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Sam’s eyes began to flutter open and she tried to focus on where she was. Her eyes started to adjust to the light and as her gaze made its way around the room, she saw the figure standing by the window. She leapt off the bed but came crashing to the floor as her legs got tangled in the blanket. Scurrying towards the wall, she curled into a ball, wrapped her arms around her head and started to cry.

“Please, please, I’ll do whatever. Please don’t hurt me.”

“Shhh.” the voice said and gently placed a hand on her arm. “It’s me, it’s Lauren.”

Sam slowly unwrapped her arms and peeked at the woman through her tears. It really was Lauren and she was so grateful to see her that she pulled her close and held on with everything she could. She felt as though she was sinking in an ocean and Nick’s wife was a life raft. Lauren put a protective arm around her and listened as Sam cried all of her emotions out. When she was quiet, Lauren crawled over to the bedside table, grabbed the tissues and made her way back to the young woman.

“Here.” Lauren said, handing her a tissue. “You don’t have to worry anymore, you’re safe.”

“Where am I?” she asked quietly.

“AJ’s.”

Sam tried to focus her vision again and she took a long, slow look around the room. She finally recognized it as one of AJ’s guest bedrooms and she took a deep breath in and settled back against Lauren.

“How did I get here?”

“AJ and Nick found you in a motel room yesterday and brought you here. They’ve been so worried about you.”

“Nick?”

Lauren nodded.

“But I thought he hated me.”

Lauren couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’ve spent the last six months on the run from a lunatic and you’re worried about Nick disliking you?”

Sam turned beet red. “I guess my priorities are a little off.”

“We’ll help you get them back.” Lauren said and leaned her head against the wall. “Nick and AJ have been searching for you all week. I have never seen AJ that frantic; he fought hard to find you before Ryan did.”

Her husband’s name sent shivers up her spine and she cringed. “I’m not guilty you know.” she told her quietly.

“We know.”

Sam’s head shot up. “How do you…”

“Sarah showed up…”

“Sarah’s here?” Sam asked as her eyes welled up again. “Where is she? Can I see her?”

Lauren smiled. “She’s coming by tomorrow. We thought you should rest today.” Lauren paused for a moment. “She told the guys what happened to you.”

Sam clammed up instantly; she could only imagine what they were thinking. They probably thought she had done something to deserve it or that she was so stupid for putting up with it for as long as she did. That’s what everyone else thought so it wouldn’t be too much of a leap for them to think it too.

“They’re not thinking that.” Nick’s wife said as though she was reading her mind. “They’re upset because no one helped you, no one kept you safe.”

Sam stared at her.

“You need to understand these guys. Family is everything to them and they will go above and beyond to protect their families. All five of them would go to hell and back to make sure that the people they love feel safe.”

“But I’m not family…”

“Honey, you became family the minute you agreed to stay here with AJ.” Lauren stood up and stretched. “Speaking of the tattooed one, I should let him know you’re awake.”

Sam’s hand shot out and grabbed her arm. “Please don’t.”

Lauren gave her a funny look. “Why?”

“Because he’ll come up and try to convince me to stay.”

The other woman’s face hardened. “Sam, they spent weeks looking for you. How can you even think about leaving? It would devastate AJ.”

“It’ll be worse for him if I stay.”

“How do you figure that?”

Sam went silent and debated whether or not to tell Lauren that Ryan had already found her. After a few minutes, she decided it would be smart to tell her and hope that she would agree with Sam that leaving is the best idea.

“He’s not safe as long as I’m here. None of you are.”

Sam pulled herself up and sat down on the bed, untangling herself from the sheets. Lauren took a seat next to her and waited for her to continue.

“I have to be honest with you. Ryan already found me.”

“What?” Lauren yelped.

“Sshh.” Sam said quietly. “He already knew I was at the motel.”

“Are you sure?”

Sam nodded. “He’s been sending me messages all week and he was probably watching when AJ and Nick came to get me. Someone must have already followed them and figured out I was here. That’s why I have to leave.”

“But you’ll be walking into a trap.”

“It’s better that way.”

“How can you say that?”

“If I leave now, Ryan’ll be focused on me and I don’t think he’ll bother any of you if I’m not here. He’ll forget about all of you and he won’t concentrate on you guys helping me. Trust me, I know him.”

Lauren didn’t say anything for a few moments. Sam stood up and headed towards the bathroom; once she cleaned herself up a little, she took a seat next to Lauren again.

“I don’t think this is a smart idea Sam. You’re walking right into…”

“I know what I’m doing Lauren. I need to do this to keep all of you safe.”

“AJ won’t let you leave you know. He’ll stop you before you get to the door.”

“That’s why you can’t tell him I’m awake.” Sam responded. “I’ll wait until everyone’s asleep and I’ll leave. I can be really quiet when I need to be.”

“I don’t know.”

Sam grabbed Lauren’s hand. “I’m begging you Lauren, please don’t say anything. You can explain everything to him once I leave. Me leaving is the best thing I can do for everyone involved.”

Lauren considered it and eventually agreed to keep quiet. She helped Sam get settled and waited until the young woman was asleep before leaving the room.

----------------

It was dark out when Sam woke up and the alarm clock read three fifteen am. This was the perfect time to get out. No one would still be awake and she could get out as quickly as she could. Straightening out the bed and covers, she slipped out the bedroom door and crept down the stairs. Everything was going well until she realized AJ had set the house alarm; she was racking her brain so hard to remember the code that she missed the person coming out of the kitchen until he was right there.

“So you are leaving.”