Chapter 13

Chapter Thirteen

B ouncing with happiness after her day that included a conversation with Minister Steve and a raise, Molly couldn't wait to tell Faust. Just thinking his name made her blush and remember how well he touched her. Daydreaming about how they'd spend their evening, Molly walked out into the parking lot.

She was almost to her car when a man asked, "Why aren't you eating your lollipops?"

Startled by how close he was to her without her noticing him, Molly snapped to attention. "You need to leave me alone." She turned to keep him in sight as she backed toward her car.

"If you'll taste your treat, this will be so much easier on you."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Just leave me alone." She tried to keep the tremor of fear out of her voice and failed miserably.

If I scream, will Minister Steve hear me inside?

"Don't do anything stupid. That won't work out well for you."

"I could say the same thing to you." She grabbed at anything to say.

Bumping into her car with her bottom, Molly hoped the automatic locks would work this time. She fumbled with the button and heard clicks. "Look, the minister is coming," she said, looking past his shoulder toward the church.

When he fell for it and looked, she scrambled into the car and pushed the lock button. No clicks. She tried one more time before leaning to the side to press the key into the ignition. Her door started to open.

Molly cringed to the side and finally pushed the key into the ignition. Twisting it as she stomped on the brake, she begged for it to start. Please! Please! Please!

A hand wrapped around her arm just as the engine caught. Throwing the lever into drive, Molly floored the gas pedal and felt his nails tear her skin as she drove through the flower beds lining the parking lot to get away. She drove over the church's lawn to reach the driveway and burst onto the road. Other drivers honked and gestured rudely as they swerved and braked to avoid hitting her.

She drove like a wild woman, focused only on getting to Faust. The rattling car door finally captured her attention, and she dragged it closed. Reaching the Shadowridge Guardians' shop drive, Molly started honking frantically. She ricocheted up the drive and screeched to a stop as Kade walked out to see what was happening.

Their eyes met through the windshield as her car rocked back and forth inches from his powerful body from the hasty stop. Every inch of her body shook. She watched Kade open his mouth and yell for Faust.

Her Daddy came at a full run toward Kade and then circled around him to reach her door. He tried the handle.

"Molly, you're safe. Turn the car off and open the door," Faust urged.

She could hear the hidden anger in his voice as he tried to talk gently to her. Molly shook her head. She couldn't do it. The adrenaline evaporated, leaving her paralyzed.

"Pixie? What happened?" Faust asked, lowering himself to her level.

All she could do was shake her head. The pain from her arm roared into life and she pried her hand off the steering wheel to rub her fingers over her upper arm. When she pulled them back, her fingers were covered in blood. She looked up at Faust who let out a string of curses before yelling.

"Doc! She's bleeding. I don't know if it's a bullet wound or something else."

A scratching sound at the passenger window made her jump. The car rolled a few inches forward, causing everyone to jump back.

Molly shook her head as she pressed down fully on the brake. She looked at Faust, willing him to help her. "Daddy…"

"I'm here, Pixie. I need you to put the car in park. Remi needs her Daddy to be safe. Move your right hand and shift the car into park. You can do this, Molly."

His absolute conviction got to her. She looked down again at the fresh red blood and wiped it carefully on her chest. Moving slowly, she turned slightly to her right and fitted her hand on the control.

"You're doing so well, Little girl. Push the lever forward."

Taking a deep breath, Molly followed his directions and felt the car settle. She relaxed back against the seat.

"Good girl. Ink's going to open the passenger door for you. It's okay. You know him."

That scratch came at the window again. This time, she watched a familiar figure insert a thin device into her car from the top of the window. Molly looked back at Faust and whispered, "I'm so scared, Daddy."

"I know. You're going to be in my arms in ten seconds, baby."

The sound of her passenger window dropping made her panic and she automatically pressed the gas. The engine roared as a hand reached in to push the unlock button. Instantly, Faust was on his feet, and he ripped the door open to pull her out. He carried her into the closest service bay.

Men swarmed her car, and she couldn't care less what happened to it.

