested my hand on her good shoulder.

She whispered, "Thank you. For everything."

"I haven't done anything yet."

"You've done more than you know."

"Well then, you're very welcome." When she still didn't move, I gestured to the doorway. "I know he's gone, but the quicker you do this, the sooner we get out of here. After you."

She nodded then led the way into her miserable abode with a big sigh.

The inside pretty much matched the exterior. There wasn't much to see in the living room except a threadbare couch, a faded leather recliner, and a dated fireplace with a flatscreen TV mounted overhead. So far, the latter and the Charger were Hunter's only visible signs of his success in his side business. Which made me wonder if we had been given reliable intel.

Although minimal in furniture and decoration, the room looked clean. In order. Someone—Nikki, presumably—had taken care to place blankets and small pillows on the available seating. Tried to make it at least appear to be cozy.

There was a wall directly behind the front door, just as I had dreamt it. Now, instead of me pressing her up against it, I imagined Hunter. On how many occasions had he held her there? Threatened her? Abused her?

I noticed that Nikki had stopped in between two doorways, staring at the corner where they met. I could see a stove at the back of the house through the one straight ahead. The other led into a room off the wall behind the front door.

"Get only what you need."

She nodded and disappeared through the doorway straight ahead.

Only a few steps after her found me standing in the tiniest kitchen, located exactly where I had surmised it would be during my stakeout. While the appliances, fixtures, and wall and floor coverings looked dated, everything was clean, like the previous room. Not a dirty dish in the rack next to the kitchen sink. Not a towel out of place.

Was it all just Nikki's way of keeping some semblance of order in her chaotic world? Or part of Hunter's control over her? A way to keep her domesticated?

I heard a drawer slam shut and tried to enter the room to the right of the kitchen. With a combination tub and shower that took up most of the space, the bathroom looked too small for even one person. I remained in the doorway, opening my mouth to ask if she wanted help, but nothing came out.

When she turned to me, her hands were full with a hairdryer, a flat-looking curling iron, a brush, and a makeup case. The latter surprised me. I could have sworn she didn't use cosmetics. But then again, maybe it wasn't for her face.

"Let me take those." I put my hands out, gathering the items like an offering.

She opened the cabinet below the sink, stared at the contents, and then closed the door without removing anything. However, two narrow bottles from the tub enclosure were added to the pile. The labels were mostly worn away, but I could read the words "jasmine" and "shampoo" on one of them. I raised an eyebrow. Not perfume as I'd presumed.

Then I followed her back through the living room to the only other space in the house: the bedroom. She yanked drawers open on a dresser, randomly tossing things onto the bed before slamming the drawer and starting on another one. Panties and bras. Socks. Some stockings. A few T-shirts. Another pair of jeans. From a small box on top of the dresser, she removed a handful of jewelry that she stuffed in her purse.

Her shoulders were visibly shaking as she reached into the closet. I added the items in my arms to her bed and stepped up behind her. That's when I saw her wet cheeks.

All of the desire that had built up since holding her in the club immediately faded into guilt. Disgust in myself. How horribly insensitive of me to even think about pursuing her in any way right now after learning of her trauma? I made a resolution to keep my thoughts more in check going forward. Neither my feelings nor her situation were going to be rectified overnight.

"Let me do that." I gently took her hand off a hanger. "Just point out what you want."

Nikki sniffled. Nodded.

We made quick work of sorting her clothes from Hunter's as she only had a handful of tops and slacks. No dresses. No skirts. Nothing outrightly...feminine. There were three pairs of shoes and two jackets. Was her minimalistic approach to fashion her own decision?

"You'll need your suitcase."

She shook her head, her arms crossing across her chest.

"Let me guess, Hunter took the only one."

Another louder sniffle met my ears as I studied the decent pile we had formed on the bedspread. I feared if we didn't get out of here soon, she was going to lose it. I expected it to happen again tonight, but I'd hoped we'd be somewhere she felt safe first.

