Just One of the Guys
Chapter Three

Knox

As Averi and I sit in the Emergency Room, her head resting on my shoulder as she sleeps, my mind is reeling as I try to figure out what Kenny has done that was so bad that Averi ended up in witness protection. *Is Kenny even his real name?*

*Is he part of a drug cartel?*

*The Bratva?*

*A gang?*

*Hell, I don't even know if Averi is American, Russian, Italian, Mexican, Indian or whatever the hell else.*

As I continue to mull over everything that I still don't know about the girl who has stolen my heart, a man walks in and glances around the Emergency Room, scrutinizing each face that he replaces. He looks to be around my height and weight, with a darker complexion, indicating that he is possibly of Mexican descent. When he turns his attention towards Averi and I, I stare in his bright blue eyes and wonder if this man could be Agent Hernandez, the man that we're waiting for. He makes his way over to us and holds his hand out in front of me, "I'm Agent Hernandez, I'm assuming you're the boyfriend?" As he says the last part, he nods his head towards Averi, peering down at her as though he needs to see for himself that no harm has come to her.

"I am. Thank you for coming all this way Agent Hernandez." I tell him and then turn my attention towards my sleeping angel, "Hey, Baby?" I mutter into her ear, causing her to stir, "Hernandez is here."

Upon hearing his name, Averi sits up, blinking several times and yawning as she tries to wake up.

"Let's not delay, we need to get you out of here as quickly as possible." Hernandez says, focusing his attention on Averi.

"What about Knox and my friends?" She asks, grasping ahold of my hand but not standing to leave just yet, "he's found me and he knows who at least two of my friends are in addition to Knox."

"Ms. Sarkisyan, you are my priority first and foremost and I must insist that we leave at once." *Sarkisyan? Isn't that Russian?* I think as Hernandez glances at me briefly, and then turns his attention back to Averi but quickly turns back my direction when I speak up.

"I appreciate what you're doing, Sir. And Averi's safety is of utmost importance to me, which is why I must insist that I go with her."

"That's not a good id-" He starts, interrupting me, but Averi then butts in, "My father has been watching him already, he's been showing up in places that he's at. He's not safe staying here. None of my friends are." She pleads, her voice beginning to rise as she gets worked up.

"Knox knows nothing, but he's been put at risk because of me. I need to explain everything to him before a decision is made, but for both of our safety, it would be best if we both went." She says, looking at Hernandez then turns to me, pulling both of my hands into her lap and clasping them between both of hers. Her hands are ice cold and she's shaking slightly.

"I'm so sorry that I brought you into this," she says, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"Okay, we can discuss this further, but we need to get out of here right now." Hernandez urges, reaching forward as if to grab Averi but quickly pulling back when I pull her up as I stand. Nodding, he clears his throat and mumbles, "Follow me, please."

After following Hernandez out to a blacked out SUV, the vehicle being a total cliché if you ask me, we climb into the back seat as Hernandez climbs into the driver's seat, turning over the ignition.

"My father is Bratva." Averi blurts, her eyes pleading with me to let her get it all out, "I went to his office one day after school. When I got to his office, he wasn't there so I went looking for him," she stops momentarily, licking her lips and glancing out the window at the scenery passing us by.

"I should have turned around when I heard the yelling, but curiosity got the best of me. I overheard my father yelling something to someone about how he lost a girl and if she wasn't found that he would kill him."

"The other man, I recognized his voice, it was my oldest brother, Mikayel. He was begging our father for forgiveness. H-he said that the girl was supposed to be in the holding room with the rest of them, but when he went to retrieve her, she wasn't there. My father hit him, the sound ricocheted throughout the room and out into the hallway where I stood. Not thinking, I crept the rest of the way down the hall until I had just stepped into the doorway when I heard a gunshot and saw my father shoot my brother. Horrified at what I had witnessed, I screamed, drawing his attention away from Mikayel and towards me."

"*You stupid bitch!*" She whispered with her lower lip trembling as tears trailed down both of her cheeks, "that's what he yelled when he saw me. I was terrified, frozen where I stood, unable to move as he walked towards me with the barrel of the gun aimed at my head."

