3. River
The young womenlying on the floor were in rough shape.
I ran back to my Jeep, pulling it closer so I had a way to get them the hell out of here if I needed it. This was some sketchy, only happens in horror movies kind of shit.
I opened the first aid kit, spreading it out before me. I placed a cup full of water in each of their mouths.
“More…”
“I’m sorry, sweetheart. I can’t. Just hold on. EMS is on the way.”
The other woman stayed silent, her tears the only way I knew she was with me. Her face was swollen, her leg was most definitely broken, and my stomach curled at the thought, but I was pretty sure from the blood on her legs that she had been assaulted or something worse.
Swallowing back bile, and anger, I focused on helping them as much as I could. I heard more skittering of something, probably a rat. I stood up, pulled my .38, and did a quick sweep of the area. Never leave an area unsearched. That could get you killed.
I didn’t want to leave the women, but I could at least check out the area the noise came from, right?
The back corner was darker, so I took my time, walking through the streak of sun coming from an opening in the boards high up on the wall.
My cell buzzed in my pocket. I didn’t want to look, but it could be 9-1-1 calling me back. I pulled it out and hit accept. “Knowles.”
“Ma’am, this is Sergeant Landry, Burke County Sheriff’s office. Where on the old Mickelson property are you? From the main gate, where do I and the ambulance go?”
Oh fuck. I’d given the address but not told them where I was on it. I let out a frustrated breath. My eyes closed, my mind conjuring up the property map.
“To the west about a mile, maybe two, I can’t remember. I backtracked to this barn when I saw it from up the hillside. You’ll see it way before you get to it. My Jeep is parked out front.”
“Hang tight, we’re going in.”
“I must tell you, I have a carry permit, and I am armed.”
“Make sure your weapon is not on you when we come in. Once you are cleared, then you can have it back.”
I went to say okay when I turned at another sound. My eyes adjusted quickly to the darkness. I moved closer to the noise, peeking around the wall. My stomach rolled. “Oh my God.”
“Ma’am, what is it?”
“There’s a kid tied up in here too.” I ended the call, put my gun back in the holster, and hurried to her side. She was half slumped over, her hands and feet tied. The duct tape on her face kept her from talking. If I hadn’t heard her… Nope, not going there. The cops would search this place. They’d have found her.
“Hold on, sweetheart. I know it hurts, I’m so sorry.” The ropes were peeling away her skin. There was dried blood on her wrists and ankles, and now, there was fresh blood. My heart was thundering in my chest. If the fuckers who did this showed back up…I might be going to jail today. It would be worth it to put a bullet in them though.
The minute her wrists were free, she started signing. I wasn’t well-versed in ASL. I knew the signals we used overseas, but that wouldn’t do much good right now.
“Can you hear me? Hey.” I put my hands over hers, meeting her gaze. I tapped my ear and pointed at my mouth as I spoke. “Can you hear me?”
She shook her head; her eyes were bloodshot and the right was swollen. Fucking assholes. I helped her up, putting her arm around me as I held her against my side. I took it slowly, walking her back to the others. The barn doors opened, and I froze.
“Sheriff’s office!”
“Over here. Hurry. They’re in bad shape.”
I tried to help the girl to sit on the floor, but she clung to me. The moment she spotted the deputy, she went absolutely wild. I held her to me as she silently screamed. I’d seen some things in my days on this earth. I’d done things in the name of protecting this country, but this right here almost broke me.
“Hey, it’s okay. Fuck, it’s okay, baby, it’s okay.”
“Ms. Knowles?”
“Yes, she’s trying to use ASL; I don’t know what?—”
“Here, turn her,” he instructed as more deputies came in and spread out in both directions. When the all clear as sounded, the EMT’s rushed in.
“Hey, I’m Sergeant Landry. You’re safe now. No one here will hurt you.” Thankfully he spoke as he signed.
The girl’s hands moved slowly then faster.
“What’s your name? I know the bad men were here, but they aren’t now. We won’t let them get to you again.”
He watched her hands closely.
“Maddie, you can call me Drew, okay? What’s your last name?”
She replied by spelling it out.
“Cavanagh. Okay. How old are you?”
“Four-fourteen?” he stammered as she indicated her age. She nodded at whatever he signed to her.
Son of a bitch. He looked her in the eyes as he signed again. “We are going to get you out of here.”
She starts signing a response.
“What is she saying?” I watched her intently.
“She says she saw your shadow. She was hoping you were the help she’s been praying for.”
Tears rolled down my cheeks. I squeezed her tighter to me. My mind immediately went to Rosie. I shook those thoughts off to push back the incoming panic attack. This wasn’t the time or place for that.
“Hey, are you okay?” He rushed to me as I stumbled.
“Fuck…I just…”
“Yeah, I know; here, sit down with her on this crate. She wants to know your name. Is it okay to tell her?”
“Of course. River is my name.”
He relayed it to her, and she nodded, patting my cheek. I hugged her tighter.
“Andrew, we have a problem.”
Another deputy, wearing a similar face to the one before me, came closer. They put their heads together. Drew cursed long and loud. I scanned the other side of the barn and looked at the other faces. And I knew, I’d seen that look. I’d worn that look.
“There’s a body over there, isn’t there?”
They glanced my way.
“I’ve seen that look before. Last time I wore that look, I was in Afghanistan, and my team and I had come up to a hut of women and children.” I swallowed hard. “Not a look you ever forget seeing.”
