Page 41 of Empower

We were told no more on the matter because it was still an ongoing investigation but he wanted us to know to some extent what the little girl had already been put through so we could give her our best and gentlest care.

And after those five minutes, I returned and did my job to the best of my ability.

And I wasn’t going to apologize for getting off shift, curling in a ball on my couch with a pint of ice cream, my girl Skylar, and listening to one of my favorite authors.

That little girl needed a lawyer like Nina Sheridan.

Over the past few days, we have all taken our time with the little girl, we showered her with all the love we could.

However, due to the only male approaching her room, she let out a squawk, therefore, no males were allowed to enter her room.

Now as to why today was the most horrible day so far. A woman who looked strung out on everything showed up with the same Police Officer to take the little girl home. She looked familiar but as hard as I tried, I just couldn’t place her.

She put on a show when she saw the little girl, but she looked so smug the entire time. I didn’t want the little girl to leave at all, but it was apparent that she was her mother.

I was sick to my stomach at the thought of her being out of our sight after what she had endured.

It took everything I had to not run after them, grab that child, and run away with her. Give her a better life. The sickness and the depravity in this world made me sick.

For the rest of my shift, I had moved on autopilot.

After I clocked out, I drove home, holding the tears at bay, however, that was dashed when I walked in the door.

I was met with my girl who knocked me on my butt, she knew what I needed instantly as she buried her nose in my neck. I didn’t hold back the tears any longer. Skylar sat there with me while I cried into her fur at the thought of everything that little girl had been through.

I even forgot to shut my front door.

I was startled when my name was called, and Skylar was on alert instantly but calmed down immediately when she realized who it was. It took me a second, but I realized it was Storm.

“Precious?” His raspy voice made me cry all the more.

Through the tears in my eyes, I watched as he knelt at my side, and in a low tone, he whispered, “Talk to me, you don’t, I can’t fix it.”

At his words, at this man who was larger than life, I cried even harder.

Storm didn’t hesitate as he picked me up and kicked my front door closed with his boot. He carried me to the couch and sat down with me in his lap.

He let me cry my eyes out into his flannel shirt for a good hour while he rubbed my back. Skylar was even up on the couch cuddled up against my feet. When the crying was done my eyes felt swollen.

“Thanks, Storm. It’s been a rough few days at work and today was the worst.” Seeing that little girl look at me while her mother carried her from the hospital caused a fresh wave of tears to form in my eyes.

“Wanna tell me what happened? Anyone’s ass I need to kick?” His raspy voice never wavered, I still wanted to know why his voice was so raspy but that’s a story for another day.

It took me a bit to gather all my thoughts and not bawl my eyes out to tell him.

So, I told him. It took me a good half an hour to get through the story. When I was telling him about the blood trickle and about the woman who came to pick her up, he tensed up and held me tighter.

Once I was through, I let him absorb everything I told him. His hair was styled the same as always, inky black hair that had a few strands of gray, his hair was shorter on the sides and longer on top.

He had on a blue flannel button-up that now housed all my tears under his kutte. He had on dark-washed jeans and his iconic black leather motorcycle boots.

“I’m sorry, precious. That must have been rough, I…” Whatever he was going to say was cut off by the ringing of his phone. He had to lift me to answer it, but he put me back in the same position.

I began rubbing my temples; I could feel a headache coming on from all the crying I had done.

“Yeah?” He listened intently; I watched as his eyes flared but that was the only emotion he showed.

Once his call was over, he hung up the phone and said, “I’m sorry, Precious, but I gotta go.”