9. River
I could barely seein between boxes, the clouds of dust—the lack of light.
I would not leave any space unchecked. Maddie needed me to be vigilant. I wasn’t, however, prepared for the sudden flashback to a place I thought I’d put out of my mind. That day would haunt me forever. That day my squad lost two men to an ambush. They were the reason I had the tattoo on my right arm. They may be gone, but they would never be forgotten.
Shaking off the anxiety and fear that tried to swamp me, I moved through the boxes. I pulled my cell out, turned on the flashlight, and called out, “Maddie?”
I heard movement from the left, so I followed it.
“Maddie?” She was curled up between two boxes, her hands over her head. I leaned in and touched her leg. The sounds that left her would forever haunt me. “Hey, Maddie. It’s me, baby. It’s me, come on.”
She was sitting up now, her big brown eyes laser-locked on me. She had her processor in her hand. I frowned. She put it back on and whispered.
“I saw him.” I had to strain to make out her words.
“It’s okay, come on. Your dad and an officer are outside waiting on us. You’re safe. I promise.”
I got her out of the abandoned building and to her father. My heart was racing, and it was taking everything in me to not lose my shit. Flashbacks, PTSD, it all sucks ass. This wasn’t about me though; it was about Maddie. We needed to get her away from here; to keep her safe.
“River?” Maddie’s voice barely registered as the world around me went upside down.
“She’s coming around.”
I blinked, my eyes blurry at first. I sat up, groaning. Maddie was suddenly there, in my arms. I fell back and let out a huff of air.
“Maddie, come on?—”
“Leave her,” I croaked. The tears I didn’t know were on standby rolled down my cheeks as I sat back up, keeping her clutched against my chest.
“How are you feeling?” Shelby was shining a pen light into my eyes.
“I’m okay. Dammit.” I clutched Maddie tighter. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”
“What happened?”
Phoenix knelt beside me, his worried gaze meeting mine. “Fucking flashbacks. I’m sorry. I tried to stop it?—”
“Hey, whoa. Deep breaths. It’s okay.” His hand cupped my face. “Deep breaths. Focus on me, not whatever it was that set it off. Look at me. Concentrate on the little monkey in your lap.”
“Is she alright? What happened?” Tripp was suddenly at my other side. His main focus was on his granddaughter.
“Maddie is okay. River is okay. My girls are okay.” I could see the tightness around his eyes. I laid my head to the side to kiss Phoenix’s wrist.
“River, can you stand?” Shelby asked. “If you need another minute, take it.”
I could see that familiar look in her eyes. She got it too. “Were you in the service?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “No, but I have my own trauma that likes to play tag with me sometimes. Charlie’s had to help pick me back up before. Our guys are great like that.”
I smiled, nodding. “Yeah, they kind of are.”
“Here, come on, princess. Let’s let River up so we can go home. Yes?”
Maddie kissed my cheek before she let her grandpa help her to her feet. Phoenix had me up and in his arms before I could process it. I laid against his chest, still trying to shake off my memories.
Twenty minutes later, we were walking into the Sheriff’s office. I had one arm around Phoenix’s waist. My legs were still feeling wobbly. Maddie followed, and her grandpa brought up the rear. Casey ran to Maddie and pulled her into a fierce hug.
I said, my voice weak, “She’s okay. She was hiding.”
“Are you okay? We um…”
I made a face. “I’m fine. That place triggered a memory I’d soon never relive, but I can’t forget it. It’s horrible, but it’s the last memory I have of two very special men.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” Casey enveloped me into her hug with Maddie.
I cried on her shoulder until the tears were gone. Pulling back, I wiped my face, embarrassment heating my cheeks.
I pushed it all to the side to be there for Maddie. She tried to tell us so much all at once, it came out in a jumble of words. With her dad’s help, she explained that she’d gotten scared. The men she’d seen were the ones that had been there, in the barn. They’d taken pictures of her. Needless to say, they’d just signed their own death certificates. There would be no escaping.
The next hour was spent making records, going over the previous statements, making sure every I was dotted and every T was crossed. It was a mental minefield that slapped us all a good one. When that was done, Casey decided to go ahead and take the girls home. The baby was grumpy, and poor Maddie looked ready to collapse. We’d stop by on the way home and pick her up.
I went to the bathroom, splashed water on my face, and came back out. Today was a mental kick to my girl balls. I needed my head in the game.
Everyone was looking at me with sympathy written all over their faces when I came back out.
“Sorry, this isn’t about me. It’s about Maddie and those poor girls. I’m fine.”
“Young lady,” Tripp started, “let’s get something straight.”
I straightened at his tone.
“Your feelings are never not valid here. You hear me? No matter what is going on, you will always matter.”
I swallowed back the lump in my throat and nodded. “Thank you.”
“That’s better.” He gave me a much-needed dad hug. I’d heard people talk about them. The hugs that could wash away all the bad shit in your life. At this moment, I understood what they meant.
“Thank you.”
“Nothing to it.”
“Do any of you know these two men?” Derek was scratching at his head. “They look familiar. Is that the one from the sidewalk?” He was talking to himself as he scanned camera footage.
“That’s the asshole who was in cuffs when I came in the first time to talk to the FBI. He’s a real gem. He was over there against that wall. I almost put my boot in his face.”
“Who brought him in?” Sheriff Cartwright asked.
I shrugged. “No idea. He was in one of those chairs when I came in.”
“Derek.”
“On it, Gramps.”
