Chapter Twenty-Six
It was dark when Roxie got home, and though her heart felt as if it was breaking, she was at least grateful Lily had fallen asleep on the drive. Her niece had been ticked off Roxie was pulling her away from her friends. Roxie hadn’t allowed her to play long enough, but she couldn’t face all the Forbes family members, and she certainly couldn’t face Kian anymore that night.
She was afraid he might show up later, so she planned on removing her spare key and turning out all the lights. She knew if he was determined, that wouldn’t stop him, but maybe he would understand she needed a little bit of time. That wasn’t asking too much, in her honest opinion.
Once more she’d forgotten to leave her porch light on and to set her alarm system, which was sure to tick Kian off. Then again, she often pissed the man off. Tonight seemed off, though, and a shiver traveled down her spine as she carried Lily while she fumbled in her purse to pull out her key.
As Roxie walked into the house, another shudder passed through her, and she couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her. She was grateful when Lily stayed asleep and decided to let her sleep in her clothes that night. She didn’t want to take a chance of waking her. Roxie needed a few minutes to herself. Maybe a nice hot bath.
The moment she sank down into the tub, she couldn’t help but think of what had happened after her last bath when she’d walked into her bedroom. A shudder passed through her when she realized she hadn’t grabbed the key on the front porch yet. But did she really want to? Would it be so awful if Kian showed up and took her mind off her worries for a single night?
The bathroom door was open, and there wasn’t a sound in the house, so she knew Kian hadn’t shown up. She’d left the party almost two hours earlier. If he’d been planning on stopping by, he would have done it by now.
Maybe she just couldn’t make up her mind about what in the world she wanted. When her bathwater began cooling, she decided to get out instead of adding more water. She hadn’t eaten anything at the party, and her stomach was growling. Slipping on her robe, she decided to dress later, and she headed straight for the kitchen.
When she walked into the small area, her heart began thundering in her chest. She’d never been afraid before in this house. It was in a quiet neighborhood, and in this town, in general, there wasn’t a lot of crime. But sitting on her butcher’s block was a knife she didn’t remember putting there, and crumbs. Roxie was sort of emphatic about cleaning her messes up, and though she was racking her mind to try to remember if she’d been in a hurry and left a mess, she couldn’t remember doing so. She would have taken a moment to clean up.
Maybe Kian had shown up. But he’d never before made himself at home like this. She had to be growing paranoid, that was all. Still, she walked through her house, first checking her bedroom to see if she was going to find him lying on her bed. Then she walked to Lily’s room. For some reason, her stomach was tight as she neared the door and pushed it open.
When she did, Roxie’s heart lodged up into her throat, and she found herself so terrified, she now understood what people meant when they said they were frozen in fear. Her limbs were unbending, her heart stalled in her chest, and her skin ran cold as a chill froze her entire body.
A man was sitting on Lily’s bed, holding her in his arms as he rocked back and forth. The only light in the room was a castle night-light, casting eerie shadows across the man’s demonic face. He looked away from Lily’s sleeping pink cheeks and straight into Roxie’s terrified gaze. There was something so evil about the look in this man’s eyes, Roxie knew if she survived this, she would never forget that manic stare.
He raised a finger to his lips as he continued rocking, and though only seconds had passed, it felt like an eternity before Roxie was able to take in a breath. She had to remain calm so she could at least try to save Lily. She had to get the man away from her niece—from her little girl.
“Wh-what do you want?” she asked, her voice barely audible in her utter fear.
“Shh,” he said before the most evil laughter spilled from his filthy lips. “You don’t want to wake the child, do you?” he said.
“No. Why don’t you lay her down and we’ll go to the living room and talk?” Roxie said, trying to keep the terror from her voice as she forced herself to keep a calm tone.
He smiled as he looked down at Lily and then ran one of his filthy hands across her forehead. He leaned over and licked Lily’s cheek, and Roxie’s bile rose in her throat. She couldn’t throw up now. She had to keep her wits.
“Pretty, pretty girl,” he said as he leaned back. Thankfully, Lily was sleeping through all of this. If she woke up, she would scream bloody murder, and Roxie had no idea what this man would do to her.
Roxie was searching around her for a weapon, but she was in a child’s room. She had nothing she could grab. This was every parent’s worst nightmare, but something Roxie hadn’t even considered happening. She should have, especially with the way her sister had died.
“I failed,” the man said, an evil smile lifting his lips. “But don’t worry, I’ve come back to finish the job.”
He stood, Lily hanging limply in his arms, and Roxie was terrified he’d already killed the child. But she groaned as she tried to get more comfortable, and Roxie let out a relieved breath. She still had a chance to save her.
He set Lily down, not taking his eyes off Roxie as he whispered, “I’ll come back to you soon, child.”
The way he said those words would give Roxie nightmares for the rest of her life. He leaned over and picked up a giant knife from the foot of Lily’s bed, and what little color was left in Roxie’s body completely disappeared. She was going to die tonight. There was nothing she could do to stop this huge man from killing her, and what was worse, she wouldn’t be able to save Lily.
She wondered if she could run back to the kitchen and grab that knife before he had a chance to hurt Lily. She didn’t want to leave her niece, though. She couldn’t take that chance. Tears poured down her face as she faced this monster, who began to move toward her.
