11. Haylee

Her night of supposed sleep was shit. She tossed and turned, got up to pee, and then tossed and turned some more before she ended up getting out of bed to watch TV on the couch. It didn't help that she'd kept nearly every light on in the apartment because for some reason, unease over Tim filled her stomach. She had also never been a fan of the dark, but he had always told her to suck it up and quit being a crybaby about it.

Tim knew where she was from and had probably guessed that she was going to come home. She told herself repeatedly that she was safe where she was, and even if he did come all the way to Pinebrook, he wouldn't know where to find her. It would just make her feel better once he was arrested. She finally dozed off to sleep while lying on the couch in the wee hours of the morning, only to wake up from a nightmare. She was covered in sweat and had to really focus in order to catch her breath.

You look disgusting! No wonder I never want to fuck you.

You are so fucking embarrassing, Haylee. I can't take you anywhere without you humiliating me!

His words replayed in her head as her breathing calmed, tears falling down her face. She hated him. She hated herself for staying with him for so long. Maybe she was as stupid as he said. No smart person would stay with someone for that long and believe all their excuses and apologies. But she had left. Finally. She had just needed to get the courage and strength to do it. So maybe she wasn't completely stupid.

She'd spent a good part of the night, while she was lying awake, thinking about Kane. There was something about him that she couldn't put her finger on. One minute, he was hard as stone, and the next minute, he was making her triangle-cut sandwiches, giving her medicine, and calling her sweet pet names. Even though his offer to put medicine in her bottom had shocked her into drinking the icky grape stuff, the thought of his finger touching her in such a delicate, intimate spot made her tingle. She wondered if she was a freak because she found the thought of that arousing.

His words about obeying him and calling her good girl, little girl, and sweetheart all made her feel funny inside, but in a good way that she also couldn't put her finger on. One thing she knew for sure was that she was beginning to feel like she could trust him completely. She'd never felt so safe around someone. Not even around Tim when they'd first met and he was pretending not to be a monster. It was probably dumb to trust a man she'd only met the day before, but for some reason, she did.

After her nightmare, she got up, showered, and dressed. This time, she caught a glance of herself in the mirror. The sight made her body tremble, and if she hadn't been holding on to the bathroom counter, her knees probably would have buckled under her. Most of the bruises were on her body from the neck down. Her lip was still slightly swollen from the cut that looked to be healing well, but the bruise on her cheek was still an angry shade of purple.

Her phone vibrating on the counter startled her, and then she smiled when she saw it was a message from Kane.

Breakfast will be ready in five minutes. If you don't show, I'm bringing it to you.

Rolling her eyes, she quickly sent a response.

I'll be there. I thought you couldn't cook.

He really seemed to have a thing with her eating. It wasn't something she was used to, and she wished she felt as excited about eating as he wanted her to be. Unfortunately, whenever she thought about food, Tim's words always played in the back of her mind, about how she needed to lose weight.

She dressed in a long-sleeve sweatshirt that came up to her neck, with a pair of black leggings. It covered most of her bruises except for the ones on her face. Her hair hung loosely around her shoulders and was nearly dry. She wished she had some makeup to put on to cover her bruised face. She would need to get some before she went to work at the diner. It was unlikely that breakfast customers would want to eat their breakfast while staring at a beat-up waitress.

As soon as she stepped into the house, she smelled burnt toast and bacon. She smiled at his back as he cursed at the toaster.

"Good morning," she said.

Kane turned, and she swore silently. She had already thought he was handsome, but now he was standing in the kitchen, barefoot with a pair of dark blue jeans that hugged his ass perfectly and a black T-shirt that showed off his sculpted body. Did he do like a million crunches and push-ups each day and drink protein by the gallon?

His already neatly trimmed beard looked like it had been cleaned up, and his dark hair looked damp from a shower and slightly tousled away from his face. He smiled at her, and she wasn't sure if she was breathing anymore. Despite wrestling alligators, he had perfectly straight teeth that probably made toothpaste-commercial models jealous.

"Morning, precious girl," he answered.

Shit. Precious girl. If only she was. But she still loved hearing it.

"Having a hard time with the toaster?"

He grinned. "The toaster is being difficult."

"Do you want help?"

"No. You sit down. Do you want coffee?"

"Yes, please."

Kane grabbed a mug and poured her a cup of coffee. "I don't have any creamer, but I have milk."

"Milk is fine. Thank you."

He gave her a carton of milk and returned to the toaster.

"If you write down anything you need or want from the store, I can make a run later today or send Luke and Ally to pick stuff up."

"Oh… uh, it's okay. I'm fine for now. Once I'm working, I can get my own stuff. Do you know when my car will arrive?"

He frowned and furrowed his brow.

Uh-oh.

"Haylee, you aren't starting work anytime soon, so you will make a list of anything you want or need, and I will get it for you. End of discussion. And your car will get here later today, but I don't want you going out and about yet. Not until you're feeling better. Besides, you don't even have your driver's license card with you. We need to get that before you can drive around."

