“What the hell happened?” Sully hollers from somewhere in the apartment.
“Everyone’s okay,” I call back. Then, I turn my attention back to Scout. “What the hell did you do?”
“She was scared,” Scout says, his voice nonchalant like he didn’t just unload into a dead body. “Called us to come get her.”
I frown at him. “Yeah.”
“When we got here,” he continues, staring at Landry with a small frown, “he was attacking her. Trying to rape her.”
“Scout—” I begin to say but get cut off.
“So, I shot him.” He steps over the body and sits on the other side of the bed beside her. “I shot Alexander because he was trying to hurt you.”
She shakes her head. “I shot him.”
“No,” Scout growls, voice hard as steel. “I shot him. Once I got him off you, I rolled him over to make sure he was dead. Thought he was still breathing, so I shot him until I was sure he was gone.”
“What the fuck, Scout?” I demand.
“It’s what happened.” He leans over and kisses Landry’s cheek. “Landry’s just confused. Help her remember.”
Fuck.
He’s really going with this.
“Scout…”
“Sparrow.”
Scout levels me with an unwavering glare. He’s already made his mind up.
“You’re a fucking idiot,” I mutter under my breath.
“And she’ll be fucking safe from any backlash. That’s all that matters.”
* * *
Detective Rodriguez crosses his arms over his chest, studying Scout through narrowed eyes. “So, let’s go over this again. You’re telling me, you shot the victim—”
“He’s not a victim,” Scout snaps. “He’s a rapist and a child abuser.”
“My client has told you his story several times,” Sarah, his attorney, interjects. “Mr. Mannford is cuffed and in your custody. Take him to jail until you people admit that he acted in Landry’s defense. His brothers and the girls can go home to get some sleep. This will all look different in the morning.”
Rodriquez rolls his eyes, jaw clenching. “I just want the truth.”
When I called Leo to tell him that plans drastically changed, he told me to keep Scout quiet until his attorney, Sarah, arrived at the station. Of course, Scout hasn’t shut up. Repeating his truth over and over again until it’s starting to feel real.
“Are the girls okay?” Scout demands, turning his attention to me.
I hold up a picture Sully sent me from the hospital of both Della and Landry. “They’re fine. Just getting examined, but okay.”
Scout relaxes and nods.
“It’s just not adding up,” Detective Rodriguez presses, shaking his head. “None of it. If I had to guess, you were protecting Miss Croft. Which I don’t quite understand. If he really was assaulting her—”
“He. Fucking. Was.” Scout glowers at him. “No ifs.”
“Mr. Mannford,” Sarah warns. “You don’t have to say anything else.”
“Then she would be acting in self-defense,” Detective Rodriguez finishes in exasperation. “It wouldn’t make sense for her boyfriend to say he did it instead.”
“Look, man,” Scout spits out. “I don’t know what to tell you. I fucking shot that piece of shit. I’m not sad about it either. The way I see, I did not only these two girls, but the whole goddamn world a favor.”
“Then I’m going to have to book you,” Detective Rodriguez states with a huff. “With your past criminal record, you’ll have a harder time escaping this than a teenage girl who was acting in self-defense.”
Scout shrugs. “I don’t know what more you need from me. I confessed to this shit and yet here we are. Just let my girl go home with my brothers. She needs a shower and sleep.”
Detective Rodriguez sighs heavily and stands. “All right, then. I guess we’re done here.”
Two unis walk over and assist my cuffed brother to his feet.
“Take care of her,” Scout orders, pinning me with a hard glare. “I’ll come after you if you don’t.”
I want to remind the fucking idiot he’ll be in jail, but they’ve already pulled him out the door before I get the chance.
Detective Rodriguez pins me with a hard stare. “You sure there’s nothing you want to admit to me. Now that your brother’s gone?”
As if I’d ever sell my brother out to the fucking police.
“Nope,” I grind out. “Are Landry and Della free to go home with Sully?”
He ponders this for a moment and then nods. “As long as the hospital clears them, I have no issue with that. She’s eighteen and Della is family. You have my card. Call me if any of your stories change.” He gives me a pointed stare. “Might make things easier on your brother.”
“Got it.”
Scout is taking the brunt of this, and it sucks, but it’s necessary. I understand that. With Della’s mom deceased and now Alexander gone too, she’ll need Landry more than ever. Scout can sit in a jail cell until Sarah manages to get him free, but it would kill Landry being away from Della, even while they sorted it out. I just hope, for everyone’s sake, it doesn’t take long.