“What are the rest of us missing?”
“We don’t keep cuffed perps in those chairs. They come in and go straight to the back. Sometimes a desk if it’s something small.”
My stomach dropped. “Then why was he in cuffs?”
Derek pulled up cameras, the images scrolling by so fast I got dizzy. He stopped on a panel, and my blood ran cold.
“Son of a bitch. They were right under our fucking noses!”
The two men, the one I’d had interactions with and the realtor. They’d both walked in and right out without anyone being the wiser. They’d left just before Maddie had come in with her dad and gramps. If they saw her, then they could have been watching her this whole time. They’d know where she lived. Where they all lived.
My heart stopped. The house. The kids. I pulled out my cell. “Dean, no, listen to me. Get the kids. Lock yourselves in a room. Do not open that door for anyone. You hear me?”
“What’s going on?”
“Just fucking do it, please.”
Phoenix took my cell. “Dean, take the kids to our room. Lock the door and pull the safety bar down. Yeah, bud, for real. Do not answer any knocks on the door. Don’t answer the house phone. If you hear any strange noises, you call me and then 9-1-1.”
“Okay, going now.”
“We’ll be home real soon.”
“If they’ve been watching Maddie—us?—”
“I want cars on the street. Derek, put those images everywhere. I want them found. Now.”
“On it.” Derek grabbed a mic and started giving information over the radio.
We were on the way to round up the kids and go to Tripp’s when his cell went off.
“Hey Case—what? Fuck. Call—I’ll call Gabe. I love you, stay safe.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Someone tried to break into the house. Casey shot one of them.” He immediately made another call. “Gabe, get the boys to my house. Casey just shot an intruder. Yeah, okay.”
Phoenix put his foot down on the accelerator. My heart hammered the entire time. Were they okay? Had they hit Phoenix’s house first? Dean hadn’t called.
My cell rang, scaring the crap out of me.
“Rosie?”
“There’s some man outside the house. He tried to follow me in the door. I locked it, but he’s walking around… Where are you?”
“Son of a bitch. Stop. Let me out. Someone’s at the house.”
“You can’t?—”
“Let me out!”
“Dammit!” He slammed on the brakes, and I was out. “Get to Maddie—the others!” I turned from the Jeep. “Rosie, I’m coming, stay inside, the others are in our room.”
I ended the call, slid my phone into my pocket, and took off running as fast as I could. The good thing about being me was, I was fast. I cut across yards, jumped a fence, and was sprinting up the street in no time.
I could see a figure skulking around the side yard. I ducked, running behind the bushes in the neighbor’s yard. I dropped to one knee, reached behind me to remove my concealed weapon. I only pulled the .38 if I needed to, and this fight was no place for a gun. I dropped it under the bushes for now.
I took in the distance between me and the man.
It was the asshole from the station.
I smiled to myself. I would doubly enjoy this.
I waited for him to give me his back, and when he did, I moved. My reflection in the window registered too late. By the time he turned, I was on him. We slammed into the ground, him going face first into the grass.
He easily threw me off, but that was what I wanted. He needed to think he had a chance in hell of beating me. It was much more satisfying beating an asshole at his own game.
“You should have stayed away, bitch.”
I raised a brow. “And why is that?”
“I had plans for you; now I gotta gut you.”
I laughed. “You and what Army, asshole?”
“I don’t need an Army.” He lunged; I kicked him in the side.
“How’s it feel to know you’re going to get your ass kicked by a girl?” Was I taunting him? Hell yes. Of course I was.
He thought he was going to intimidate me. Bigger assholes had tried. I’d always put them in their place; he would be no different.
He thought his bulk would be helpful. It was not. As he reached, I ducked, spun, and kicked him on the other side. He didn’t like that. He charged. I used his momentum to grip his T-shirt, tug it up over his head, and use his abdomen as a punching bag. His groans filled the yard, but I didn”t stop there. I put my boot into his temple. He hit the ground, rolled, and came up, ripping his T-shirt off.
I rolled my eyes at his dramatics.
“I’m going to make you pay.”
I curled my fingers toward myself. “Bring it on, fucker.”
We sparred, him making contact with my ribs. My elbow smashed into his nose. I heard the crunch of cartilage, but he didn’t stop. He kept coming. He pulled a knife from somewhere and grinned. If he thought that was going to make me back down, fucker had another thing coming.
He lunged, swiping at my side. Wouldn’t you know, he got lucky? The burning of the blade across my ribs had me sucking in a deep breath. I managed to kick the knife free of his grip, but the pain had me staggering.
He got a hold around my neck and squeezed. I went down, letting my legs go weak. He didn’t adjust fast enough, and I got free. We wrestled for control which put us on the ground. His hands went around my throat again, my air quickly cutting off.
I was not letting this fucker take me out. I wiggled, getting my legs free. Bringing them up, I got his head, then his neck between my thighs just as the black spots started to color my vision. It was literally now or I was dead.
I clamped his head between my thighs and squeezed. A scream left me as his hands fell away. I jerked his hand up and to the side. My legs pinning him on his side, arms askew. He was trying to claw at me with his free hand, but it wasn’t that easy.
I jerked back on his arm, bowing my body as I added pressure to his neck.
I didn’t relax my legs until he stopped moving.
With him incapacitated, I needed to secure him.
The pain in my side though—oh that bitch wanted my full attention. I pulled my hand back, and the amount of blood had me scared to look. He’d apparently cut deeper than I’d thought.