It was a little after eight p.m. when I walked into the shelter’s kitchen.

Sitting at the small dinette set centered in the middle of the room was Granny Ethel, Liam, Declan, and Clara. They each had a glass of milk and were nibbling on cookies.

Stopping next to the table, I placed my hands on my hips and stomped my foot in mock anger. “What is this? No one told me that it was time for cookies and milk!” Liam and Declan both giggled as I looked at the empty plate in the center of the table. “Gah! And you didn’t even save me one!” I pointed at both boys. “I thought you two were my friends!”

“We didn’t eat ‘em all!” Declan yelled.

I narrowed my eyes and jutted my chin out. “Then who did?”

Liam spoke next. “Evan.”

Of course, the cookie thieving bastard did!

“And you didn’t stop him?”

Liam shrugged. “E-van said we weren’t d-upposed to tell.”

Clara and Ethel both laughed. “And you listened? That’s mutiny!”

“Oh, hush it, Madelyn girl. If you want cookies that bad, I’ll make you a fresh batch tomorrow.”

I scoffed. “Tomorrow? That’s an entire twenty-four hours from now.”

She took another bite of her cookie. “You’ll live.”

Waving my hand at her in a dismissive gesture, I turned to Clara. “How are you doing, beautiful lady?”

She smiled. And it wasn’t just a polite smile either. It was real. Genuine. “Good.” She blinked. “Really good.”

I touched the back of her hand with my fingers. “I’m glad. You deserve it.”

“Miss Madelyn, are you donna play deckers with us before bedtime?”

I ran my fingers through Declan’s hair, messing it up. “Course I’m going to play checkers with you. You owe me a rematch, remember?”

Declan nodded once.

Gesturing towards the bulging trash bags, I said, “I’m going to take those out real quick, and then I’ll be back.” I pointed at Declan. “And you better be ready for a checkers butt kicking cause you’re going down, little dude.”

He smiled and kicked his legs that were hanging over the sides of the chair. “You gonna go down!”

“Alright. Give me five minutes, and I’ll be back.”

I walked over to get the bags. Carrying two in one hand and one in the other, I headed for the door. “Want me to call Evan to walk you out?”

“Nope, I got it.”

Liam stood up, his little brows furrowed. “It’s dark out.” He looked towards the kitchen window. “Der might be monsters out der. They could hurt you.”

I smiled. “Don’t you worry, cutie-pa-tootie. I’m armed with monster repellant, and I know how to use it.”

He visibly relaxed before sitting back down. “O-tay. Just hurry.”

I nodded once before pushing open the door and stepping outside.

The air was sticky and humid from the rain that had fallen earlier. It felt gross. Blah! “Damn it feels nasty out here,” I muttered to myself before hoofing it down the long ramp that lead to the back dumpster.

Turning the corner of the building, I looked up at the camera perched on the corner of the roof. I knew Evan was watching me—and mentally threatening me with bodily harm—so I stuck out my tongue and blew a raspberry at him.

After setting down the trash bags, I raised my hands above my head and danced around in a circle. I couldn’t help but goad him. “Look at me, big guy. I’m out here all by myself. What is ya gonna do?” Done dancing, I lifted my hand and stuck up my middle finger. Mature, I know. “The birdie says ‘hi,’ big guy!”

Dropping my hand, I picked the bags back up and walked across the gravel parking lot, chuckling the entire way. Making it to the dumpster, I hefted the bags—one at a time—over the top.

After tossing in the last bag, I dusted my hands off on my pants and turned around to head back inside. I’d only made it a couple of steps when I heard the gravel crunch behind me.

I rolled my eyes and whirled around. “Dang Evan, you couldn’t wait—”

The man standing in front of me wasn’t Evan.

Tall. Broad shoulders. Clean cut. Bright green eyes. All the air left my lungs in one quick swoosh as recognition set in.

I knew exactly who the man was.

I’d only seen one picture of him—his mugshot—but it wasn’t hard to figure out who he was. After all, both of his sons looked exactly like him.

Colin O’Bannon.

Sweat broke out on my brow as my heart jackhammered in my chest. My nostrils flared with every breath I took, and my stomach dropped to my feet. “What do you want?” I took a step backward, and he took one forward. “Why are you here?” My lips trembled, and my chin wobbled.

He tipped his head towards the shelter. “You’ve got my wife and sons in there. I want them back.”

Not a chance in hell.

I needed to distract him until Evan realized what was going on and got his ass out here. “Who’s your wife?” My voice shook with every syllable. “There's a lot of women here. How do you know she’s one of them?”

“Don’t play games with me you little bitch! You and I both know they’re in there.” He grabbed for me, but I jumped back, narrowly missing his grasping hand. He growled, and I glimpsed straight white teeth. “And you’re going to get them for me.”

Hell no. Try again, shithead.

“You need to leave—now.” My mind screamed at me to turn around and run as fast as I could to safety, but I couldn’t. Even if I out ran Colin—which wasn’t likely—I couldn’t lead him straight to Clara and the boys.

I’d die first.

I glanced towards one of the cameras anchored on the side of the building.

Come on, Evan.

Colin’s eyes dropped to my waist, and he smiled. I didn’t pull my eyes away from him—don’t look away!—but I felt for what he was looking at with my left hand. Cool metal scratched against my palm. 

Oh God!

My ID badge, the same one that with one quick swipe would unlock every door of the shelter, was clipped to the top of my shorts. Colin met my eyes again and licked his lips. “This is going to be easier than I thought.” His mouth twisted into a terrifying grin. “Like taking candy from a baby.”

One second. Two seconds.

He lunged at me, and I screamed. Loud. “Evan!”

