Chapter 1

Caylee wanted to scream and cry as she hid with her friend. They made just one mistake, and now their lives were in danger, and she didn't think they'd make it out alive.The thought of exposing themselves terrified her, and if she'd been able to pee, her panties would be wet. But both women were dehydrated, exhausted, and weak.Now, she was sitting in the back of an SUV with two men who scared her as much as the bad guys. She tried to hold it together for Holly, but her friend had always been the stronger of the two.They'd both had to be tough in their own way to get through their childhood. Holly's mom had been an absentee parent most of the time, while both of hers had been drunks, and she'd been hurt more times than she could count. Her arm had even been broken once when her father threw her across the room. Her parents had been good about hiding their abuse, and Caylee had been too scared to speak up at school. Both of them had been killed in a car accident they had caused, but fortunately, they hadn't killed anyone else.The accident had happened only a few months before she graduated high school and turned eighteen, so she and Holly had convinced authorities that Caylee would be staying at Holly's. They'd even signed her mom's name on the documents. Instead of staying at Holly's with the verbal abuse they received, they stayed in the house Caylee grew up in. It wasn't much, but they were together and didn't have to deal with her mom's gross friends. It had broken Caylee's heart when Holly's mother didn't even try to find her.They'd both gotten jobs to pay the bills and still graduate high school, and then they'd moved to the closest big town where they lived in an apartment together. They both worked and took classes at the community college because they wanted to be better than their parents.Caylee hadn't known she'd fallen asleep until the vehicle they were in went over a bump, which startled her awake. Holly grabbed her arm and pressed her finger to her lips.Caylee couldn't hold back her tears for another second. Holly took her into her arms and held her tightly while Caylee tried to get control of herself.It got worse minutes later when their attempted escape from the SUV hadn't worked as they had planned, and now they were in the arms of huge scary men. It didn't go unnoticed that the one who held her was careful not to hurt her, even as big as he was."Easy. Nothing's going to hurt you," he said."That's all boys do, and I'm so tired. I just want to lie down and never get up."His grip tightened on her. Then one of his huge hands cupped her cheek, and he used his thumb to wipe away her tears. "I don't like hearing you say things like that."She sniffed. "Why?""Because I think even without knowing you, you're a beautiful, sweet woman, and we need all of you and wish we had more like you. Sweetheart, just hold on to me, and I'll protect you and get this figured out.""You don't know anything about me.""I know. But I've always been good at sizing people up. I know it's hard, but trust me."She didn't know why. Maybe it was because she was tired, but she put her power into his hands and prayed silently that he'd take care of her and not end up hurting her."Rest for now, baby."She nodded, laid her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes.