Xander got to his knees and held onto me, squeezing me into his chest and breathing me in. He rested his chin atop my head and sighed heavily.
"Thank God I found you, baby girl," he breathed out.
I just sobbed and held onto him. I could hear the other men moving around Stassa screaming. My entire body was racked with sobs and I held onto Xander like he was my lifeline. When I finally pulled away from his chest to look at him, he kissed me softly, not using his tongue but moving his lips with mine. It was sweet, slow, and just what I needed after so much pain and loss.
A man clearing his throat interrupted us and we both looked up at one of Xander's comrades. He was a tall blonde guy with blue eyes.
"What should we do with her?" he asked Xander.
"Tie her up and put her in the back. Same with him." He pointed at Pope's bloody body crumpled on the ground. I relished seeing him like that.
The men moved to do what they were told, while Xander looked back at me, squeezing me tighter. He nuzzled his stubbly face into my neck and I smiled. It was the first time I'd smiled in weeks, my cheeks protesting. He stood, taking me with him still wrapped around him like a monkey. He walked me to the SUV and got into the back with me. His men shoved Stassa and Pope into the back behind Xander and me and they piled in.
We drove for hours, not even stopping for a bathroom break. Still dark out, we eventually stopped at a building just outside the desert. It wasn't my house or a hospital so I was confused. I looked at Xander with a raised brow.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"This is where you'll get all fixed up, baby. A doctor works out of this building and he's going to help you feel better, ok?" he soothed, smoothing my hair back from my face gently.
"Okay," I whispered.
He held my hand as we walked in, the SUV peeling out of the parking lot and leaving us. I looked at Xander but he explained they were taking Stassa and Pope to a designated location and coming back for us later. I nodded and let him lead me into the large building and up a couple of flights of stairs. We entered a large room full of hospital machines and tech. An older man turned toward us and introduced himself as Dr. Wright. I introduced myself and let him get right to work. Dr. Wright led me to a hospital bed and hooked me up to an IV with fluids. Then he gingerly touched my face and I winced in pain.
"This is fractured," he informed me. "You'll need some pain medication, which I can provide. It will have to heal on its own, so very minimal physical activity."
I nodded and told him where the rest of my injuries were. Xander stayed by my side the entire time, comforting me with his presence. But when the doctor wanted to check my genitals, I wanted Xander to turn away. He did as I asked and turned away, but stayed close by.
After the examination, Dr. Wright gave me a sad look that confirmed it was pretty bad.
"There is some tearing and bruising, that will heal on its own as well. Refrain from sexual intercourse for at least a month," he explained.
Xander tensed and became stiff as a board. He fisted his hands into balls and his knuckles turned white. I could hear the grinding of his teeth from where I lay. He turned back around slowly and I saw the flames shooting out of his eyes. He was furious, livid. I was angry too, but more exhausted than anything. I just wanted to rest and for Xander to hold me. That's all I had been dreaming about for the past few weeks.
Once the doctor left to get the pain medication and give us a moment of privacy, I looked at Xander, still fuming. "How did you find me?" I asked, curious.
"It was very difficult, to say the least. Maz made sure you'd be hard to find and I have to give it to him, he did a good job at that." He clenched his jaw, a tick forming there. "They kept you in the house so we couldn't get a satellite image of you for weeks. But once you left earlier in the day, we caught a picture of you and that fucking bastard on top of you. We pinpointed your location from there and found you quickly after that. It was just a matter of getting to you in time. We sent out a drone that got there before us and it followed you to the trailer park. We got to you right in time." He looked relieved and then angry again.
"I'm glad you found me." I smiled.
"Me too, baby girl," he breathed and leaned over to kiss my forehead.
The doctor came back and gave me some pain medication and a bottle to take home with me. He said it should last a few weeks, just enough time for me to heal. I thanked him profusely for helping me and Xander and I left the building. We got into the SUV waiting for us, minus a few of the guys. The blonde guy with blue eyes was driving.
"Thanks, Luke," Xander told the driver.
"Yeah, thank you, Luke," I told him as well. I was thankful for him and the rest of the guys.
"No problem, glad we could get you home safe and sound," Luke said behind his shoulder.
A few hours later, we pulled up to my house and I sighed in relief. The first thing I was going to do was take a nice hot bath. Xander helped me out and we walked into the house, it looked the exact same as when I had been taken from it. Xander helped me upstairs and filled a bath for me. He helped me out of my clothes and ground his teeth together when he saw all my bruises and marks. I had bite marks on my neck from Greg, my face was black and blue and swollen, and between my legs was angry red and shades of green and yellow from healing bruises.
I looked up from my body at Xander with shame in my eyes. He took the non-bruised side of my face and caressed my cheek with his large hand. "I will make every single one of them pay, baby. You hear me?" He looked at me intently with raw emotion in his eyes.
I nodded and he leaned in to kiss me but when I jumped back a little, he stopped and pulled away.
"I-I'm sorry," I told him, ashamed of myself for shying away from him.
"It's okay, you need some time. I understand that. I will be here for you always, I'll never leave," he promised.
I smiled. "Same old creep, huh?"
He laughed heartily and I relished in the sound of it. I stepped into my bath and sunk down into it with a sigh. It was piping hot and felt so good on my bruised and battered body. It stung in between my legs a bit, but I gritted my teeth and dealt with it. I wanted that part of me to heal more than anything. I wanted to thank Xander and show him that...That I loved him. I gasped and Xander swung his head to look at me with worry.
"What's wrong, baby?" he asked, genuinely concerned.
"Nothing, I can't tell you yet. I'd rather show you and I need some time before I can do that, ok?"
"Of course, baby, of course. I'm going to go get you some pajamas, ok?"
I nodded and sunk further into my hot bath. I lathered myself in soap and scrubbed my skin until it was raw and red. I wanted all the filth from that house and those men off of me. Xander stopped me when he came back in, taking the scrubby from me and using his rough hands to finish washing me. He grabbed my shampoo and scrubbed my scalp and washed my hair for me. He even conditioned it too. Then he massaged my sore muscles until I felt like I was going to pass out.
"Time for bed, little rabbit," he whispered.
