Chapter 44

Cyrus

I drove in silence, but I felt cold and dead inside. It was a familiar sensation that used to comfort me before my Angel came into my life. Emilia had called us with the property access details but it was the trepidation of what I would find in that outhouse.

Would the girl be there? Was she dead or alive? If she is alive, will her eyes be as dead as my sister's were? Will she kill herself like my sister did, or could I save an innocent soul?

"Hey, are you okay?" Alejandro asked.

I nodded curtly but kept my eyes on the road.

Since Andrew Moorcroft had divorced from his wife a couple of years ago. He must have been keeping children on the property.

"You take care of Moorcroft, and I will deal with Boyd. My parents are going to work through some of the others," he said.

My head snapped towards him, but I almost swerved the car off the road. I kept my eyes on the road and steadied the car.

"They must be in their seventies," I exclaimed in shock.

"My Dad's eighty-five, and my Mum is seventy-eight, but between the two of them, they will be fine. My Mum lives for this kind of shit. She is probably sharpening her knives as we speak."

"But—"

"My Dad trains every day, and my Mum teaches yoga. Trust me, they are more than capable."

I smiled as I thought of my biomedical company. I might be able to extend their lives. My smile waned as we approached the house. The street was dark and deserted. I parked towards the back of the house where Emilia had indicated. She had shut down the high-tech security around the perimeter of his property.

I spotted a tree close to the high wall and got out of the car. We had changed our clothes before we left. Emilia hadn't sulked at being left behind. I'd never used that tone of voice with her before, but she didn't seem upset when I kissed her before I left.

"Fuck," I murmured as I realised why she had been so amiable.

"What is it?" Alejandro said, looking around.

"Emilia is going to fuck Moorcroft up while we are here."

He grinned like a proud Papa bear. "Damn right, she is."

I rubbed a hand over my face before I grabbed my tool bag from the back seat of the car. Once I'd slipped it across my body I began to climb up the tree with Alejandro following behind me. I stood up on the branch closest to his wall and began to walk towards the wall. We needed to be discreet, but if we found the girl, I could disable the main gate control pad to exit with ease.

I jumped over the wall and began to walk towards the outbuilding. I heard Alejandro jump down with a dull thud behind me, but my focus remained on the small white building.

When I found the door, it had an ancient-looking lock pad on it. I didn't know people still used these, everything was electronic now, but I guess the prick hadn't wanted anything traced by a security company. I opened up my tool bag and started up the small electric saw. The lock came away in seconds, and I put it in my bag to pull my flashlight out.

Alejandro opened the door slowly before walking inside and I searched for the light switch after following him in. When I found it and switched it on, I cringed when I saw it was decorated as a girl's bedroom. The bed was empty, and in one corner, there was a toilet and a sink. There were toys and a bookshelf but nothing electronic.

Alejandro went to the bed and got on his knees to lift the bed sheet up. I got closer and crouched down to see a little girl hiding under the bed. She clutched onto a toy bear, and my heart sank as I looked into her sad blue eyes. They were full of dark shadows like my sister's.

"Hi, Princess, we are here to rescue you from the bad man that took you," I whispered softly.

Her frightened eyes volleyed from one to the other before they settled on me again.

"Did the bad man hurt you?" I choked out.

She blinked at me and squeezed her bear before she nodded. I felt my heart fracture, and I swallowed the thick lump in my throat down.

I heard Alejandro curse under his breath.

"We took care of that bad man. He can't ever hurt you again, Princess. We can help find your Mommy and Daddy so you can go back to them," I said.

Tears began to trickle out of her eyes.

"The bad men made Mommy dead," she whispered before she paused. "I don't have a Daddy."

Fucking bastards. I would skin each and every one of them. They obviously chose easy targets.

"Was it just you and your Mommy, or did you have any brothers or sisters?"

"I lived with Mommy."

"Okay. What's your name, Princess?"

"R-Rose," she stammered.

It hit hard because her name was similar to my sister's.

"Rose, I need you to be brave because we need to get you out of here. Do you think you can be brave?"

She couldn't be any older than six or seven. She looked thin and pale, with her messy blonde hair tangled around her. I wondered how long she had been here. Her little lips trembled before she gave me a nod. I held a hand out for her, but she avoided it and began to crawl out. When she stood up, I still knelt down so as not to scare her.

"You see me and my Dad here?" I said, ignoring Alejandro's grunt.

She looked at Alejandro before she looked back at me and nodded.

"We are giants when we stand up. It means we are so big and strong that we will stop anyone who tries to hurt little boys or girls. My Dad is going to carry you to the car is that okay?"

She looked at Alejandro before she shook her head and pointed at me.

Fuck, this kid was killing me.

"You want me to pick you up?"

She nodded.

"Okay, Princess," I said as I held my arms out.

She moved closer before her arms wrapped around my neck and hugged me so tight that I felt tears prick my eyes. Her bear was squashed around my neck, and I closed an arm around her tiny body.

"Everything is going to be okay. I promise you no one will ever hurt you like this again. You're safe now," I crooned to her while I rubbed her back as I stood up.

She clung to me as we left the disgusting room. It made me want to vomit. She clung to me as I worked on the gate and she clung to me in the car. She only let go when she fell asleep.

"You did good back there. The poor kid is traumatised," Alejandro said quietly as he turned towards my street.

"I've always found the culprit, but I've never found a live victim," I replied as I ran my hand over Rose's hair.

"We will come over first thing in the morning and bring some essentials for Rose."

I nodded, but I saw Emilia standing outside waiting for us. The anxiety on her face was plain to see.