I couldn’t believe that he had stopped her from working. What kind of man did that? Every little thing she told me about her life with him, made me that much angrier.
I pushed it down, knowing that if she saw it, it would make her clam up like she had earlier on the stairs. I hadn’t been able to shield it from her then. I was sat there thinking all kinds of things, but what I was hearing was so much worse than I could have imagined and I knew that the worst was still to come.
She pulled her head off my chest, her eyes filled with so much pain, I could almost physically feel it.
“H…h…he strangled me.” Her hand fluttered across her neck and her eyes drifted off. “It all happened so fast but I fought back,” she said, looking me back in the eyes and making sure that I knew she had.
“You don’t have to-”
“But he was so strong, and then he had me on the floor.” A lone tear slipped from the corner of her eye, trailing a path down her cheek. She was in her own head and I desperately tried to tell her that she didn’t have to tell me anymore but it was no use. “He just kept hurting me and I realized that the more pain I was in, the more he was enjoying it.”
I gripped onto her legs and clenched my jaw. What I would do to that sick fuck if I got my hands on him. I wouldn’t be able to control myself, that was for sure.
“I managed to reach for the belt,” she continued. “I got the baton and was about to swing it when he stabbed me in the leg.”
I covered her hand with mine, she was unconsciously rubbing at the spot where her scar was. She had so many physical scars but I couldn’t even imagine the mental ones that she carried around with her.
“Then I knocked him out.” She met my eyes, a smirk growing on her face.
“You did?” I asked, shocked.
“Yeah.” She giggled. “He fell down like a sack of potatoes.” She grimaced and continued. “Only he fell onto me.”
“Shit,” I murmured. The images that were flicking through my head were making me crazy, imagining her laying there helpless and covered in blood and bruises. Shaking my head to try and rid the thoughts, I shifted on the bed.
“When I finally got him off me, I barely made it in the car and then I came straight here,” she said, finally looking back at me.
She smiled, her whole face lighting up with the movement. Although her eyes still held a tinge of sadness, it was almost all gone now. I could tell, without even asking, that this had been good for her.
Me? I was even more determined to find him and show him what someone his own size could do to him. Men like him only ever prayed on women smaller than them. I’d never hated anyone the way that I hated him. From the first time I saw him, that night that me and Kay had in the closet, I knew that there was something about him.
The way that he had her against the wall when I walked out into that hallway, there was something not right about it. I should have known by the way that she acted as they walked past me. I should have stepped in but when she shook her head at me, I didn’t.
If I had, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. She never would have gotten hurt but, then maybe she would still have been with him.
“You know what?” she asked, pulling back.
“What?” I asked.
“I feel so much better now.” She nodded, confirming it to herself. “I think that’s what I needed. To get it all out and talk about it.”
“I’m so proud of you, sweetheart.” I leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on her lips, pulling back before I got too tempted to deepen it.
“Your turn.” She raised her brows.
Damn, I’d forgot that I said I’d tell her about Emmy. “It’s really not my story to tell,” I warned. I didn’t want to keep anything from her, I already had so much involving my past with Serena that I was keeping from her. As soon as I thought that, the guilt swamped me. She’d just opened up about Max and here I was, still not telling her what had happened to make me leave Serena.
“That’s okay.” She nodded. “Just tell me who she is and her name.”
“Was.”
“Huh?”
“Who she was,” I said, clearing my throat. “Emmy, she was Charlie’s wife.”
“I don’t understand,” she shook her head, a frown on her face.
“Sweetheart, I really can’t say anymore.”
She stared at me, her eyes flicking all over my face before finally settling on my eyes and nodding. “Okay, I understand.”
After telling Ty everything about Max, completely exposing myself, I felt so much better. Not only did I feel like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders, I also felt so much more confident about my relationship with Ty.
We spent the weekend together with Eli and went up to the woods, we also paid Elena and Trevor a visit and Ty showed me all the spots that he loved as a kid. He even showed Eli his old tree house and promised to build him one in the woods behind the back yard.
Eli had wanted Ty to start and build it straight away, trying to tell him that he had to wait was useless. Ty wanted Eli to be involved in it and help chop down the wood so he said they’d start it on a weekend.
Eli had still been talking about it when I dropped him off at preschool this morning.
Back at the warehouse, it was strange seeing Charlie after Ty had told me that he’d had a wife, it made me look at him differently. He seemed so broody and hard, something bad must have happened to make him like that and it was obvious that it involved Emmy, his wife.
We’d all met up at the warehouse before we went to meet John and Cynthia, the parents of the latest girl who was taken, Lindsey.
“So who’s coming?” Charlie asked, looking around us all at the table.
“Me,” Kitty said straight away.
“So, you and Kitty?” Charlie asked Ty.
“And Kay,” Ty said, standing.
Charlie moved his eyes to me, a look behind them that I couldn’t decipher.
“Only two can go, it’ll be too much if there’s four of us in with them.”