There were no other types of bags in the closet. I ran to the kitchen and searched through the cabinets until I found a box of trash liners and several cleaning supplies in a medium-sized box. I grabbed one of the liners and dumped the contents of the box out. Back in the bedroom, I found her still standing in the same spot.

She was really shaking now. Biting her lip.

I started scooping her clothes from the bed into the white, plastic bag. She gasped, though she didn't try to stop me. The bathroom articles and shoes went into the box. I was pulling the handles taught on her makeshift suitcase when it occurred to me she had not taken anything personal. No pictures. Mementoes. I didn't blame her...who would want something to remind you of the place that had become your prison? The person who had imprisoned you?

For a long moment, we both stared silently at the empty bed. I couldn't imagine what she was thinking. Imagining.

Me? I was picturing her lying there helpless while that vile man violated her and then went about his business as if it was an everyday occurrence. Hell, it might have been. My anger returned tenfold, and I knew I would be the one to lose it if we didn't leave. Now.

Nikki suddenly whimpered and ran out of the room. I hefted the bag of clothes over my shoulder and cradled the box in my other arm then followed her. She was already through the front door when I stepped into the living room. Damn, this house was tiny.

"Wait, Nikki!"

She stopped on the cement slab that served as a front porch. Panting. Crying. Then she said the first words since we'd gone inside. "There is nothing left for me here."

"Okay. Let me lock up. Where are the keys?"

She pointed to the door and headed to my car. Yep, in the lock, right where we'd left them. I made sure the lights were off and secured the deadbolt again. I wondered how long it would take Hunter to realize she was gone. Really gone. Would he even care?

Nikki was sitting in my car with the passenger door open when I returned. Hugging my jacket around her arms. Her eyes were wet with fresh tears as they looked up at me.

I handed her the keychain. "Take off any house keys. You won't need them anymore."

She fumbled with the ring for a moment then handed over two keys, presumably for the front and back doors.

I deposited the box and garbage bag in the trunk, glancing around the mostly dark neighborhood. There, the neighbor's overgrown bushes looked good. I drew back my arm, but something stopped me from letting go of my pitch.

My hand shook as I lowered it. I stuffed it in my pocket instead and released the contents. Then I jerked the driver's side door open.

Maybe Director Davenport would find the keys useful for the mission since I obviously wasn't.

###

Nikki had insisted she wasn't hungry. But the moment the waitress set a plate before her—at the same diner I had taken her to last Friday—she took a huge bite of the burger and stuffed three fries into her mouth before she even started chewing.

I'd seen this happen before with other victims. To suddenly engorge themselves after being removed from a place of trauma. Anxiety had overpowered all of their other senses and feelings. Including the need for nourishment. Once transplanted to a safe location, something in their brain said it was okay to eat again.

She glanced out the window several times as we both cleared our plates. At least she appeared to stop shaking. Though a stray tear occasionally escaped when she blinked.

I started to reach my hand out to hers, but I laid my palm flat on the table again. "He's not out there, honey."

"He's got eyes everywhere. Just because he's not physically—" She put her fist to her mouth and choked back a sob.

I pulled out a few bills and threw them on the table. Nikki flinched as I stood. But when I held out my hand and gestured toward the door with my head, she was out of the booth hugging me so hard I gasped for breath.

Her voice was a dry whisper. Ghostly. "Get me out of here."

I held her for a moment then ushered her to the door with my hand on her back. She ran ahead of me to my car the second we stepped outside. I used the keyfob to unlock the door so she could get in. And found myself looking around as I closed the gap.

Damn it, she had made me paranoid now, too.

Coming from the direction of her now ex-house, we had to cross two sets of tracks to get to my part of the city. And as our luck would have it, we got caught by a train. A really long one carrying a seemingly endless number of shipping containers.

I shifted into park, made sure the doors were locked, and settled in for the duration. The streetlights on the other side of the train were hypnotizing as they flickered between the passing cars. The only sound was the repetitive scraping of metal wheels on metal rails and a loud clanging as the cars went over a rough patch at some point in the track.