Gasping, she grabs ahold of my shirt and pulls me closer to her, "instead of shooting me like he did to Mikayel, he hit me with the butt of the gun, over and over again until I passed out. I don't know how long I was out for but when I came to, I was locked in a room with twelve other girls."

Pulling me, she looks me in the eye, the terror that I see written all over her face is as real as the love that I have seen staring back at me, "All of them younger than me Knox. All of them were severely beaten. He was trafficking them, selling them for sex. The Johns could do whatever they wanted to to them while they were there. She said that it was her guess that he was planning on doing the same with me. He was going to force his own daughter into sex trafficking, but what should I have expected after watching him murder his own son in cold blood."

"How did you get out?" I ask, placing my hand against her jaw and wiping away some of the moisture from her tears.

"That's where I come in, actually." Hernandez says from the front seat. "I had been a part of a sting operation, we had our suspicions that her father's business was a coverup for their illegal activities but we had no way to prove it. There had been a string of girls who had been found murdered, all of them branded with a logo, the same that was on the bag of cocaine that had also been found on her."

"When I was delivered to Agent Hernandez, I was freaking out, scared to death." She glances from me, to Hernandez and then back to me, "I begged him to not rape me and broke down in hysterics, that was when he showed me his badge and told me that he would get me to safety."

"She begged me to help the other girls but I couldn't without compromising the whole operation." Hernandez says, as he turns onto the interstate.

"He asked if I knew where me and the other girls had been held," Hernandez interrupts, snickering, "and the girl had the guts to withhold that information unless I let her make sure that her mom, brothers, and sisters were okay."

"I was desperate," she says, before Hernandez once again cuts in, "and I could have lost my badge by giving in, but after she explained, I understood why she needed to know. So, after driving past several times to make sure that her father wasn't home, she and I went into the house."

"They were all gone," she mutters, lowering her head as tears begin to spill from her eyes once more. "He wouldn't let me try to replace them, and said it wasn't safe. Before we left, I packed a bag, not sure where I was going but knew that I would need clothes to wear. And then we left."

"We're still looking for her mother and siblings, but a group raided where the girls were being kept and was able to get all of the other girls out. They too, had to be placed into witness protection. From there, we changed Averi's identity, looks, everything. Then we enrolled her at Endover Prep, thinking that there was no way that he would ever think to look for her at an all boys school," he then cuts his eyes to Averi, glaring at her from the rearview, "Averi was erased, all you had to do was keep your cover as Corbin the boy and then after graduation, you could be a girl again. We had already gotten you enrolled at a University as Corbin McEvoy, the *girl*."

"I fucked up, I know. I'm sorry," she says, burying her face into my chest, as she cries.

"I was afraid it was going to be difficult for you to remain as a boy, *completely* losing your identity, but with your fathers connections, we knew that desperate measures were going to have to be taken. But now, here we are. Averi, you are very lucky that you were able to get away from him. How did you get away?" Hernandez asks but doesn't take his eyes off of the road as he passes by a small silver car.

"He just let us leave," I tell him, squinting my eyes and furrowing my brow in confusion, "why would he have let her go so easily? It doesn't make sense."

"It doesn't make sense at all. If he went through all of the trouble to track her down and travel all the way across the country, you would have thought he would have taken the opportunity when it was presented to him." Hernandez points out, his brow also furrowed in confusion.

"So, what do we do now?" I ask, glancing down at Averi as she rests against my chest, having cried herself to sleep.

"Well, we're heading back to the New Haven field office now. You two need to get some sleep, and me and my team begin working to come up with a plan, and new identities for the both of you."

"Thank you," I tell him but when he gives me a confused look, I elaborate, "She and I have gone through so much already, I don't think I could handle losing her."

"You love her." He states, not having to question my feelings for her in the least.

"I do. She is my world. I would do anything for her, to protect her." I tell him, hoping he understands the lengths that I would go if it meant keeping her safe.

"*That is why you will be being relocated with her." He tells me, the beginning of a smile pulling at the edges of his mouth, "Even with having just met you, I can tell that you would do anything and everything in your power to make sure that she stays safe, while also ensuring her happiness. You're a good man, Knox."

"Thank you, Sir." I tell him.

After that, we both go quiet, the only sound in the car is the sounds of Averi's breathing, the sound lulling me to sleep for the rest of the drive to New Haven.