My Protector

Chapter 30: ...and Found

Loren's POV

"Hey! Sleeping beauty! It's time to wake up"

Bright light shined through the holes of the sack into my crusted eyes and I whimpered in response. 

"Oh good you're up. Now listen, how would you like to go home?"

The mans words were muffled but I was sure I heard the word 'home'. "I would love to" I responding, cringing at the pain. Every noise aggravated the pulse inside my head.

"Wonderful!" The man exclaimed follow by a large clap. "You won't get home so easy though princess. We're going to drop you off somewhere and you can figure it out from there!" 

The mans tone made me want to pull his tongue out of his mouth. How could be even get an ounce of joy with what he saw in front of him. But I bit my tongue. I was so close to getting out of here. "Okay," I whispered back. 

Without a response, the man started to walk towards me, the clicks of his shoes getting louder with every step. He lifted up the edge of the sack and again, injected a cool liquid into my neck. "Now, let's just hope you're able to find your way back" he whispered into my ear as the liquid burned through my body and finally, my hands and feet were freed. 

***

The strong smell of cow manure stuck to the insides of my nose as I woke up on a dirt road in the country side. A soft mist blanketed the land surrounding me and I had no idea where I was or where to go. I struggled to my feet only to stumble back to the ground. I was far too weak at the moment and the infection in my head left me off balance. 

I could see a small glowing orb in the middle of the sky so I still had a few hours of daylight left. I crawled over to the side of the road and forced my eyes to stay open as I looked to either direction of the road which both lead to nowhere. 

'Well I have a 50/50 chance of choosing the right way or wrong way...' I decided to go right. 

After a few long hours of crawling and pulling myself along the few cattle fences that lined the road, the sun finally made its way down to the horizon. I let out a few short breaths as I huffed and puffed along the old wooden fence that supported me. The fog was letting up but in front of me I could still see nothing but  dirt road. 

Not a single car or person had passed me since I had regained my consciousness and I wasn't even sure when one would. Feeling defeated, I slumped down next to the wooden post which creaked as it supported my frail body. I let out a small whimper but no tears fell from my dry eyes. 

The pain in my body competed with the pain in my head and I wasn't sure who was winning. The road around me started to darken and the cold breeze blew around me, forming a chilled coat around my skin. 

I looked to my left and saw a small light slowly growing larger and larger. I closed my eyes and reopened them yet the light stayed there. 

'It's too late' I whispered, convinced that I was imagining what I saw. I leaned my head back onto the post as the sound of crunching gravel became more prominent as a small black car flew past me. 

Sure that I was not imagining what I saw, I used the remainder of my energy and pushed myself off of the old post and threw myself onto the road. 

A painful screech filled my ears as the car slammed on its breaks. I closed my eyes again and smiled to myself. My plan had worked. 

Killian's POV

"We've found her."

It was like music to my ears. The prayers of a non religious man were answered. She was found. 

One of Matteo's men had just called us to inform that they had found her on the side of the road about 50 miles west of London. She was apparently frail and beyond recognition, the only thing that gave it away was that she kept whispering my name when they approached her. 

"She's not in good condition Ian..." Matteo took the phone down from his ear and looked to me. 

"I'll call Dr. Warren. He'll be here when she arrives and he will take care of her"

Matteo's jaw tightened and his lips pressed into a line. "I... I don't think thats a good idea Ian. She's not conscious. She's laying in the back of Vincent's car, she barely even has a pulse.."

I had refused to see any photos of her. The look on Matteo's face when he saw the pictures that his men had sent him were a tell tale sign that it was bad. "Okay, We will meet them at the hospital then. Where are they now?"

I paced along the room of our hotel for the following twenty minutes until we got a call that they had just made it into town and would be at the hospital in 15 minutes. Our cue to make our way to the hospital to meet with the girl I thought I lost forever. 

In the last week of searching, nothing had come up. No signs, no hints, no clues. Not a single witness. It was almost like she was taken and was wiped off of the surface of the earth. I had barely slept or even showered. I had no time or care to even worry about myself. 

We pulled into the front of the hospital and waited for a few long minutes until a small black car pulled up behind us. I swung my door open and ran over to the other car as Vincent stepped out.

"She's been in and out of consciousness since we got her but we need to get her inside" He urged as he opened the back door. There, laying on the black leather bench, was my girl. 

Her cheeks were hollow and her soft hair was matted into what looked like a birds nest. Dirt covered her whole body and the blue silk pajamas that barely even covered her was now brown in color. I took a step closer and noticed the wounds that covered her wrists and ankles.

"Oh Loren..." I whispered out as I made my way into the car and put my arm under her back in an attempt to pull her out. "Jesus, Vincent. She's burning up. How hot did you have the car???"

"Sir, I had it on full AC. She was like that when I found her, I was just trying to cool her down"

I placed my other hand on the back of her head and felt a huge scab that was crusted to her hair. "Jesus" I whispered. 

She winced as soon as my hand touched her head and she let out a soft whimper. 

"It hurts," She cried out softly "Please Killian make it stop". Her frail hands made their way up to her head as she squeezed her eyes shut.

"I'm so sorry" I whispered as I swung her legs over my arm and carried her into the ER as her arms fell from her head and she lost consciousness again.