I tried to calm my breathing, to slow my racing heart, but what the fuck? The guy had turned the lights on? That was bad. Really fucking bad.
She climbed out the window? How the hell did she climb out the window? I looked down the long row of houses but couldn’t say in the dark which one was hers. All I knew was that her bedroom was on the second floor and unless she was Spiderman, I had no fucking idea how she got down without breaking her legs.
Reed approached with a police officer. I kissed her head once more. “Baby, the police is here to talk with you. Are you ready for that?”
If my dad was behind all this, the police didn’t need to know about the possibility. I’d deal with him in my own way, in a way he wouldn’t get away with it. He was powerful enough to slip through the legal system without even a slap on the wrist. If he was guilty, I wouldn’t stop with just a slap and it fucking wouldn’t be on his wrist.
She nodded against my chest, then turned so that she faced the officer, but I kept one hand on her. Now that I knew she was safe, I wasn’t letting her go.
CHAPTER TEN
EMORY
Gray stood beside me the entire time I gave my story to the police, his hand warm and heavy on my shoulder. His grip tightened very time I said something especially bad, like when I told about the guy yelling for me from my bedroom doorway or about climbing down the emergency ladder. With the police officer’s permission, he’d had Reed escorted into the house and grab a sweatshirt and flip-flops for me to wear so I wasn’t just braless and in a snug tank top and sleep shorts. When he'd grilled me enough, we’d gone into the house together to see if anything was missing, but other than things knocked off the counter and a chair moved, most likely the crashing sounds I heard, nothing had been taken. The back door had been jimmied and the glass from the broken lightbulb was still on the stoop, although crunched into tiny pieces.
Fortunately, Gray coaxed the officer into having me give a complete statement at a different time. He could tell I was barely holding it together and I was relieved for his presence, for his taking control of the situation.
When the police left and the neighbors went back into their houses, most likely checking the security of their deadbolts and security systems, the fear returned. “Gray, I…I can’t stay here.”
He turned me to face him, bent at the waist so he was my height. “You’re coming home with me.”
Relief made me weak, knowing I wouldn’t have to stay in the house right now. I pointed over my shoulder. “But the back door, the police said it was broken.”
“It’s being taken care of.”
How? “But—”
He put a finger over my lips, looked at me in a way that had me swallowing my words. “It’s being taken care of,” he repeated. “Go get some clothes together and we’ll get out of here.”
I glanced up the steps. “Come with me?”
He nodded and
followed me upstairs and into my room. I watched him as he took in the bed, the old floral wallpaper. Neither interested him as much as the open window. I let him look around as I quickly pulled a few things from my closet. Out of the corner of my eye I watched as he checked out the emergency ladder, pulled it back inside until it was a pile on the floor once again.
Zipping up my small bag, I said, “Ready.” He pulled his head back inside and turned to me.
“Boy Scouts?” He was looking down at the pile of rope that had most likely saved my life.
“Emergency Preparedness Merit Badge.”
“God bless the Boy Scouts,” Gray said under his breath as he held out his hand. I took it easily, reassured by his warm touch, and he led me back downstairs and outside, locking the door with my keys he picked up off the small table.
“Isn’t Simon your neighbor?” he asked as we went down the steps.
I pointed to Simon’s door, the house dark. “That one. He’s in Richmond for work.”
He glanced up at my bedroom window, then led me down the street. We met up with Reed in front of Gray's car, angled illegally into a spot. Gray opened the back door of his Audi for me, jogged around and joined me in the back. “Seat belt,” he murmured as Reed climbed behind the wheel.
I fumbled with the lock and Gray’s large hand covered mine, helped click it into place. He kept my hand in his the entire way to his house, his thumb making small circles and I found the movement reassuring enough for me to relax into the seat. The adrenaline was wearing off and I felt wired yet exhausted at the same time.
When Reed pulled into the lot, Gray undid my belt for me and came around to help me out. He grabbed my small bag and Reed tossed him the keys.
“Besides the door, get the back light fixed,” Gray told Reed, his voice a dark slash in the night. “I want to know where my dad is. Find him.”
“Done,” he said with a quick nod.
“Thanks,” I said to the man, my voice weary. He was doing so much and it was the middle of the night.