They nodded.
“Fuck.”
“What brought you out here? This place has been for sale for almost a year now.”
“I survey properties for prospective buyers.”
“You’re a realtor?”
“Fuck no, I have morals. That’s not fair. Not all of them are sharks. I have permission, in writing, from the land owners to be here. They want this property sold… But now…”
“We need to call the Sheriff and get more help out here.”
“Hey, we need to get the fuck out of here, now.”
“What?”
“There’s enough C4 back here to blow us all back to the creator. Everyone out. I’ll call the PD to get their bomb guys out here.”
He disappeared, and I walked the girl to the ambulance. With the sergeant’s help communicating, telling her what was happening, she finally let me go and climbed inside.
“We need you to give us a statement.”
“I will, but I need to make sure they’re okay. I can’t just leave them.”
“I can take the statement at the hospital. You can follow them; I’ll be there soon.”
I got my things and loaded up, following the ambulance to the hospital. My heart needed to know that she was going to be okay. That they all would be.
The ride to the hospital took forever. I parked, headed inside. My phone was all I took with me. My ID was inside in case they needed it.
I had to wait in line, and while I was there, I made a choice to lie my ass off to get into the back. The nurse at the desk waved me forward.
“My sister is being brought in by ambulance. Maddie Cavanagh.”
I would say a Hail Mary later for lying. I just needed to make sure she was okay. She was fucking fourteen, and God only knew what she’s been through. I opened the app on my phone for the notepad. I could at least talk to her this way until the sergeant got here.
An hour passed; she’d been sent for X-rays, and I paced the cubicle she was in. The sergeant and another deputy stopped outside of the curtain.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“No. Far from it, but it’s not me we should worry about.”
“Is she having a test or…”
“X-ray. She has bruises along her left side. Someone beat the shit out of her.” I held my phone out. “We had a nice long chat. I can send you this. She wanted to call her father. I told her you guys would do that.”
He scanned the conversation and swore a blue streak.
“God dammit.”
“Get Charlie to go get him and bring him in. Tell him to not let him drive. I will call Tripp and get him here too.”
“He’s probably still upstairs with Casey and the baby.”
“What’s wrong?”
They met my gaze. “We know who her father is.”
“Oh…”
***
Phoenix
I was just putting Penny into her car seat, ready to go see her mama and Pops, when the sound of tires on the gravel had me looking up. Two cars had pulled up to the house.
I watched as Charlie climbed out of his patrol car and then Scooter hopped out of his truck. This couldn’t be good. Had something happened to Casey or the baby? I picked Penny back up, putting her on my hip as they headed my way.
“What’s wrong? Is it Casey? The baby? Pops?”
“No,” Charlie said; his face told me whatever it was, it was bad.
“Just tell me already.”
“There’s been an incident with your daughter Maddie.”
My knees went weak, and I wobbled. Scooter took Penny from me and gripped my shoulder. “Maddie…”
“I’ve got Penny, go see about your daughter.”
“Your dad is with Maddie. When Drew figured out who she was, Tripp was his first call. She’s in Lufkin at the emergency room. I’ll take you to her, come on.”
“What happened?”
“We don’t know yet. Drew is talking with her. We’ve also called to have someone do a wellness check on her mother.”
I could not tell you the amount of emotions running through me as he raced to the hospital. How bad was it? How in the hell had she gotten to Lufkin? Why was she here? Her mom had been living on the outskirts of Houston. Whoever had hurt my baby would pay for it.
“I need you to keep your cool, man. She’s freaked out… The place we found her… She’s going to need you to stay strong.”
“Where was she?”
“An old barn outside of town. She wasn’t alone. There were others.”
I punched the dashboard.
“Easy, man. Easy. I know what you’re feeling?—”
“Do you? Your kid ever been taken and you knew nothing?”
He cut a look at me, then I remembered. He’d been through something with his wife and her father. Not to mention having to protect his adopted daughter from her biological family.
I let out a long, frustrated sigh. “Sorry, man.”
“We’re good, man. You’re worried about your daughter; as a father, I will never hold that against you.”
“How did you find her?” I asked, trying to get my emotions under control.
“A land surveyor found them. She called it in and helped as best as she could until we got there.”
“Fuck! How does this shit happen? I swear. Where in the fuck is Jasmine?”
“We will get you answers, just let us do what we do.”
He parked in one of the spaces as close to the ER entrance as he could. I was out of the car and sprinting for that door. Bursting inside, I went to the front desk. “My daughter, Maddie Cavanagh was brought in.”
I was let through the door. I heard the crashing of metal on tile. A woman’s voice trying to console someone. Pops was cursing up a blue streak, and Drew’s bark to leave her alone, it had to be my Maddie.
I hurried around the first hall and skidded to a stop. My kid was curled up on the floor in a corner, a blonde-and-black-haired woman with her, holding her to her.
“What in the fuck are you doing? Can’t you see she’s scared, you fucking pissant!”
“River, come on, help me get her back in her room.” Pops looked back as I called for my kid.
“Maddie…”
“Thank fuck.”
“What happened?” I snarled.
“The doctor scared her.”
I moved to where she could see me. She got to her feet and ran for me. I scooped her up, holding her to me as tight as I dared. Her face was bruised, her wrists looked like they were bleeding.
Whoever hurt her was mine. They’d regret their life choices before I was done with them.