She backed up. She had to get him out of the room. She didn’t know what she would do beyond that, but she had to get him out of Lily’s room. He followed her, that evil smile on his face as he lifted his knife and ran the back of the blade across his neck, showing her what he planned on doing to her.
“Pamela deserved to die nice and slow, and so did her bastard brat,” the man said with another chuckle. Roxie froze in front of him. This was the man who’d killed her sister and unborn baby. This was the man who’d attacked Lily once already. He was back to finish the job.
“Why?” Roxie asked. She was hoping someone would pass by, someone would see something. Her curtains were open. She backed her way into the living room, praying a neighbor was walking their dog. He seemed oblivious to what she was doing. That was good. He was focused only on her. Even if he got her, she would scream and someone would come; someone would save her niece.
“She’s a slut who had to die,” he said as he cocked his head to the side. He was speaking in a matter-of-fact way, as if it were his duty to kill.
“Please don’t hurt Lily,” Roxie begged.
“What will you do for me to ensure I don’t?” he asked with evil delight.
“Anything,” Roxie said. “Let’s leave the house. You can take me.” She opened her arms, showing him she had nothing. She was his to do with as he pleased.
His lips turned up even more as he eyed her from head to toe.
“I like this house,” he told her. “You even left me a key to get in. That was so very nice of you.”
Roxie wanted to kick her own ass now. She knew a locked door wouldn’t have stopped a man like this, but if she hadn’t left the key out, then maybe she would have had a clue he was in the place; maybe she could have gotten away. If she’d listened to her instinct when she’d felt nervous at walking in the house, then maybe Lily wouldn’t be in mortal danger right now. This was in her hands now.
“Please, just take me,” she said, unable to control her tears now.
“Don’t move,” he commanded, his voice dropping, not a trace of humor there anymore.
Her body shook as he stepped toward her. She didn’t try to run. She wouldn’t leave this man alone with Lily. She couldn’t. He came and stood before her and ran the tip of his blade down her neck, scratching the skin. She didn’t make a sound.
He ran the blade down the V of her robe and nicked the top of her breast. She continued to shake, but she knew she was no match for this man.
“Open your robe,” he said, his voice husky as he gazed at her chest.
Roxie was definitely going to be sick. There was no doubt about it. She was about to get raped and murdered. She couldn’t think of a worse way to go. Her eyes burning, she reached for the sash of her robe. Maybe, just maybe, she could use the robe to grab the deadly knife and then fight him. Yes, he could overpower her, but if he wasn’t holding the knife, she could scream and pray her neighbors heard.
Just as she was beginning to undo the robe, her front door was smashed open against the wall, the wood shattering with the force. Roxie flew backward as someone yanked her arm and tossed her behind, causing her to land with a hard thump against her couch. Her head slammed against the cushioned armrest, and she saw spots of color for a moment and heard a thunderous roar.
Somewhere in the middle of the chaos, she heard Lily scream, and all she could think of was her niece. She jumped from the couch and ran to her niece, who was now standing in the hallway. She scooped her into her arms and ran for the front door.
She felt fingers try to grip her ankle, but she managed to slip free and ran outside, not stopping as she took off down the road. She heard sirens in the distance and prayed they were coming to her. And they did.
She made it a block down the street, Lily screaming at the top of her lungs, when the first police car screeched around the corner. It headed straight to her house. Another car shot past her, and then one stopped right in front of her. She stopped, shaking where she stood as a man climbed from the car, his hand on his weapon as he approached.
“Ma’am, are you okay?” he asked as he looked around.
She opened her mouth but couldn’t speak. The fear was so real, so great.
“Ma’am, the ambulance is on the way. Do you need me to take the child?”
Roxie’s eyes were wide; she was shaking. She knew she was in shock, and she probably should release Lily, but she couldn’t loosen her grip. Lily’s head was buried in her shoulder as she uncontrollably sobbed.
“It’s okay, Roxie. I’m here. It’s okay.”
Roxie turned and found Kian beside her. The officer knew him and seemed to relax. “Is the house secure, Kian?” he asked.
“It’s secure. They have the bastard,” Kian said. “I’ve got Roxie.”
The officer nodded, climbed into his car, and drove down to her house.
“Let me take Lily before you fall to the ground,” Kian said, his voice soothing. His shirt was ripped, and there was blood oozing from his arm, but he was so calm.
“It’s okay, Roxie, let me take Lily,” he said again.
“I c-can’t,” she finally managed to say on a terrified sob.
“Okay, I understand,” he told her. “Let’s go back to the house,” he suggested, and terror-filled shakes racked her body.
“Okay, we’ll just sit right here,” he compromised.
She allowed him to help her to the ground. Her neighbors were all out of their houses, looking to see what all the commotion was about, and someone placed a blanket over her and Lily. Kian sat next to her, his arm around her.
They didn’t speak. They just sat there as he rubbed her shoulder. Soon the ambulance showed up, and she still couldn’t release Lily, not even when she was placed on a stretcher and lifted inside the ambulance. She was still in fight-or-flight mode, and all she knew was that she had to save her niece. She must save her niece—her daughter. Lily was her daughter now. She was hers, and she had to save her.