4. Kane

Rage that had been buried inside him for as long as he could remember was suddenly overtaking him. Hearing Haylee's small, scared voice made him think murderous thoughts of the man… no, the coward… who hurt her. And now she was scared and hurt, driving thirteen damn hours to make it back to her hometown.

You weren't able to protect your mom… but you can protect Haylee.

He paced the living room of Luke and Ally's home, trying to tamp down the anger that was about to boil over.

"I had no idea she was in trouble," Ally cried.

Luke walked over, pulling his Little girl into his arms. "Shh… It's not your fault, baby. You couldn't have known."

"I just… I should have known. I knew she hadn't seemed very happy over text, but I had no idea he was hurting her."

"It's not your fault. Kane and I will make sure she's okay. We will make sure the guy pays for what he did."

"He will pay," Kane repeated coldly.

Ally shuddered, looking up at him, her wet eyes full of worry. He softened inside and gave her a gentle smile, not wanting to scare his friend's Little girl.

"Are you sure she can stay with you?" Ally asked.

"Absolutely, sweetheart. She will be completely safe at my house. I have an apartment above my garage. I just had it furnished last week, so she will be comfortable and have everything she needs. There's no way we are letting her sleep in her car," he answered reassuringly.

She nodded, lowering her eyes to the ground sadly. Luke picked her up and set her on the couch, wrapping her in blankets before handing her phone to her.

"I need to get a room booked," Luke said, turning on the TV to a cartoon for Ally.

Kane followed Luke into his office.

"I'm going to drive to her. She shouldn't be driving. Thirteen hours is way too long to drive by herself with injuries and with how upset she is," Kane said, his temper flaring at the thought of her in pain.

He didn't even know Haylee, yet her voice and the way she cried pulled at every protective instinct he had. Plus, she was Ally's best friend, so he felt even more protective of her. Ally was a wonderful Little girl for Luke, and if someone was important to either of them, they were also important to him.

Luke nodded. Kane knew Luke's protective instincts were going off as well. Especially since Haylee was his Little girl's best friend, and he would do anything for Ally.

"We can go with you so that I can drive her car back," Luke answered.

Kane thought about that briefly before shaking his head. "I think you should stay here in town with Ally. She is already upset—if she sees Haylee with blood and bruises, she will be hysterical. We can leave the car and have it towed up here. Get her a room booked somewhat close to where she is now. I don't want her driving for too long. She might have a concussion or broken bones."

Luke began searching for a hotel on his laptop and booked a room within a couple of hours of where she had been when she called. They mapped out a route. Kane planned to drive through the night, arrive at the hotel around four in the morning, and sleep in his own room for a few hours. When she was awake the next morning, he would introduce himself and drive her the rest of the way back to Pinebrook.

When they went back out to the living room, Ally was staring at her phone silently.

"Call Haylee, baby," Luke instructed.

Ally obediently dialed her number and put it on speaker.

"Hello?"

"Haylee, it's Luke and Kane. Can you pull over for a minute? It's not safe to talk and drive," Luke said.

"Okay, I'm pulled over."

"Kane and I don't want you to drive all this way alone. You're injured and upset. It isn't safe. Kane is going to drive down and meet you at the hotel I booked for you. He won't be there until morning, so when you get there, you need to rest. In the morning, he will drive you back up with him, and we are going to have your car towed here."

It was silent for a moment.

"I can drive the whole way. He doesn't need to come get me. I just need to rest, and then I'll be fine," she said.

Oh no. She wasn't talking him out of this. She was not driving for thirteen hours by herself. Hell, no.

"This is not an option, Haylee. I'm coming. End of story. Ally will text you a picture of me so you'll recognize me in the morning," Kane said, more gruffly than he meant.

He wasn't going to argue with her on this. He was driving her whether she liked it or not. It was not safe for her to be out there driving alone, injured, and scared. Not on his watch.

She's not under your watch, idiot. You don't even know her.

A sigh on the other end of the phone brought his attention back. "Uh… okay."

"Don't worry, Haylee. Kane is super nice, even though he sounds really grumpy. He's a good guy," Ally said.

He glared down at her, and she stuck her tongue out. Brat. Luke looked amused as he watched their interaction. Kane was getting used to Ally's sassiness. From what Luke had told him, she'd been a spitfire from day one. He also knew Luke loved her bratting. It gave him more opportunities to spank her little butt. Kane envied his friend's relationship. It was everything he'd always wanted but had never found.

"Luke booked you a room at a Hilton in Fresno. Ally will send you the address to put into your GPS, along with my picture. Did you get gas?"

"Yes."

"Good girl. By my estimation, you should reach the Hilton in about an hour and a half. Are you okay to drive that long?"

"Yes. I'm okay," she answered softly.

Kane could hear the exhaustion in her voice, and he ached to be there to help her. She needed to be taken care of, not have to be taking care of herself. The anger rose again, and he clenched his jaw to the point of pain.

"Haylee, I'm going to get your phone number from Ally so I can get in touch with you. I'm also going to have her text you my phone number. If you need anything at all between now and the time I get to the hotel, you call me. Understood?" Kane asked, making sure his tone was softer this time.

"Okay," she whispered.

"That's a good girl."

They ended the call, and Ally sent the hotel information and Kane's cell phone number and his picture to Haylee.

"Ally, I want you to let me know every time you hear from Haylee. Can you do that for me?" he asked gently.

She nodded, biting her bottom lip.

He smiled down at her. "Thank you, little one. Okay, I gotta get going. Luke, can you take Ally out tomorrow and pick up some clothes and toiletries for Haylee? Here's my credit card. Get her anything and everything she might want or need. She probably needs clothes that are as comfortable as possible right now since she's hurt, okay, Ally?"

Ally looked up at Luke, and he nodded. "For sure. We will take care of it. We will drop everything off at your house and set it up in the apartment for her."

"Ally, do you have any clothes I can take with me that would fit Haylee? I want her to have a clean set of clothes in the morning."

She nodded, getting up from the couch. "Yeah. She's the same size as I am. I'll go get some stuff."

After Ally returned with a pair of leggings, a shirt, a hoodie, a pair of cotton panties, and some socks, Kane reached out and pulled her into a hug.

"Thank you, sweet girl. I'll overlook you sticking your tongue out at me earlier."

She giggled, and he was glad she knew he was teasing her. Sometimes he didn't know what she thought of him. He wasn't exactly the warmest person in the world. But then again, she was with Luke, and he was almost as gruff as Kane at times.

"Walk out with me?" he asked Luke.

Luke nodded and followed him out to the driveway.

"We need this motherfucker found and put in jail. He's obviously violent. And if I find him first, I'm going to be in prison for murder."

Luke knew his temper. He knew what got under his skin. It was one of the reasons why they had worked so well together in Seattle. Kane trusted Luke with his life, and in return, he would protect Luke with his own. It was also a plus that they were both Daddies and believed in protecting any and all Littles.

"Don't scare her too much, Kane. You intimidate the crap out of Ally. Can you only imagine how scared Haylee already is?"

He snorted. "You know damn well I wouldn't hurt a hair on Ally's precious little head or her friend's."

Luke grinned. "I know you wouldn't… especially since you know I would kill you if you did."

"I will try to keep my gruffness at bay, but I am furious about this. You know how I feel about abusers."

His friend nodded in understanding. Luke knew what he and his brother had been through growing up.

"Drive safe. I'll keep you posted on Haylee. Oh, and Kane, Haylee doesn't know that Ally's a Little."

Shit. Did that mean that the innocent voice on the other end of the phone wasn't a Little? Fuck his luck.