"You're okay, Pixie," Faust told her as he hugged her tight.

"Daddy…" she whispered, clinging desperately to him as tears streamed from her eyes.

"You're safe, Little girl. I need to see your arm to see how hurt you are. Can I set you down?"

"No!" she yelled, scaring even herself.

"You hold her. I'll check out her arm," Doc said softly to Faust.

"Hi, Molly. I'm going to take a look at your arm so your Daddy doesn't freak out. Will that be okay?" Doc asked, gently raising her fluttery sleeve.

"Nail gouges," he reported a few seconds later.

Faust let out a string of curses that made Molly hide her face against his neck.

"Get it under control, Faust. You can get mad later," Doc reminded him.

"I'm in control. If not, someone would already be dead," Faust growled as he soothed Molly with long strokes to her back. "It's okay, Pixie. I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the bastard who did this."

"Me, too," she whispered. And peeked up when neither man answered. Their shocked expressions made the corners of her mouth tilt up. She shook her head, unable to believe she could find anything humorous. "He scared me so bad."

"I'm going to get this cleaned up, Molly. We'll have to keep an eye on you. There's a lot of germs under someone's nails. It might be better to go to the ER for a shot of antibiotics," Doc suggested.

"I'm not going."

"Pixie. We need to listen to Doc. He knows his stuff," Faust suggested.

"No."

"Do what you can do," Faust said, looking at Doc. "Did someone call the police?"

"They just pulled up, Faust."

"Hold on, Doc. Let's let them see what that bastard did to her," Faust suggested.

Molly's head swam with exhaustion and an overload of emotions. She'd given her statement to the police. They'd asked to see her without Faust and she'd refused. When they'd had the gall to ask if someone in the Shadowridge Guardians had hurt her, she lost it.

"Are you kidding? I'm supposed to be safe at a church. Instead, some creep tries to pull me out of my car and leaves furrows in my skin. I came here because I knew Faust would protect me. Who falls for a lollipop-giving creep?"

"Lollipop?" one of the patrol officers asked.

"There's a report filed about this. I just got the results back from Officer Jimenez," Gabriel said, stepping forward with several sheets of paper.

The officer glanced at the lab report and then looked again. "Where did you get this lollipop?"

"It was the second one left under Molly's windshield wiper. She almost ate the first one, thinking it was from me. I found the second one," Faust said. "What's in it?"

The officer handed the report to Faust. She cringed at Faust's angry reaction and knew the contents weren't good. Molly moved a bit closer to the man who made her feel safer than ever before. If it was that bad, she didn't want to know.

"Where were the lollipops left? At the church as well?" an officer asked, making notes.

"One at the church. One at her apartment," Faust growled, hugging her close. "Pixie, you never eat candy again without showing me."

Molly nodded.

"We don't know for sure that these two events are related," one officer warned.

When Faust snarled at him, Molly leaned back to pat his cheek. "The police officer didn't cause this. He's the good guy."

"We're going to visit the church and see what we can find out there. Perhaps others in the area have seen something. Ma'am, I would suggest that you use extreme caution when going in and out of the church. Try to stay in a group," the officer suggested. "I've got the man's basic description from you. We'll increase patrols around the church and your apartment."

"She's staying here now," Faust told them.

"That's a good idea. Most people would think twice about causing trouble here," the cop agreed.

As the patrol men returned to their cars, Doc moved closer to clean her wounds. "Sure I can't get you to go to the ER?"

"No."

Doc looked at Faust for assistance.

"I'm not going to take her against her wishes. Not now. Is there anything you can do for her here?" Faust asked.

"I have some medicine here that will combat an infection. She's not going to like it," Doc told Faust, looking over Molly's head.

"Don't I get any word in this?" Molly asked, looking back and forth from her Daddy to Doc.

"Of course, Molly. What do you want to do? ER or Doc's office?" Faust asked.

"Doc's office," she stated unequivocally.

Faust lifted her from the workbench and cradled her in his arms, taking care not to brush her wounds. "Let's go."

