《Hunter's Rose》Chapter Nine
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Dan sat on the couch across from us, his clipboard open as he shuffled through the papers. Once he found the one he was looking for he closed it and clipped it on the top, settling back on the couch he grabbed a pen and looked at me.
"You want these guys in here or would you prefer to talk alone?" Dan asked, quirking an eyebrow as he glanced around at the guys.
Hunter and I sat on the couch opposite from Dan, who sat on the same couch as Mak. Jai and Arthur sat on the couch in between us, Jackson was sitting cross legged on the floor opposite of them. Ace was leaning against the wall beside Dan and Mak's couch. I followed his gaze and glanced around at everyone, their faces were void of any emotion as they stared at Dan. All except Jackson, who looked like Dan had just told him Santa wasn't real.
"Excuse you, Dan. We're best friends now, and that means I'm where she is." Jackson stated before sending me a wink, making me let out a small laugh. Hunter glanced at me with a confused face, I shrugged my shoulders and sent him an amused smile.
"They're fine, for now at least. I don't think they would leave if you tried to make them." I said, sending Dan a nervous smile.
"Alright then." He said as he shook his head, sending another amused look around the room. "Let's start with basics. What's your name, age, and contact information?"
"Rose Brooks, twenty-seven. Umm, I don't really have any contact information." I mumbled, glancing away when Dan looked at me in confusion.
"You can just use mine for now." Hunter offered, his hand giving mine a small squeeze. I sent him a grateful smile.
"Ok. So, the suspects in question. What are their names?" Dan asked, giving me a reassuring smile when my gaze met his.
"The ones from the other night were Jed and Brad, I'm not sure what their last names are." I said quietly, looking down as my other hand came over to trace the lines on Hunter's hand.
"Were there more than just those two?" Dan's question barely registered as I continued my tracing.
"There was another, Jacob, but he's out of town right now. Or at least he was." I mumbled, my gaze latching onto a black line on the side of Hunter's arm. My hand turned his arm over before I realized what I was doing, on the inside of his forearm was a tattoo of a compass that I hadn't noticed before. My fingers moved on their own, tracing the delicate lines. I pulled my hand back when I felt his arm tense, his other hand quickly caught mine and placed it back on his arm. My breath caught as I glanced up to see him staring down at me with an expression I couldn't figure out.
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"Are they always like this?" Dan's voice sounded amused, I felt my face heat up more and dropped my eyes back to the tattoo.
"Yeah, pretty much." Ace answered with a chuckle. My fingers began tracing the tattoo again, hesitating for a moment when Hunter's arm tensed before continuing when it relaxed.
"Continuing on." Dan said with his own chuckle. "What is your relationship with the suspects?" I felt my body tense for a moment, my gaze shooting up to meet his concerned one. I glanced away, going back to Hunter's tattoo.
"There was no relationship." My voice came out harder than intended, making me send Dan an apologetic look. He looked at me curiously, but gave me an understanding smile.
"How did you know them?" He asked cautiously as my fingers went back to tracing.
"I didn't." I mumbled out, my shoulders lifting into a small shrug. The room became tense, making me glance up from the tattoo and shrink into Hunter's side. Everyone was staring at me, concern and curiosity painting their features. Dan let out a small cough, making my gaze move to his.
"Sweetheart, can you explain that a little more?" He asked softly. "You said you don't know them, but you know their names and that one of them is out of town?" I gave him a slow nod, tilting my head to the side as I tried to think of how to explain it.
"I don't live here, I actually live in Texas." I mumbled, my gaze moving down to the tattoo again.
"With your friend Lisa?" Ace's voice questioned, making me look up and nod at him. His head cocked to the side. "What are you doing in Georgia?"
"I, um, I don't really know." I trailed off, feeling the room tense again. I felt a hand under my chin, my gaze lifting to Hunter's concerned gaze.
"Darlin, did you come here on your own?" He asked softly. I slowly shook my head, making his eyes narrow. "Can you tell us how you got here?" I shook my head again.
"I don't know." I mumbled out, my stomach fluttering when his hand moved to cup my face and his thumb rubbed across my cheek. "I was at a club." I stuttered out. "We were celebrating Lisa's new job offer and the New Year, something hit my head and when I woke up I was in a room." I glanced away as my stomach turned. I felt his hand freeze before it tilted my gaze up to his again. His expression was hard, making me flinch back. His gaze softened slightly as his thumb rubbed my cheek again, making my face lean into his hand.
