WITSEC

Chapter 20

Chapter Twenty

Later that afternoon, there was a knock on my door. I looked through the peephole and saw that it was a police officer. I cracked the door open and peeked out. “Can I help you?” He was an older cop. Late forties, early fifties. His uniform was slightly different from the other two officers’ I’d seen last night. His looked crisp, almost decorative, and not as worn.

“Are you Shiloh Pierce?” he asked, his cold, honey-colored eyes bouncing all over my face.

“I am.”

“I’m Sheriff McAllister. I was informed there was an incident here last night,” he said in a professional tone.

This was Cassy’s father.

“I wouldn’t call it an incident. If you look in my driveway and at my window right here, you’d see that it’s more like vandalism or the destruction of private property.”

His eyes narrowed slightly. “I thought we could talk about it.” He put his hand on my door. “Maybe I could come in.”

The hair on the back of my neck rose. My instincts were screaming to get away from this man. I put my foot up against the door and mentally pictured where my nearest gun was. Behind the TV and under the coffee table. “I’m not comfortable with that. I know you’re Cassy’s father.”

He held up his hands. “I only came here to have a heart-to-heart with you,” he said. “I want to tell you that Cassy regrets what she did. She hasn’t had an easy life. Her mother walked out on us when she was nine and I wasn’t home a lot because the job of a cop is very demanding. This is her first offense and I just don’t want this one mistake to ruin her future.”

He portrayed the role of a concerned father almost too well. I didn’t believe a single word that came out of his mouth. “No offense, sir, but your daughter is a bully. She has made my life hell since the first day of school. Bad actions have consequences. As a cop, you should understand that. Your daughter deserves what she gets.” The more I spoke, the angrier he looked. “I don’t think it would be appropriate to speak to you further without a lawyer present. Have a nice day.” I went to shut my door and he slammed his hand on it, stopping it from closing. He then pushed, trying to open it wider.

“You’re making a big mistake,” he snarled, with a violent rage molding his face.

I knew a threat when I heard one. Fear surged through my veins as I struggled to hold the door.

“I could arrest you right now. I would tell everyone you attacked me when all I tried to do was apologize. My daughter's charges will be thrown out by Monday,” he said in a low voice.

“I'm so glad you just said that,” I forced out through the strain of holding the door.

“Why’s that?”

“Because I just got that on camera,” I said.

He froze.

I risked pointing a finger at the corner of my porch. “If you look over your shoulder, you’ll see it.”

He glanced over his shoulder and saw it. When he looked back at me, I knew I was in trouble. He shoved my front door open, making me stumble back a step. I barely saw the back of his hand before he struck me and I fell to the floor. Blood coated my tongue and spots speckled behind my eyes.

I was grabbed by my hair. “Get up,” he ordered, yanking me by my hair. My training kicked in then. Grabbing his hand, I spun around on my butt so that I was facing him. I threw my foot up into his groin and he released me. I scrambled to my coffee table and felt around underneath for my gun. The moment my hand touched it, I could see him coming for me in my peripheral vision. I ripped the gun free and pointed it at him when his hand was inches from touching me.

I stared him down, my hands steady and my finger hovering over the trigger. I’d never shot anyone before. I hoped I never would. However, if he tried to touch me again, I wouldn’t hesitate.

He stood straight. “You don’t know what you’ve just done, little girl,” he seethed down at me. “You show anyone that camera footage, I will hang you from the nearest tree and make it look like a suicide.”

“Get out of my house,” I bit out. My lip hurt with every word.

He smoothed down his uniform before he walked out, leaving the door open. I didn’t move as I listened to his car start and drive away. Slowly, I stood on shaky legs and shut and locked the door. Leaning against it, I just breathed. In and out.

It’s going to be okay. You are okay .

I needed to figure out what to do. It didn’t take long. It was time to call my uncle.

I went and got my burner cell phone from my room.

Me

I need you to call me.

Apart from my check-ins, we hadn’t talked on the phone since I’d gotten out of the hospital. Five minutes passed and my burner started ringing. Seeing as he wasn’t calling me on my personal phone, he didn’t have access to an untraceable and secure line.

“Hello,” I said, answering.

“Are you safe?” There was no beating around the bush. He got straight to the point.

I whimpered as I tried to hold it together. “I don’t think I am.”

“Tell me what’s going on.”

I told him about all the bullying happening at school. How Cassy and her friends had destroyed my car. I told him how her father, the sheriff, had showed up and attacked and threatened me.

“Fucking Christ, you have the worst fucking luck,” he cursed. “How badly did he hit you? Did you lose consciousness at all?”

“No. He just backhanded me. All I can tell is that I have a split lip. I haven’t looked in the mirror yet.”

“He just backhanded you? Really, Shi?” He let out a slew of curses that would have made a sailor blush. “You should have shot the bastard.”

Maybe I should have. Not much I could do about it now. Fingers crossed, I hadn’t just made a huge mistake.

He sighed. “Do you think you’ll be alright until Monday? That’s the soonest I can get there.”

That was the day after tomorrow. “I think I’ll be alright.”

“Despite what happened, are you okay?” he asked.

“Right now, I don’t know. I might need to move my session with Dr. Bolton up,” I said.

“Dr. Bolton? You’re back in therapy?”

“Yeah, I need to tell you about that, too.” With a heavy sigh, I explained how I’d been failing to deal with my grief, and everything that had happened that had led me back to going to therapy. The only thing I avoided talking about as much as I could was the guys.