Ty scrubbed his hands down his face and heaved a breath. I could see that it was getting to him, having not solved this case yet.
“It’s fine,” I said, leaning forward and touching his arm. “Let Kitty go; I can stay here.”
“No.” He shook his head. “It was your idea, you’re gonna be there.”
“We need to be leaving,” Kitty moaned. “Just let her stay here.”
“What is your problem?” Evan turned to her, his voice a little louder than normal. I’d never heard him shout before and I had a feeling that was the closest to shouting that he’d ever get.
His eyes shot daggers at her, and if I was honest, it was a little scary to see that look on his face. Evan was one of those people, the kind that took so long to lose his cool but once he did, he went off like a rocket.
“What? My problem?” Kitty screeched, pointing to her chest.
“Yeah,” he said, leaning closer to her. “You’ve been bitchy for weeks now and it’s all aimed at Kay. What the hell?”
Kitty turned her eyes to me and I smiled softly. Letting her know that it was okay, we all had those off weeks, right? Her eyes turned to Charlie, a conversation going on between them that only they were privy to. He must have silently warned her because you could see the pain in her eyes, completely and utterly shattered. I couldn’t bear to see that look on her face, no matter what had gone on the last few weeks, it was painful to watch.
“You know what?” I pushed back the chair and stood. “It may work better if it was just me and Kitty. You know, two women and all that?”
“But-” Ty said, looking at me with a frown.
I turned my eyes to him, trying to tell him to go with what I was saying. “Us four can go and then you two,” I said. pointing to Charlie and Ty. “Can leave the room when we talk to them.”
Not bothering to wait for an answer, I walked over to kitty and waited until she stood, then linked my arm through hers.
“Kay-”
“Just keep walking,” I whispered out the side of my mouth. She looked at me confused but kept on walking.
Once we were outside, waiting for them, I said. “I don’t know what’s going on Kitty, but I know it’s something to do with Charlie-”
“Kay-” I held my hand up to her and shook my head.
“I don’t need to know.” I raised my brow. “Just know that when you’re ready to talk, I’m here.”
Her body deflated on a breath and she nodded. I could see that she was grateful without her having to say a word, she was just starting to relax when the door opened and they came out. They both had annoyed looks on their faces. Something had clearly gone down when we walked out.
Shrugging my shoulders, I walked over to Ty’s truck and went to open the passenger door when Charlie stopped me.
“In the back.” He tilted his head to the back door.
I looked up at him, his face telling me not to argue with him. “Erm…okay?” I said unsure, stepping to the side.
“Get in the fuckin’ front, Kay,” Ty growled from the opposite side of the truck.
My eyes flew to his and then back to Charlie. They were shooting daggers at each other and I hadn’t got a clue who would come out on top. The back door slammed shut as Kitty got in and I was left there, not knowing who to listen to.
“I’m not sitting in the back,” Charlie huffed. “I’m a grown ass man.”
“And this is my truck and my woman,” he said to Charlie. Bringing his eyes back to me he said, softer this time, “Get in the front, Kay.”
I stood there, unmoving. Charlie stood there, blocking my path, not taking his eyes off his brother.
“Move, Charlie,” Ty gritted out.
Two counts and then he moved, flicking his eyes at me and waving at the door. Once he was in the back, I pulled the door open and jumped up into the passenger side.
The drive to their house was silent and awful, I’d never been so uncomfortable in my life. There was tension between Kitty and Charlie and between Ty and Charlie. Here I was, sat in between them all, not knowing what was going on.
The area we were in was in a run-down part of town, that was a pattern that we’d spotted not long after we got this case. They were all in bad areas and were either in the system or didn’t have very good home lives.
This one was different though, they may have lived in a bad part of town but the girl had lived in the same house all of her life. They never moved around and her mom and dad were still married. Her case was a mystery because there was nothing that linked it to any of the other girls that had been taken.
Other than the area, there was no similarities with this last girl.
When we pulled up outside of the house, I decided that I’d had enough.
“Right,” I said, turning in my seat to face them all. “This stops right here.” I told them, in my ‘mom’ voice.
Before any of them said a word, I held up my hand and continued, “I don’t care what is going on between all of you. These parents have had their child taken from them. We’re here to get any more information that we can and reassure them that we’re doing all we can to find her.”
“She’s right,” Charlie said, clearing his throat and inclining his head to me.
Looking at Ty and Kitty to make sure they had heard me loud and clear, I pulled open the door and jumped out. Checking the area like Ty had taught me to do. We caught the attention of a group of guys standing on the corner, obviously part of the reason that this was a bad area.
Ignoring them, we walked straight to the gate and up the path to the little house. The only one on the street that was taken care of, grass mowed and flowers blooming in the garden. The pale yellow siding was welcoming, as well as the few chairs that sat outside. This was obviously a well-used garden.
Taking the lead, I pulled the screen door open and knocked on the door.