Who made him the boss?

"Why do you always get to end the discussion with the final say? And I feel just fine. I just look like shit."

Kane stalked toward her, stopping when he was only inches away, and leaned down so his face was close to hers. She probably should have been scared. If it had been Tim walking toward her like that, she would have been. But now that she'd been around him and seen that underneath the surface, he was quite sweet and gentle, she didn't fear Kane anymore. It seemed his bark was worse than his bite. Well, at least so far, it had been.

"Little girl, I am the boss, so I get final say. And you do not look like shit. You look tired and like you need a really long hug, but you do not look like shit. And no cursing."

She blinked and blinked again, trying to focus. His scent distracted her but only briefly before she squared her shoulders and tried to sit up a little straighter.

"You're not the boss of me, though" was all she could get out.

Good one, Haylee. Way to sound like a grown-up.

He grinned and nodded his head. "Especially the boss of you, baby alligator."

Well, shit. What was she supposed to say when the thought of him being the boss of her made her all gooey inside?

"You're right about needing a really long hug," she said sadly, lowering her eyes from his.

Before she realized it, he had picked her up gently from where she sat at the dining table and carried her to the couch in the living room, setting her on his lap as he sat. Her entire body froze until he pulled her gently into his chest and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her into him. His warmth and hold relaxed her, while his scent and the knowledge that her ass was pressed against him drove her crazy.

"Let me hold you, little one. Let me hug you. Give me all of your sadness."

If only it was that easy. But she nodded and rested against him as he rubbed his hand up and down her back. Tears pricked at her eyes, and she didn't try to stop them as they began falling. She didn't know how long she cried, but at some point, she realized her eyes had dried, and she sat sniffling as she stared blankly at the arm of the couch. A tissue appeared in front of her face, and she tried to take it from him, but he pulled the tissue away until she dropped her hands.

"Blow."

She was too exhausted to argue as he held the tissue over her nose.

Wadding up the tissue, he tossed it on the floor and wrapped his arms around her again.

"Sorry I'm such a mess. I didn't sleep well last night."

Kane frowned. "What kept you awake, baby girl? Thoughts of that asshole? Why didn't you call me or come wake me up?"

Why didn't she come wake him up? Because thoughts of him naked were part of what kept her up, that's why.

"My mind just wouldn't stop going in circles. I didn't want to wake you up. You were up for over twenty-four hours coming to save me. You needed to sleep. I'm okay. Really, I am. This is all just new. I'll feel better once Tim is arrested. I think."

"I should have known you wouldn't sleep well, especially on your first night here. Shit. It's my fault."

Haylee gave him an exasperated look. "Why would it be your fault? You saved me. You are my hero."

"I'm looking after you; I should have known. I could have given you something to help you sleep better or stayed with you to make sure you felt safe."

A knock on the door startled them.

Kane looked at his watch. "Shit. It's already ten. We aren't done with this conversation, little one. You still need to eat before you start answering questions for Luke."

Kane lifted her off his lap, setting her on the couch as he stood to answer the door. Nerves filled her stomach. She hadn't seen Ally in years, and now her friend was going to see her beat up and bruised. What if they weren't as close as they had been in high school? What if they no longer had anything in common? Ally had been like a sister to her when they were growing up, and she didn't want to lose that.

"Breathe, baby alligator," Kane said before opening the door.

Haylee took a deep breath. When she turned to see Luke and Ally walk into the house, her breath caught in her throat again. Ally walked in first, followed by a massively tall man who looked to be about as tough and terrifying as Kane had seemed at first. The man was slightly taller than Kane, who was already at least a foot or more taller than she was. It was like looking at two giants.

She stood, and Ally rushed over to her, wrapping her into a hug. She tried not to wince at the tight embrace.

"Easy, Ally. Haylee is a bit sore," Kane said, coming over to Haylee's side.

Ally let go immediately. "Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, Haylee! I didn't even think. Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head. "No. I'm fine."

Kane scowled down at her, but she chose to ignore it.

Easy there, alligator hunter.

Luke stepped forward and held out his hand. "Hi, Haylee. I'm Luke Matthews. I'm the sheriff here in Pinebrook."

Haylee smiled up at him. The softness of his tone surprised her, though it had been just as gentle during some of the phone calls when she'd spoken with him. His hard features and size made him look much scarier than he sounded. Like he wrestled bears for a living or something. What was it with the new men in this town wrestling with dangerous animals?

She reached out her hand and shook his. "Nice to meet you."

He smiled and winked at her.

"Haylee needs to eat something first. Ally, did you have breakfast?" Kane asked.

Ally grinned up at him. "Yep! Luke made me bunny pancakes with a whipped-cream tail."

Kane narrowed his eyes at Luke.

"Great, so you'll be high on sugar this morning," he grumbled.

Ally stuck her tongue out at Kane and giggled. Haylee giggled too. She loved seeing Ally so carefree and playful. Kane raised an eyebrow toward Ally, and she instantly moved close to Luke, grabbing onto his hand.