“Well, you’re definitely my niece. I got suspended from school for kicking another kid's ass, too,” he said.

“That’s all you took away from what I told you?”

“No, I heard it all,” he assured me. “I’m glad to hear that you’re back in therapy.”

We hung up not long after that.

I went into the bathroom to assess the damage. My bottom lip was split and swollen. I also had a small bruise already showing just below the corner of my mouth. I knew there was no way to hide it. I did entertain the idea of lying. Then I remembered the promise I’d made to Creed.

I debated for hours on what I was going to tell the guys. By the time the four of them got off work, I had a bag packed and I was waiting on their couch. Three out of the four had smiles when they saw me sitting there as they walked in. That was, until they saw my face.

“What the fuck?” Creed said as he dropped his gym bag and rushed over to me. Colt and Keelan were a second behind him.

Creed knelt in front of me. “Who am I fucking killing?” he asked.

Colt sat next to me on the couch and Keelan stood behind Creed. Knox was the last to make his way over.

My chin trembled and I clenched my teeth to make it stop. “I got a visit from Cassy’s father…” Just like I had with my uncle, I told them everything that had happened. I even told them about the text I’d gotten and how I’d thought it was from Mr. X. Creed had already known, but by the others’ shocked faces, it was safe to say he hadn’t told them.

“I called my uncle,” I said. “He’ll be here Monday.”

“You think he’ll be able to deal with the sheriff?” Colt asked.

“I do.”

“You need to stay here until your uncle arrives,” Keelan said. His tone brooked no argument. Both he and Knox had the same angry look on their faces.

I pointed to my bag by the front door. “I figured you’d say that. So I packed a bag.”

Colt ran his hand up and down my back. “Is there anything I can get you?”

“Got any whiskey?” I joked.

“You can have a beer,” Knox said.

My brows threatened to touch my hairline. “I was kidding, but I’ll still take it.”

Knox nodded and headed for the kitchen.

“Are you hungry?” Keelan asked, his voice still sounding angry.

I stood from the couch and went to him. Wrapping my arms around his waist, I laid my cheek on his chest. It was the best way I could offer him comfort because yet again, I couldn’t tell him it was going to be alright. He didn’t hesitate to circle his arms around me, holding me tightly.

“Can we order in?” I asked.

“What are you craving, Shi?” Creed asked, standing and pulling out his phone.

“Can we get food from the diner delivered?”

Creed nodded and began ordering everything we liked on his phone.

Knox returned with five beers and handed one to everyone and we all took a seat on the couch. Every time I took a sip, the beer stung my lip. I touched the cut gently and winced.

“Does it hurt?” Colt asked, watching me.

I dropped my hand. “A little, but I’ve been hit harder.”

“By who?” Creed questioned, sounding as if he were ready to hunt down whoever it was.

I picked at the label on my beer bottle. “Mr. X.” I allowed my mind to peek at the forbidden corner of my brain and I looked at the memories of that moment. “He caught me when I was trying to escape,” I said and I noticed them all go still around me. I kept picking at the label as I continued. “I didn’t know how to defend myself then, but I fought the best I could. It didn’t do me any good. He still got me upstairs and dragged me to my bedroom. I screamed as loud as I could, hoping that the neighbors would hear me. They didn’t. I tried to grab on to something that would help stop me from getting any closer to my room, because I knew once he got me there, he’d rape me.” The image of Shayla’s body popped into my head and I took a drink. Not that it would help. It’d take more than one beer to make me feel better. “He dragged me past Shayla’s body in the hall.” I cleared my throat when it began to feel tight. “He dragged me through her blood. He purposely slowed so I would see her—see that she was dead. He did it to break me because the main reason I was fighting so hard to escape was to get her help.” I finished tearing off the label and I felt irritated that I didn't have something to focus on. I took another sip and leaned back against the couch. “Looking back now, it was stupid to think I even had a chance at saving her.”

“Why do you say that?” Knox asked and his brothers all gave him a look like he had done something wrong.

“He slit her throat right in front of me. She bled out so quickly there was just no way.” My voice was so factual and held zero emotion. “At the time—in the moment—I didn’t want to believe it.” I finished the rest of my beer with one last gulp. Colt took the empty bottle and label from my hands and replaced them with his, which was still full. I began picking at his label. “After dragging me past Shayla, Mr. X managed to get me in my room. He pulled me off the floor by my hair and I clawed his face. That pissed him off, so he backhanded me. He hit me so hard I blacked out, and when I came to, my wrists and ankles were tied to my bed.” I couldn’t say any more. I tried to back away from that corner of my mind, but it was hard. It tried to show me things I didn’t want to see. My hands began trembling uncontrollably and my stomach rolled. Next, I broke out in a cold sweat and I knew I was going to be sick. I stood from the couch and rushed to the bathroom. I barely made it to the toilet before all the beer I’d drunk came back up.

Hands grabbed my hair and held it up. Someone took the beer bottle that I was still clutching in my hand. When I was able to stop heaving, I sat back on my butt. I covered my face with my hands, and I cried.

Someone pulled me against their chest and rubbed their hand up and down my back. “You did good, babe,” Colt said softly into my ear. “I know that wasn’t easy and I’m so proud of you.”

I didn’t know how long we were in that bathroom, but Colt held me until I eventually calmed down, while the other three stood by in support.