3. Chapter Three
Chapter Three
“Yes, what do we need to do?” Cecilia said. She was a nurse and a SANE nurse, for fuck’s sake, but making decisions felt like swimming through Jell-O right now. She’d get a thought, then have to fight her way through a thickness to figure out what she needed to do.
“The guys are going to get the vehicle turned around while we go on this side of the house,” Sally directed, motioning to the side of the house where no one would be able to see them.
Cecilia nodded, standing up and waiting to make sure she wasn’t dizzy. The water that Bravo had given them helped. She followed her sister and Sally around the corner of the house, where there were a couple bags and what Cecilia guessed was a cooler.
“We’re all women here, so we’ll have to be comfortable with each other,” Sally noted, opening one of the bags and pulling out a trash bag. She opened it and placed it on the ground, then pulled out some plastic sheeting, putting a huge sheet beside it.
“I need you to remove all your clothes and place them in the bag,” Sally instructed as she pulled out a huge container of water in a pump bottle and placed it inside a pan.
She pulled out a container of wet wipes and a large bottle of hand sanitizer.
It was bigger than what Cecilia had seen at the hospital where she’d worked.
“Then step onto the sheeting and clean any blood off your hands, faces, and necks,” Sally explained as she laid clean clothes on another sheet of plastic.
“Then you can step on the other one and get dressed. I’ll clean up everything. Do you have any questions?” Sally asked.
Cecilia shook her head no, checking to see that Calliope was nodding and already removing all her clothes.
Cecilia did what Sally said on autopilot—completing the tasks without thinking about them. Sally had used a couple wipes on Cecilia’s face when Cecilia had missed some of the blood.
Once they were dressed, Sally collected all the items into a black trash bag. She sprayed the outside of the bag, then directed them to stay there for a minute. Calliope leaned against her. Cecilia slipped her arm around her sister.
Cecilia thought she’d feel nauseous after killing a man because she was a nurse.
She helped save people and considered it her calling to be the calm voice when an injured person needed her the most. But when he’d said in the car what he planned on doing to her younger sister, the only thing in her mind had been saving Calliope.
Her protective instincts outweighed any oath or vow she’d made to help people.
“Are we safe?” Calliope asked.
What the hell did she tell her sister? Were they safe? Well, they were safer than they had been with the officer.
“I think so. You said Mom trusted Sally, and Torrent is who Dad said to call if we ever needed something,” Cecilia said.
Sally came back with off-brand Crocs for them to slip on.
She had them step off the plastic to put them on.
She opened the cooler and handed them sodas.
Cecilia didn’t care how many calories it was or what preservatives were in it.
She needed the sugar and the caffeine to continue on.
Sally had gloves on as she collected everything they’d used.
Most of the items went inside the large black trash bag.
Torrent came over to them while Sally was collecting everything.
“Ready to get in the truck? You can eat while we finish up,” Torrent suggested, holding his hand out to direct them but not touching her in any way.
She appreciated that. Even if they were helping her and Calliope, if a man touched her right now, she wasn’t sure how she’d react.
She shivered as they walked toward the truck, despite the heat of the day.
He was direct and she needed direct. The fewer words to wade through, the better right now.
Cecilia followed him to the truck. The box truck had a surprisingly large cab.
It had plenty of room for Sally, her sister, the cooler, and her.
He held the door open. Calliope needed help, and Torrent asked before he helped her.
He cocked his eyebrow at Cecilia, who shook her head, getting in on her own.
Once she was situated and he’d handed the cooler up, he closed the door without a word.
A blanket was on the bench seat. Cecilia laid it over herself and Calliope, sliding her arm around her sister.
“What’s in the cooler? I’m really hungry,” Calliope ventured.
Cecilia reached with one hand to open the bag. She wasn’t giving up the warmth from the blanket.
“Sandwiches, bags of chips, bags of cookies, bananas, and more drinks,” Cecilia said.
“I should probably have a sandwich, even though the cookies sound good,” Calliope sighed.
Cecilia grabbed the cookies and another soda for her sister. “I think you can have whatever you want. You were so smart grabbing the knife and the phone,” Cecilia praised, her throat closing at the thought of what awaited them if Calliope hadn’t thought of getting the pocketknife.