Carrying her through the assembled crowd of Guardians and a few Littles who'd been attracted by the commotion, Molly put on a brave face and smiled at everyone. Who could be afraid of these guys? They looked tough and tatted, but each one of them would have put themselves in danger to help her.

"I won't tell," she whispered to Faust.

"What won't you tell, Pixie?"

"That you're all softies," she shared.

"Better not let that get out, Little girl. You'll ruin our reputations."

Molly saw the two men exchange looks and knew they'd decided she would be okay. As they walked through the clubhouse, Gabriel handed Faust a sippy cup. She took it eagerly from her Daddy and drank deeply, loving the cool water after all her tears.

"Thank you," she whispered over Faust's shoulder as he continued to move toward the hallway where their apartments were.

"I'm making spaghetti for dinner," Gabriel called back.

"Yum," Molly hummed against Faust's shoulder.

"You're in for a treat. Everyone loves Gabriel's spaghetti," Doc told her. He stopped just past Faust's apartment and opened a door on the opposite side. "Here's my office, Little girl. Faust, just set her on the table, please."

Molly looked around. It looked just like an exam room. Faust set her on the exam table. There was that thing you looked into people's ears with on the wall along with a blood pressure cuff. She stared down at the metal footrests that were folded away. What kind of exams did Doc do?

Faust rubbed her back when she stiffened up straight. "You're okay, Pixie. Doc takes care of all the Guardians and their Little girls."

"Faust, we need to take her dress off to treat the wounds," Doc said softly.

"I'm afraid this dress may have seen better days, Pixie," Faust said as he swept her hair away to unzip the back of the dress.

"I can get the blood out. This is my best dress. I have to save it," Molly said urgently.

"We'll soak it in cold water when we get back to our room," Faust said, exchanging a glance with Doc.

"I know it doesn't look like much, but it's perfect to wear to work," Molly explained.

"I'm sure it's lovely without your blood scattered all over it," Doc said as the two men maneuvered her arm through the material, trying not to scrape her damaged skin against a seam or the zipper. The other arm was much easier to remove.

When Faust allowed the fabric to pool around her waist, Molly grabbed it with her good arm to hold it over her bra. "I don't need to take it off. You can see my arm this way, too."

"Doc has his reasons for wanting your dress off, Pixie." Faust lifted her bottom from the table by wrapping an arm around her waist. Doc quickly scooted the material over her legs and feet.

"I'm going to clean up your arm, disinfect it, and put some soothing ointment on it first, Molly. Does that sound okay?"

"Okay," she whispered, still not sure why she couldn't wear her dress. Molly did have to admit that the cool air felt good on her skin. She hadn't realized how overheated she felt.

"I have a job for you," Doc told her.

"What?" Her curiosity blossomed.

"I want you to take long breaths to relax and drink your water. You had quite a shock. Let's see if you can make your insides feel better while I work on the outside," Doc suggested.

Molly nodded. She rested back against Faust's supporting arm around her body and took a sip from her cup.

"That's perfect," Doc praised.

She felt like she should be more worried about being dressed only in her bra and panties but didn't. Deciding she wouldn't worry about that now, Molly basked in the feeling that she was safe, and they were taking care of her.

Doc bustled around gathering a basin and some gauze. He started cleaning off the blood that had run and smeared on her skin before turning to the gouges. "This may hurt. I'll be as gentle as I can, but I need to clean out these scrapes. Squeeze your Daddy's hand."

Faust held out a hand for her and she wrapped her fingers around his. Her hand looked like a doll's in comparison to his strong one. Molly started to giggle but winced as Doc started on the first scratch.

"Ouch!" she yelped.

"Can't you be more careful?" Faust demanded. His face hardened into a glower.

"This has to be done, unfortunately. Molly, distract your Daddy so he doesn't slug me. Squeeze his fingers hard if I treat a sore spot," Doc requested.

"He wouldn't do that," Molly protested before gasping when he hit a really sore spot.

The growl that came from her Daddy's throat made her squeeze his hand hard as she watched his expression.

"Whoa, Pixie. You almost disconnected my fingers," Faust protested.

