Shit. He could feel and hear how difficult this was for her to talk about, but he continued to encourage her to go on, to tell the story however she needed to. “What happened?”
She swallowed hard. “I was placed in a cabin with three other women who were ordered to watch over me, and I had to attend daily rituals where the leader of the group, an older man named Rick, brainwashed members into worshiping him as a holistic being. While everyone seemed in awe of him, I was the only one who had a problem handing over my loyalty, dependency, and trust to a man who controlled everything and everyone in the community.”
Her bare legs were peeking out of the covers, and he gently trailed his hand along one of them. “How long were you there?”
“Three weeks.” She met his gaze, and he hated how ashamed she looked, as if it had somehow been her fault that she’d been trapped there. “I fell into line with the others, only because I knew it would be the only way for anyone to believe that I’d been converted into being a follower and I’d be able to walk around the place more freely. I also saw a posses
sive, threatening side to Dylan that scared me, and he made it clear that if I ever tried to leave or escape, he’d find me and bring me back. Deserting the Sacrosanct community is considered a punishable offense, but I was desperate to get out of there.”
Obviously, she’d escaped, and he couldn’t imagine how she’d gotten through such a well-guarded place. When she remained silent, he nudged her once again with words. “What did you do?”
“Every day, I tried to look for a way to get out of there, and after three weeks, I noticed at the far end of the secured grounds that there was a thick tree limb overhanging the block wall into the compound, and I knew that was my only hope of escaping. It took me a few days of thinking, but I ended up getting a long line of rope and I threw it over the limb, then used it to help me climb up the wall with my feet until I could grab the top and go over it.”
“That’s pretty damned resourceful,” he said, impressed that she’d figured out a way to utilize the branch.
“I was desperate,” she said with a small shrug. “I had a few things in my backpack and fifty dollars in my pocket that I stole from the main house. I hitchhiked my way back to Chicago and had to live on the streets for a while until I could find a job and a place I could afford to live . . . I still feel so stupid and naive for getting myself into such a bad situation.”
“Sweetheart, it’s not your fault,” he said, trying to soothe her. “All that matters is that you’re out now. You’re here with me now and you’re safe. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She lifted tear-filled eyes to him, which nearly shattered his heart. “You can’t make a promise like that. If Dylan tracked me to the motel, he’ll find me again.” A shudder racked her body. “And if he gets me back into the compound, I’ll never be free again.”
“If he does find you, I can guarantee that he won’t hurt you,” he said fiercely.
She shook her head in denial. “You can’t protect me forever.”
Yes, he could. He caught her chin in between his fingers so she was looking into his eyes. He understood that he couldn’t keep her locked up in his house indefinitely, but Levi could keep her safe until he could find this asshole himself and make sure he never touched Sarah again. As a cop, he had resources, and in this instance, he had no problems taking advantage of that support.
“Listen to me,” he said, determined to reassure her, to ease the panic reflected in her eyes. “You’ll be working at my brother’s bar, surrounded by people I trust who are like family to me and my brothers. Clay will make sure that everyone knows about Dylan, and you won’t ever be alone. I’ll take you to Kincaid’s and pick you up, and if I can’t be with you, someone I trust will be. Always.” And that was a vow he wouldn’t break.
“Just until I can save enough and leave,” she insisted, compromising in the only way she would allow. “I don’t want to be a burden and inconvenience, to you or anyone else.”
She was neither to him. In fact, she’d become so much more than what he’d ever anticipated, all in a very short amount of time. But it had become increasingly clear that Sarah believed she was a nuisance because that’s how she’d been treated since her parents’ deaths. Right now, in this moment, there was no convincing her otherwise. For now, it had to be enough that she trusted him, and Levi refused to give her any reason to regret that choice, or do anything to disappoint her like so many other people in her life had.
“Let’s just take everything one day at a time, okay?” he asked so she didn’t feel pressured to make impulsive decisions based on her unstable emotions right now.
“Okay,” she said softly, her expression weary.
Satisfied that she’d agreed, he pushed his fingers into her hair at the side of her face and brought her head to his shoulder. He glided his thumb across her soft cheek, and she let out a sigh and snuggled closer. Gradually, her body relaxed against his, and he felt her steady, even breaths against the side of his neck and knew that she’d fallen asleep.
He held her for a while, thinking about their conversation while trying to set up a plan in his mind. She was right . . . Dylan sounded like the kind of guy who wasn’t going to give up, which meant Levi needed to be proactive when it came to finding the asshole before he tracked Sarah down again. It wouldn’t be easy considering he didn’t have much information on the guy, and the compound in Fairdale wasn’t in his jurisdiction as a cop, but that wouldn’t stop him from digging up what he could on her ex.
* * *
Levi waited until later that night when Sarah was asleep in his bed, then grabbed his cell phone and went into the kitchen to make a call.
His partner, Nick, picked up on the second ring. “Hey, Ironman! What’s up?”
“I need to ask a favor,” he said, skipping any idle chitchat and getting right to the point of the call.
“Anything,” Nick replied, immediately on board.
“It has to do with Sarah.”
“Sarah, the woman from the convenience store?” Nick asked, his tone incredulous.
“Yeah, that Sarah.” As if there was any other in his life. But Nick wasn’t aware of everything that had happened between Levi and Sarah since he’d gotten shot, so he understood his partner’s surprise.
“Damn. Did you finally get lucky?” Nick joked.