Chapter 23 – Cassie
Why did my phone always have to buzz at the worst possible moment?
Jace had just put his heart on the line for me, and here I was, staring down at my screen to see Mom calling—for the third time in less than a minute. My two worlds were pulling me in opposite directions.
Jace needed me. I could see it in the way shame and relief warred across his face. But the longer my phone buzzed, the deeper the pit in my stomach grew. Something was wrong—I could feel it in my bones.
With one final glance at Jace, I made my choice. I answered the phone, praying he’d understand.
“Hello?” I said quickly.
No response—just screaming.
Jace’s eyes snapped to mine, his concern mirroring the panic rising in my chest.
“Mom? Hello? Are you there?” My voice shook, rising with every word.
More screaming. A man’s voice this time, rough and furious. Something crashed against a wall. “Where is it, you stupid bitch? I know you have it!”
Even without speakerphone, Jace could hear every word.
“I don’t have it! I told you that!” Mom’s voice cracked.
Three heavy footsteps. Another shout.
“Get off me! Cassie, help!”
A final thud. Then the line went dead.
“Mom? Mom!” I screamed into the phone.
Nothing.
“Jace, what do I do?” I cried, tears streaming down my face.
“Where do you think she is?” he asked frantically.
“Her apartment, maybe? I don’t know where else she’d go besides there or work. I’m not sure,” I said between sobs.
Jace’s truck roared to life as he swerved back onto the main road. We continued down the paved road, headed toward Great Falls, where my mom would be. Hopefully.
“Did you recognize the man’s voice?” he asked, sounding like a detective trying to find any clue possible.
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard him before.
Maybe it’s the same guy from the night of the wedding—the one who kicked her out of the car?
I haven’t really been keeping up with her lately.
When she gets like this, I try to distance myself.
Maybe if I’d checked on her more, this wouldn’t have happened,” I said, the regret hitting hard as fresh tears fell.
Jace reached over and took my hand in his firm, steady grip.
“Cassie, this isn’t your fault,” he said, his voice rough but gentle. “You can’t help an addict who doesn’t want to change. There’s nothing you could’ve done, I promise you.”
His words hit me like a punch to the gut, pulling me back to the moment we’d shared just before I answered my mom’s call. Jace was promising me that because it was something he could attest to firsthand.
I turned toward him, brushing my thumb across the back of his hand. It was all I could offer right now. He needed more from me, but I couldn’t give it—not at this moment. My body was in crisis mode.
I texted Molly, telling her I had a family emergency and not to worry about me for the rest of the night.
She asked for a picture as proof of life, so I sent her one of Jace driving.
She replied with I have so many questions.
But I didn’t have the time or the energy to respond. Everything was spiraling.
As Jace drove, I grabbed one of his flannel jackets from the back seat of his truck and pulled it over me.
It was long enough to cover me from my neck to the top of my thighs, making me look a little less ridiculous than I already did.
I removed my bunny ears, tucking them into my purse, my night of fun officially over.
After an agonizing drive to my mom’s apartment, Jace swerved into the lot, slamming the truck into park. We caught the immediate attention of all the people lingering around, just like they had been the day we dropped her off.
Jace made large strides across the grassy area that separated the apartment building and the parking lot.
He was up the stairs within seconds. I followed him closely.
He probably wanted me to stay in his truck, like last time, but he was smart enough to know I was too stubborn to do that at a moment like this.
As we rounded the corner of the third floor, a door dangling by one hinge immediately caught our attention. With only one small push, the door would be on the floor in seconds.
Jace turned quickly, grabbing me by the shoulders, his face inches from mine. “Stay behind me, do you understand? I mean it, Cassie. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
“I will, I promise.”
Jace turned back around, making his way into the apartment.
It was quiet. There was no loud banging like when I was on the phone with my mom.
Her apartment was trashed, papers scattered everywhere and drawers pulled from every place imaginable.
The deeper we got into the apartment, the scale of the damage grew larger and larger.
Whoever did this hadn’t just stopped at the living room.
They destroyed the kitchen, tore things off the walls in the hallways, and continued on to the back bedroom.
The mattress was completely off its frame, propped against the wall, with my mom’s nightstand tipped over in front of it. It looked like a tornado had ripped through, blowing everything upside down and scattering it throughout the room.
“Mom? Mom?” I ran from room to room, calling out for her.
A low moan from the bathroom stopped me dead in my tracks.
I busted the door open and found my mom lying in the tub with her face covered in blood.
It was streaming down her neck and onto her clothes, which were ripped in multiple spots. I stood in place, shocked.
Jace ran past me and scooped her up, rushing her to the couch in the living room and laying her down gently.
“Ma’am, can you hear me?” Jace asked. He grabbed a piece of cloth from the disaster around us and dabbed it on my mom’s head, trying to wipe away the blood that pooled in multiple spots on her face.
A low moan was her only response.
“Call 911, Cassie. Tell them we need an ambulance,” Jace demanded.
I pulled my phone from the pocket of the jacket I’d borrowed and did what he said.
“911, what is your emergency?” the operator asked. I gave her my mom’s address, begging her to send someone quickly. “Police and EMS are on the way, honey,” the operator assured me, trying to calm me down.
Everything was chaos, pure chaos. The room, my mom’s appearance, my heart—literally everything.
Jace kept talking to my mom as she drifted in and out of consciousness. After a few minutes, sirens wailed in the distance. I ran outside to flag down the ambulance so they’d know exactly where to go.
The paramedics climbed the stairs with their gear, skipping steps as they continued their ascent.
“She’s in here,” I pointed, leading them into the apartment.
“What happened?” the female EMT asked, kneeling beside my mom to check her breathing.
“I was on the phone with her,” I explained quickly. “Some man was yelling at her—I think he was the one that hurt her. We found her like this when we got here.”
Liam walked in just as I finished speaking, letting dispatch know the scene was clear. He was dressed in his sheriff’s uniform, which meant he was working tonight. His eyes moved across the apartment as he scanned the room, taking in the damage.
“What the hell happened in here?” he asked quietly.
Jace filled him in, explaining everything that had happened since I’d answered the call during our talk at Crowley’s Ridge. Liam listened carefully and jotted down notes on a notepad.
“We’re taking her to the trauma center,” the male EMT said, glancing between us. “One person can ride along.”
Jace looked at me. “Go with her. I’ll follow in my truck.”
I nodded and followed the EMTs as they wheeled my mom through the shattered doorway and down the stairs. My hands were shaking.
Jace’s figure through the ambulance window got smaller and smaller as one paramedic drove from the apartment complex, sirens blaring, while the other tended to my mom, who was lying lifeless on the gurney in front of me.