"Doc told me to squeeze your fingers. Am I too strong?" Molly asked, playing innocent.

The snicker that came from the medic made her want to giggle, but Molly knew Faust hadn't recovered from her arrival.

"I'm sorry I scared you. I didn't know where else to go," Molly told him, squeezing his fingers as Doc worked. It helped—a bit.

"You did exactly the right thing. You can always get help here from the Shadowridge Guardians," Faust assured her.

"Even if we stop seeing each other?" Molly forced herself to ask. She couldn't see how this handsome man would want to stay with her.

"What are you talking about? First, you're my Little girl. If you decide I'm not the right Daddy and walk away, I won't have changed my mind. Second, the Guardians will protect you as long as I tell them to. Revoking your protection isn't going to happen," Faust declared.

"You might change your mind. I'm not very exciting to have in your life," Molly whispered.

"I'm not going to change my mind and I don't think my heart can handle any more excitement than we've had this afternoon," Faust told her.

"But you might," Molly mumbled.

"Have you met Faust?" Doc interjected. "Pigs are more likely to turn tie-dye colored and drive limousines than Faust is to let you slip through his fingers. He's more stubborn than a mule."

"Doc," Faust warned.

"I'm just telling the truth." Doc defended himself easily and Molly guessed he knew Faust well and liked him despite all his rough edges. "All cleaned up, Molly. You did a very good job holding still. I'm going to smooth some ointment on it and wrap it up. This will feel much better. Keep drinking."

Obediently, Molly took another long drink as she watched Doc set the basin in the sink and change his gloves. When he returned to her side, he squeezed out a long dollop of ointment on a fresh piece of gauze. Gingerly, he dabbed on the cloudy concoction.

"That's nice." Molly sighed in contentment.

"There's some topical painkiller in here," Doc explained, holding out the tube. "Faust, I'm going to give this to you. No more than three times a day. If it's hurting badly, I need to see the wounds."

"Got it," Faust said without hesitation.

"Oh, I won't bother you," Molly rushed to add.

"You will if this hurts," Doc said sternly, making her gulp.

"Okay," she whispered.

He wrapped it in gauze and secured it with a piece of paper tape. "You were very good, Molly. That deserves a reward." He discarded his gloves and opened a drawer to pull out a wrapped item. "Your Daddy can open this for you."

Faust accepted it and said, "You never give me candy," as he opened it.

"You're never good," Doc zinged back.

"True," Faust admitted before holding out a candy ring that looked like a big red diamond. "This looks good."

Accepting it immediately, Molly popped it into her mouth and hummed in enjoyment. She didn't react when Doc pressed a hand against her forehead.

"You're too hot, Molly. I think we need to take your temperature. I'd hoped you'd cool off as I cleaned your arm."

"I am hot," she admitted, pushing her hair back with one hand.

"Faust, help Molly lay back on her side," Doc instructed.

"Hold this, too, Daddy," Molly said, extending the ring candy to him.

"You can suck on that, Pixie."

"Not if he's taking my temperature," Molly protested as Doc returned to stand behind her.

"Panties off," Doc announced before pulling her underwear down her body as Faust lifted her hips helpfully.

"What? No!" Molly whispered, appalled to be nude from the waist down in front of the two men. She drew her knees up to her stomach to hide.

"Perfect, Little girl. This will just take a few minutes," Doc announced as he pulled on new gloves before taking a thick tube out of a new package.

When he applied lubricant to the tip generously and put a dollop on his index finger, Molly realized what was going on. She tried to straighten her legs, but Faust held her securely in place.

"No silliness, Pixie. The doc needs to check your temperature."

"In my mouth, yes. In my bottom, never!" she hissed.

"Little girls should always have their temperatures taken in their bottoms," Doc explained. "You've been drinking cool water. That's not going to give me an accurate measurement. Close your eyes and enjoy your candy. Your Daddy is right here to keep an eye on me."

Molly turned her head to look at Faust who held her so firmly but gently. His face was lined with concern. He was worried about her. Slowly, Molly put the candy back in her mouth and closed her eyes.