"You think I'm going to protect you when you are the one poking the bear?" Luke asked.

Haylee grinned. "Well, to be fair, it looks like you might hunt bears."

She slapped her hand over her mouth instantly, realizing she had said it out loud. Ally burst out laughing, along with Haylee. The men looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Oh boy. I can tell the two of them together will be trouble," Luke said, though he was still smiling.

After Kane finished dishing up a plate of bacon and toast for Haylee, she sat on the couch next to him and ate slowly. She was the only one eating, and it made her feel anxious. After a few bites of toast and a piece of bacon, she tried to stand to take the plate to the sink, but Kane stopped her.

"Stay there, little miss. I want you to eat some more bites."

Haylee looked at Luke and Ally, wondering what they thought of Kane being so bossy about something so childish, but neither of them seemed the least bit fazed. Kane picked up the piece of toast off the plate and held it up to her mouth. When she tried to reach for it, he pulled it back and raised that darn eyebrow at her. She glared at him, but he just smiled and brought the piece of toast back up to her lips. He fed her several more bites and then grumbled something she couldn't hear when she told him she really couldn't eat any more, but he set the plate on the coffee table.

Luke cleared his throat. "Haylee, I need to ask you a lot of questions about what happened the other day between you and Tim. Would you prefer that you and I talk alone, or are you okay with Kane and Ally here?"

Her stomach tightened, and she found herself grabbing Kane's hand. He squeezed slightly but didn't say anything.

"It's okay if they stay."

Luke nodded and looked over at Ally. "You sure you don't want to go watch a movie in one of the rooms upstairs or go do some online shopping in the office?"

Ally looked pale and unsure, but she shook her head. "I want to be here for Haylee. I'm okay. Promise."

Luke nodded. "Okay. Haylee, can you tell me what happened that day? Everything you can remember, and then I will ask some other questions based on that."

Shit. She didn't know that actually talking about it would be so hard. Kane's thumb began moving over the back of her hand gently, reminding her that she was still holding on to him. Funny how a man she'd just met seemed to be a safe haven for her. She took a deep breath and began talking.

Kane's hand stilled several times as she told Luke the details of what had happened. Tears began rolling down her face at some point. Tissues appeared in front of her from Kane, and she looked over at him with gratitude, only to find that he had a murderous scowl on his face that made her cry harder. His scowl softened, and he leaned forward, gently wiping the tears from her face.

"Did I upset you?" she whispered.

He shook his head. "No, little one. You have done nothing to upset me. I just want to kill that bastard with my own two hands. I'm not upset with you at all, sweetheart."

She nodded. His hand moved from hers to her back, and he began softly running his hand up and down her spine. Using a tissue to dab at her eyes, she looked over to find Ally crying. Luke had pulled her into his lap and was whispering something into her ear that had her nodding her head. She got up from his lap and headed toward the stairway, disappearing upstairs.

"I didn't mean to upset her," Haylee said sadly.

"It's not your fault, Haylee. Ally cares about you. I should have had her stay home for this part and brought her over later. She will be okay," Luke reassured.

Haylee nodded. Luke asked several more specific questions about that day as well as questions about Tim's and her entire relationship. She felt like an idiot when she told him how often his abuse had occurred. When the words came out, she knew she should have left him the very first time it happened. If it had happened to one of her friends, she would have told them to leave the person right away.

"I think that's all the questions I have. I need some pictures of your bruises as evidence. Kane said that Dr. Andrews is coming this afternoon to examine you. Would you feel more comfortable if he took the pictures?"

She didn't like the sound of any of it at all. Especially having a doctor check her out. But Kane had made it clear that she wasn't getting out of that, so she nodded.

Luke smiled. "Kane, will you make sure Logan takes pictures of any and all bruising?"

"Will do," Kane said grimly.

"I'm going to go straight to my office and get all this put into the system so there's an active warrant out for him and get a communication out to the police in San Bernardino so they can arrest him immediately. As soon as he's been picked up, I'll let Kane know. Do you have any questions, Haylee?"

She shook her head. Luke nodded and stood.

"I'm going to go get Ally so we can get going before Logan gets here," Luke said, disappearing up the stairs.

Kane immediately lifted Haylee into his lap.

"You did so good, baby girl. You were so brave, and I'm so proud of you."

Haylee began to cry again, shaking her head. "I'm not brave. I'm so stupid for putting up with that abuse. I'm pathetic."

He pulled her back from his chest until she was face-to-face with him, and his furrowed brow told her that he was not happy.

"I don't ever want to hear that come out of your mouth again, Haylee Ann. You are not stupid or pathetic. You were being brainwashed and manipulated by a psycho, and you did what you had to do to survive. Do not ever call yourself those things or put yourself down like that again, do you understand me?"

If she wasn't so shaken and weirdly turned on by him scolding her, she might have wondered how he knew her middle name, but instead, she cried harder and snuggled up to his chest. He stroked her back and whispered sweet words to her, telling her that she was smart and safe and perfect in every way.