Calliope took a bite of a cookie, leaning into Cecilia’s shoulder. “I love you, sissy,” she whispered.
“Love you too, Calliope,” Cecilia whispered back, fighting to keep the tears from her voice.
She was glad the truck was facing away from where Horace’s car was.
She didn’t need it triggering the scenes that kept playing through her head.
She pushed all the thoughts away for now of the questions running through her head about safety, what would happen to the car and the body, and the biggest question: what the hell would happen when the Police Chief came back to town?
The Grave Prowlers MC was handling it so far.
For now, she’d let them handle it and deal with whatever was needed to pay the debt when she could think more clearly.
She sat there in the quiet cab with only the sound of Calliope chewing. The opening of the door had her jumping—her heart pounding in her chest.
“Hey ladies, we’re going to head back. Dragon doesn’t think it’s a good idea to get anything from your house at this time. Are there any medications or items that we couldn’t replace?” Sally asked, starting up the truck and driving back onto the road.
Calliope grabbed her arm, her fingers squeezing Cecilia’s arm. Since losing their parents, Calliope had only been able to sleep with one of the stuffed animals she kept on her bed. Cecilia didn’t think it was any specific stuffed animal, but that she needed something soft like that to hold.
“Calliope, do you need something specific, or will you be okay?” Cecilia asked.
Calliope took a deep breath, a small shudder running through her.
Cecilia wanted Calliope to have what she needed, but having one of the guys stop at their house was a chance someone would know where they went.
As it was, Cecilia would need to notify Judith that Calliope was ill and not attending school for a couple days.
Judith would need to take her daughter, Linny, to school since Calliope wouldn’t be attending.
“I can try without anything,” Calliope said, her voice quivering.
“What would help?” Sally prompted.
“A stuffed animal. It doesn’t have to be one of my favorites—just something to hold,” she said.
“What brand do you like?” Sally asked.
“Squishmallows,” Calliope whispered.
They were getting close to where they’d enter the road to go back into town. Two motorcycles were in front of them and three were behind them.
Sally rolled down the window and waved her arm. Torrent was closest, getting off his bike and walking up to the window. Sally leaned close and told Torrent. He nodded and got back on his bike.
Their group headed onto the road that would take them back to Hazard. Cecilia tried to stay in the moment, keeping an eye on the road, but she kept drifting back to the house and him. How would she ever forget this?
She thought about how she ministered to her survivors, offering them services to discuss their trauma. She’d always wondered if they even heard what she was saying. She’d known about shock, but she hadn’t gone through anything like this where she experienced it herself.
She didn’t want to discuss it with anyone. She wanted to rewind the day and never open the door to him. If only she could turn back time.
“Hey ladies, we’re here. Let me show you around,” Sally said.
Cecilia glanced at the large building with no windows on the front and what looked to be steel doors. She opened the door and stepped down out of the cab of the truck, groaning at the pain shooting through her body.
She glanced toward the street. A ten-foot cinderblock wall painted dark gray surrounded the property. A twenty-foot-wide rolling gate had opened as they approached. At least for now, she and Calliope were safe.
Torrent left the items he’d bought in his saddlebags and walked into the clubhouse. A couple of the Whispers were hanging out, and Dragon was sitting at the bar. He stood up and headed toward Church when Torrent walked in.
Torrent followed, taking his customary seat as the Secretary of the club. Dragon was at the head, with Maverick sitting beside him. For all the crap he gave Mav about flappy lips, he was an excellent Vice President and would make a good President when Dragon decided to step down.
But Maverick did love his gossip.
“All right, for those of you who stayed here to guard the place, we’ve got a situation.
The pain-in-our-ass Officer Horse’s Ass decided to assault Old Man Wilson’s daughter.
She finally gave in because he promised he’d leave her younger sister alone, but he was either lying or changed his mind.
He decided he’d use both sisters and then sell them.
Unfortunately for him, Calliope smuggled a pocketknife to her sister, and Cecilia stabbed him in the neck, then slit his throat to finish the job.
She called Torrent for help because her dad had said if she was ever in trouble to call him. Thoughts?” Dragon put to the room.