"Thank you, Pixie," Faust told her softly.

She tried to concentrate on other things—the changes she needed to make on a certain file at work, what she was going to do about her apartment, and most of all, why had everyone's eyes widened in shock at the results of the lollipop analysis.

It was hard to think of anything else as Doc spread her bottom and pressed his finger against her small, hidden opening. She sucked furiously as he pressed the digit inside and rubbed it around the tight passage. The air gushed out of her lungs when he withdrew his touch. Her reprieve didn't last long.

"Just the thermometer," Doc explained as he pressed the thin cold instrument deep into her bottom.

He turned and twisted it to seat the tip. Each movement of the device inside her captured her attention. Molly squeezed her legs together, hoping the men couldn't see how aroused this was making her. Stop reacting to this treatment! Her body didn't listen.

"Faust, if this temperature is elevated, I'm going to give Molly some antibiotic suppositories. She'll need one morning and night for five days. Since she's moved in here, that should be fairly easy to accomplish."

"I've got it. Thanks, Doc."

After what felt like forever, Doc removed the thermometer and announced, "One hundred point five degrees, Molly. That's too high just for being upset. Your Daddy's going to give you medicine starting tomorrow morning. I'm going to give you a couple of things now: an antibiotic and a medicine to relax you and help you take a short nap to recover."

Doc moved around the room swapping out fresh gloves and pulling something from the locked cabinets. Molly peeked as he handed Faust a large container of huge pills. "I can't swallow those."

"These are suppositories, Molly. They go in your bottom. Faust, you may want to put her in a pull-up for a few days to avoid accidents."

Before Molly could respond to all that, Doc spread her bottom once again and quickly pressed two large doses of medicine deep into her bottom. They were cool and thick inside her. Not as cold as the thermometer but she could definitely feel them. She tried to push them out.

"None of that, Molly," Doc reprimanded her. "I can see your muscles tensing. If you try to push the medicine out, I'll have to put a plug in your bottom."

"No!" she said, shaking her head.

"Will you be good and let your medicine work?" Doc asked.

"Yes," she whispered.

"Faust, she'll start feeling sleepy in a few minutes. Her body will absorb the medicine in her bottom quickly. Take her to your apartment and let her sleep for an hour. Wake her up for dinner and tuck her back in bed to sleep for the night," Doc told his MC brother.

"Take the candy out of her mouth," the medic warned and then laughed when Faust rolled his eyes so hard they almost made a sound. "Got it. You'll take good care of her."

In a short time, Doc handed Faust a bag of supplies to go along with the medicine container and her now empty sippy cup. The men wrapped Molly in a blanket, which she immediately tried to push away.

"It's too hot," she said, rubbing her face with the hand that held her candy.

"I'll run fast across the hall and then we'll take it off, Pixie."

"Fast," she agreed, closing her eyes as she rested in Faust's arms.

Doc piled her clothing on her tummy and opened the door for Faust. Following them across the hall, he opened Faust's door as well. "Out of banana pudding, huh?"

"I knew you all would steal it."

"Damn right," Doc agreed.

"I'll make everyone pudding," Molly promised.

"Another day, Pixie," Faust told her.

"Good idea, Daddy," she said, barely holding on to her stream of thoughts. "Tired. And my bottom is slick."

"There's nothing wrong with that, Little girl. Thanks, Doc," Faust said, walking inside his apartment.

"Anytime. Yell if you need me."

The door clicked behind him as Faust dropped the bag of supplies on the couch. He carried her to the bedroom and jostled her slightly in his arms as he pulled down the covers to lay her on the cool sheet. Unwrapping the blanket from around her, he quickly removed her bra, too.

Molly sighed with delight at the feel of the cool air on her heated body. She fought off the washcloth her Daddy wiped over her face. "No!"

"You're all sticky, Pixie. Hold still." He wiped her face and hand, removing her ring lollipop.

"I want that," Molly fussed.

"Let's try this." He held up the pacifier they'd chosen from the closet and popped it into her mouth.

"Mmmm." Molly hummed and turned on her side.