The door opened a crack and then fully when they saw who it was. “Hi, Mrs Conway. I’m Kaylee, this is Sergeant-”
“Yes, yes, come on in.” She opened the door wide and we all filed in.
“I hope it’s alright that there’s four of us?” I said, unsure now that we had all come inside.
“That fine.” She waved to the couch so me and Kitty sat down, with Ty and Charlie stood behind us.
The swinging door opened and who I assumed was Mr Conway, came through with a tray of drinks and placed them on the table.
“Mr Conway.” I stood, holding my hand out. Taking it, he shook my hand firmly.
“Please, call me John.”
“Ah, okay. I’m Kay and this is Kitty and Tyson,” I said pointing to each of them. “And of course you know Sergeant Mackenzie.”
“Yes,” he said, taking a seat next to his wife opposite us. “So what is all of this about?” he directed at me.
“We want to get a fuller picture about your daughter, her friends, that sort of thing. Anything you can think of that may help.”
They looked at each other, locking hands.
“She’s a good girl, top of her class.” John started. “She never gets into trouble and is always looked out for. We can’t understand why she was taken, or how. Who would do this?”
I gulped, not knowing what to say from here. How much was I even meant to say, was I allowed to say we had a suspect in mind?
“That’s what we’re trying to find out, John,” Ty said from behind me, his hand resting on my shoulder. It amazed me at how well he could read me.
They started to tell us more about Lindsey and showed us a photograph that was a couple of years old, explaining that they hadn’t had the money to buy them recently as John had lost his job. They told us that Lindsey only had two friends at school and provided us with their names.
“She wants to go to a good college,” Cynthia said. “That’s why she works so hard.”
Her sob brought a lump to my throat and no matter how many times I tried to clear it, nothing would work.
“Excuse me,” I croaked out and stood. I shook my head as Ty tried to follow me out. He needed to stay here and get as much information as he could. Not try and console me because I’d got emotional on the job.
Stepping out onto the little porch area, I leaned against the side of the house, trying to stop the tears that wanted to flow.
I couldn’t imagine what they were going through. The thought of Eli being taken from me tied me up in knots, and knowing what could potentially be happening to this girl didn’t make it any easier.
“Hey!” Flicking my eyes to the gate, I stared wide eyed at the group of guys that were stood there, the same group that were on the corner when we arrived. “Hey! Lady!” one of them shouted again. Gulping, I moved to the top of the steps.
“Can I help you?” I asked in a confident voice, surprising myself because on the inside I didn’t feel any of that confidence.
“You here to help find Lindsey?”
“Err…” Looking back at the house, I debated whether to run back inside, or answer him. “Yeah.”
“You any closer to finding my girl?” the tallest one who stood at the front said.
“Your girl?” I frowned.
“Did they not tell you?” He chuckled. “Of course they didn’t.” Rolling his eyes, he looked to his friends as they all started to talk at the same time.
“Wait,” I said stepping forward, not one of them hearing me. “Hey!” I said walking down the path.
The tallest one stopped talking and turned to me, his eyes wide.
“You and Lindsey are together?”
“Hell yeah we are.” His jaw clenched as he balled his fist up. “You ain’t gonna find anything out by speaking to them.” He pointed his tattooed hand at the house. I stared, trying to get a read on him. Since listening to my gut more, I was finding that I could actually read people better than I had thought I could.
He wore a big black jacket with jeans and a sweater underneath. All of the skin I could see was covered in tattoos, flowing up to his neck. His face was the only part that I could see that didn’t have them.
“Really? Why is that?” I asked, intrigued.
“’Cus she never fuckin’ stayed there. She lived with me.” He pointed at his chest with his thumb and raised a brow.
Frowning, I looked back at the house. It looked like the epitome of a perfect home for a child to grow up in. Perfect parents. Maybe too perfect.
“Listen,” he said, getting my attention. “I know that they’re telling you all this ‘we have a perfect life’ bullshit but that’s far from the case.”
Hearing the screen door slam against the house, I jumped and turned around. “Kay? Come over here.” Ty growled.
“Ty-”
“Kay,” he warned.
I turned back around to the group of guys and said, “What’s your name?”
“Josh.” He held his hand out and I placed mine inside of his. I hadn’t expected him to do that and it just showed that we judged people way too much.
“Ty?” I turned back around. “You’re going to want to hear this.”
He looked at all of the guys in turn and stepped forward, coming to stand beside me. His face masked with an expression that said ‘don’t mess with me.’ I almost giggled at how protective he was being.
“This is Josh.” I said, raising a brow. “Lindsey’s boyfriend.”
“Her boyfriend?”
“Yep.” I lifted up onto my toes and whispered in his ear. “I think we need to talk to him. There’s something not right here.”
“Yeah.” He looked down at me, a soft smile on his face. “They don’t seem right, too….”
“Perfect?”
“Yeah.” He nodded and turned to Josh. “Would you meet us in the park at the end of the street in ten?”
“Yeah, man, sure.”
Nodding at us, he walked off, all of the guys following him.