Turning around, I made a run for it. My flip-flop covered feet dug into the gravel, and I pumped my arms wildly as I willed my shaking legs to carry me to safety.

Colin roared behind me.

My skin felt clammy and my shoulders felt tight.

Out of nowhere, I heard Hendrix’s voice in my head. “Run, Maddie. Baby, run!”

Determination set in and I dug deeper. Pushed harder. Ran faster.

Faster, faster, faster!

My senses dulled and the world around me slowed. I felt no fear as a mixture of adrenaline, and fierce protectiveness rushed through my veins. I didn’t even feel the sting of pain as my flesh was ripped from the soles of my feet after not just one, but both of my flip-flips were torn from my feet.

Protect them! My mind screamed. Don’t let him hurt them!

If I could just get inside before he did, I could warn them.

The kitchen door came into view and my vision zoned in on it.

Run fucking harder!

I was two steps away from the ramp when an arm encircled my waist, and I was picked up off the ground. “Evan!” A hand clamped over my mouth and nose.

Hendrix’s voice again… “Fight, Maddie! Goddamn it, fight!”

I threw my elbows into Colin’s ribs.

I kicked his knees with my feet.

I slammed my head back into his chest.

None of it worked!

Panicking, I tried to think, tried to remember what I was supposed to do. All those self-defense classes and I couldn’t recall a damn thing! I tried to scream behind his hand as I said a silent prayer. Please let someone hear me! My scream was muffled, barely audible beyond the rapid beating of my heart. I tasted salt and felt his roughened skin on the tip of my tongue.

Then it hit me…

Bite him!

If I could only open my mouth!

My vision tunneled from lack of oxygen. It only made me more frantic, more desperate. Rearing back, I slammed my head into his chest one more time. He grunted but didn’t let me go. I screamed again as hysteria gripped me.

Fight!

Colin ripped the ID badge from my shorts. No! Still suspended in the air, I pulled my knees into my belly and with all the strength that I had left, I kicked, slamming the back of my heels down onto the top of his kneecaps. His right leg buckled and his hand loosened its grip on my mouth and nose.

I allowed myself to inhale once before I opened my mouth wide and bit down. Coppery fluid coated my tongue and lips before Colin ripped his hand from my tightly clamped jaws. “You fucking bitch!” He grabbed me under the back of my neck and spun me to the right before placing a hand between my shoulder blades and shoving me forward.

My head smashed into the bricked shelter wall. Hard.

My vision swam and when Colin released me, my legs buckled.

Get up, Maddie!

I swayed and fell backward onto my butt. My arms felt heavy, my legs weak. My heart pounded in my ears, and my head lulled uncontrollably from side to side. Colin moved to stand in front of me. Grabbing a fist full of my hair, he wrenched my head back. “You should’ve just given them to me. I wouldn’t have hurt you.” He chuckled. “Not too bad anyway.” He licked his lips before spitting in my face. “But now you’re going to pay.”

He released my hair, and my body fell to the left.

Silence surrounded me as my mind screamed, do something!

 I never even saw the first punch coming.

The side of my face exploded. Bone met bone, and it felt like a stick of dynamite detonated in my skull. Bright lights flashed in front of my eyes, and then everything dimmed. Colors weren’t so bright anymore, and my ears seemed to close off.

Another hit. More explosions.

Oddly enough, I still felt no pain.

Gravel dug into my back, and I lost control of my arms and legs.

It was at that moment that I realized I was going to die.

So, I prayed…

I prayed for my dad. Prayed for my Grandmama. I prayed for the boy that I’d given my heart too so long ago, and for the man who he’d grown to be. I prayed for my intakes, prayed for their families. I prayed for Shelby, sweet baby Lucca, and the rest of my team. I prayed for Hope and asked God to bless her for all that she’d done for me over the years. I also prayed that Evan—not the girls—would be the one to find my body. 

Please, God…

I prayed for everyone I’d ever met. But not once did I pray for me.

Suddenly, I regretted never going back home.

Always too terrified to face the past, I’d made Daddy and Grandmama come to me, all because I couldn’t handle confronting my demons.

And dear Lord, the secret that I’d kept…

Now, no one other than Hope and Shelby would ever know.

Not Daddy, not Grandmama, not Hendrix.

Emotional pain crippled me as I realized that not only was I a coward but I was also a liar. I’d never meant to lie but lying by omission was still lying. Wasn’t it? Hendrix deserved to know everything. But I’d kept my secrets, refused to tell him the truth. 

All because he’d left me and never looked back.

Now, it was too late, and he’d never know about—

My head snapped to the left.

Colin moved in front of me. His face was red, and his mouth moved, but I couldn’t hear the words he spoke. My eyes slid up, and I saw the sky. Unlike a couple of hours ago, it was clear. Beautiful. The stars were shining bright, and the moon was full.

It reminded me of the first night I spent on the trestle bridge with Hendrix.

I tried to smile at the memory, but my muscles wouldn’t work.

“A man can’t live without his heart, Maddie. And you, pretty girl, are my heart.”

What I’d give just to feel his lips on mine one more time…

Another explosion and my entire body jerked.

I blinked, and Colin came back into view. He lifted his hand as if to hit me again but then he froze. Turning his head to the right, he sneered at someone.

Suddenly, the ground below me shook, and Colin’s entire body jerked.

Once. Twice. Thrice.

My eyes slid closed and a sense of peace engulfed me.

I felt hands on me as someone shook me. Warm, soft hands.

Shelby.

Then, another pair of hands. Those were bigger. Rougher.

Evan.

Strong fingers pressed into the side of my neck.

My last thought before I faded away: The monster found me.