I pulled up to my garage and opened the door, but didn’t drive inside. I parked and came around to open her door. When I took her hand, Mila turned her head and looked at me. “Is he dead?” she asked.
“Livingston is, sweetheart.”
“What about my dad?”
“I don’t know.”
Mila slowly got out of the Bummer and held tight to me as I walked her inside. Once I had the door from the garage to the house open, I picked her up and carried her the rest of the way. I didn’t stop until I got to my bedroom, where I laid her on my bed. I brushed the hair from her face and looked into her eyes. “I’ll be right back, okay?”
“Okay,” she whispe
red, nodding.
I rushed to the front of the house, went out and locked up the Bummer, came inside, and closed the garage door. On my way back to the bedroom, I sent a message to Rile.
Judd’s condition?
Critical. Transporting now, came the quick reply.
I went into my room and toed off my boots. I sat on the edge of the bed and slid Mila’s shoes off before lying down next to her.
She rolled to her side and lifted her head so I could put my arm around her before resting her head on my chest.
“I took my phone out to call you. He came up behind me.”
I nodded, unsure where she was going with this, but knowing she needed to talk.
“I was going to tell you how sorry I was for the way I acted.”
“You don’t need to apologize for anything, Mila.”
“I don’t know why I got so upset with you. It wasn’t fair. You didn’t do anything but tell me what you discovered.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’re here and you’re safe. That’s all I care about.”
“Marshall killed Sybil, not my father.”
“Did he confess?”
“He taunted my dad with it, but I don’t think he cared.”
“I’m sure somewhere deep inside he cared, Mila.”
“He asked Marshall if he raped my mother.”
“Did he confess to that too?”
“Not with words.”
“Why was your father there?”
“I don’t know, really. I called him earlier and told him I wanted money. He asked where I was. Maybe he came to give it to me; maybe he came to tell me he never would.” Mila rested her chin on my chest and looked into my eyes. “How did you know to come?”
“I left shortly after you and Grinder did. I needed some time alone. When I came back, Grinder said he’d left you at the house alone.”
She turned her head so her cheek rested on my heart.
“I sent a text to Rile. He said your father’s condition is critical and he’s being transported to the ER now.”