"Let me make sure I'm understanding this correctly." Jackson's voice was hard, making my gaze snap to his furious one. "Are you saying those assholes kidnapped you?" I nodded slowly as I glanced around the room, flinching into Hunter's side as everyone's face matched Jackson's.
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"They're not mad at you darlin." Hunter's voice murmured as he continued caressing my cheek, his voice was soft with a hard undertone. I glanced up at him with another slow nod, not entirely sure if I believed him.
"Wait. So you said that happened on New Years?" Arthur's voice chimed, I nodded as my gaze moved to him. "It's almost the end of September!" He exclaimed in disbelief. I glanced away, my gaze moving back to Hunter's.
"Alright sweetheart, this is a different situation than I thought." Dan murmured as he opened his clipboard and started shuffling through the papers again. "I have more questions than I originally planned." My head fell from Hunter's hands as my gaze moved to Dan. "These may be a little harder to answer, so if you need a break at any time just let me know." He offered with a soft smile.
"Ok." I whispered, biting my lip as I considered asking the guys to leave.
I felt a thumb on my chin, pulling my lip from between my teeth. I glanced up to see Hunter staring my lip before he sent me a reassuring smile, placing his arm back into my hands. I glanced down, my eyes automatically drawing to his tattoo before my fingers followed.
"Ok, so I know they were the cause of those bruises the other night. Can you tell me how those happened?" I heard Dan question, my gaze stayed on Hunter's tattoo as I took a deep breath.
"Jacob left the night before on a trip out of town. I waited until it was Jed's turn to take me for a bathroom break, he's not as smart as the other two." I said, my eyes watching the path my fingers traced. "He was too busy mumbling about food to notice I had stopped following him, when he rounded the corner I ran out the front door. I climbed through the fence and ran through the woods."
"Do you remember anything about where they kept you?" I shook my head at Dan's question.
"Not really, I was mainly kept in a room with a chain around my leg. When I made it outside I saw a brown barn, but I was too busy running to pay attention to anything else. They also mentioned there being mountains behind the house." I answered, my fingers finally moved from the details of the tattoo and started making shapes out of the few freckles that dotted Hunter's arm.
"That's good, sweetheart." Dan murmured, I could hear his pen writing against the paper before he continued his questions. "So, the woods ended up leading you into town? Do you remember how long you ran for?" I shook my head.
"It felt like hours, but I'm not really sure." I said abstenmindetly. "I thought I was going the wrong way until I heard their voices." I felt Hunter tense, but continued tracing his arm.
"Is that when you got the injuries?" Dan questioned. I nodded my head.
"The one on my face and side. I was almost to the tree line, but they caught me." I mumbled out, my gaze moving down to Hunter's hands. My fingers followed, tracing the scars on his knuckles.
"What about your knee?" My hand stilled at the question.
"I fell on a rock." My voice came out shakier than I intended.
"Honey, that wound didn't come from a rock." Mak's voice said sympathetically. I felt Hunter's hand grasp my own as it started shaking.
"Was it from them?" Hunter asked softly, his head bending towards mine as he tried to meet my gaze. I slowly nodded my head, keeping my eyes trained on our hands. I watched his hand tighten on mine. "How?" His voice came out harsh, making me wince slightly, before he loosened his grip and began rubbing his thumb over my knuckles.
"Baseball bat." I choked out, pulling my hand away when Hunter's grip tightened again. The room went still, all that could be heard was my slightly accelerated breathing.
"Was that the first time?" Dan asked in a calm voice. I glanced up to see his face set in stone, the only emotion noticeable was the anger in his eyes. I shook my head, his eyes hardened. "Did they use more than just a baseball bat?" I nodded my head, looking away.
"Are we almost done?" I whispered, wringing my hands in my lap.
"Almost sweetheart." He said softly, letting out a deep breath. "Did any of them sexually assault you?" I felt my body freeze. the color draining from my face. The room went still again, tension filled the air.
I felt like I couldn't breath, flashbacks began filtering into my head. I felt Hunter's hand reach for me, my body jerking away and my hands shaking. I pulled my hands to my chest, standing up on shaky legs.
"I think I need a break." I whispered, glancing up to see Dan's understanding nod. I avoided everyone else's gaze, turning quickly and heading to the door.
"Hey shortcake?" Ace's voice sounded, making me close my eyes as my body froze. I slowly turned to glance at him, trying not to flinch at the fire in his eye. "That training starts in the morning." His voice left no room for argument. I stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding. I tried to send him a small smile, but couldn't get my lips to move upwards. I looked back down and made my way out of the room, ignoring the stares burning into my back.
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