My mind wandered back to my plan as we sat. Waffling between hitting the grocery store to stock up, or skipping it if we would be heading out sometime in the morning or even later tonight. I guess it depended on what the Council decided to do...when they could get us out of the city.

A soft sound met my ears. Like muffled crying.

I turned to see Nikki looking out the passenger window. Thought I heard a sniffle this time. "We'll be to my place soon. I'm sorry. I wasn't planning on the train—"

There was another sound. It wasn't crying this time. More of a...scoff.

"It's not that."

"Then what?"

She remained silent, but I saw her shoulders move up and down in a shrug.

"Hunter? I won't let him—"

"It's not just him." She let out a deep sigh. Then... "You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"I shouldn't have come to you."

It was my turn to scoff at her. "Because?"

I heard the soft squeak of my leather jacket rubbing against the leather of the seat. Another sigh. Then she turned her head toward mine.

"Because I don't want you to get hurt, too."

The corner of my mouth turned up. Awe, she cared about me. "Hurt? By him? What was it you said? I can take care of myself...I'm a big boy."

"I don't... I meant... Before... Well now, it's different... Oh, nevermind."

I pressed my lips together. She was adorable when she stammered.

Ahead, the last flatbed car with containers passed through the intersection. The red lights on the train signal continued flashing for a few seconds as the gates rose. Then we were moving forward again. I was through the first set of tracks when I heard another sigh. Almost as if I'd insisted she elaborate. I admit, I was curious, but I wasn't going to press.

"I've put you in jeopardy. Not just with Hunter if—no when—he finds out I'm gone. It's...me. I know that sounds lame. But it's more than that. I just—"

"Spit it out, Nikki."

"I'm not worth your time." Her voice was so soft, but I swear I heard her add, "I never was."

My jaw clenched. Another block up, I yanked the wheel, turning us off the main drag.

"What are you doing?" Nikki's voice was strained, and I heard her grunts when I swerved around a parked car as its door opened and the driver got out.

I ignored her, turning down another street. Looking for a spot I could just pull into. Someplace where there were no other people around. Unfortunately, it took longer than I expected. I heard her calling my name. Each time, the pitch of her voice grew higher.

Finally, I found an alley away from the residential section. I pulled in and jerked the car into park. A light on the side of the building shone down through the moon-roof. Casting us in a yellowish glow.

"Ben! You're scaring me!"

I tossed my belt off so hard I heard the buckle hit the driver's side window, thankfully not breaking it. As I turned to her, Nikki shrunk back against the door. Her eyes widening, her mouth dropping open with a loud cry.

"Not worth my time? Do you think I go through this much trouble to help every girl I meet?"

She closed her mouth and swallowed. Shook her head slightly. Her voice was squeaky when she spoke again. "I'm not saying I'm ungrateful."

"Well, you sure sound like it!" I ran my hand back through my hair. "You are a conundrum, you know that? You say you can take care of yourself. Then you come crying to me for help only to push me away again. What do you want, Nikki? Hmm? Can you just tell me that?"

Tears choked her voice now. "You! I want you. Okay? I've always wanted you, but you didn't even know I existed!"

I flinched. "What are you talking about?"

"High school, Ben. Every single day for four years." She was crying full-force now, her hands covering her face. "Wishing you would notice me. In class. On campus. In the halls. At lunch."

My chest was heaving now. Was that the secret behind the occasional gleam in her eyes? I opened my mouth, but she was faster.

"Just once...I wished I was the girl you were flirting with. You were laughing with. Hell! I would have been happy to have you ask me what answer I put down on the biology test, or if I understood the algebra homework. But you never saw me. Just like everyone else. Still, I couldn't shake my crush. Every time I thought I could, I'd see you somewhere. So I held onto my dream that maybe..."

"Nikki, I—"

"The best thing that ever happened to me was graduation. That meant I wouldn't have to see you again. Sure, I wondered where you were, what you were doing. But the more time that passed, the easier it was to finally move on. I met Hunter. He distracted me...gave me a new dream, or so I thought."