Scared eyes meet mine from the kid huddled in the corner. She’s dirty, scared, and all alone.
“I’m here to save you from the monster,” I say softly into the dark shed.
The shaking slowly stops as she peers at me, her eyes wide and hopeful.
“Are you an angel?” she asks, her throat raw and raspy, as though she’s dehydrated.
“Compared to him, yes,” I say honestly.
She slowly stands, warily looking at me. She can’t be older than eight.
“Do you know if he has anyone else?” I ask her, knowing he swore it was just her, but it could be more.
She shakes her head. “The other girl didn’t come back.”
My heart clenches. “Come on
. I’m going to take you somewhere you’ll be safe.”
She nods, and even though she’s terrified, she comes to me, ready to face anything terrible I could do versus anything he could come back and do more of.
When she stumbles, I grab her, and she doesn’t flinch away. Brave girl.
She lets me help her to my car, and she slides in on the passenger side, tears already leaking from her eyes. Her hope was gone until this moment.
I jog around to the driver’s side, a risky plan forming. There’s one place she can go to be safe.
“You don’t have a family, do you?”
She shakes her head.
“I have a friend—a woman—I knew in another life. She’d be a good momma. She’d take care of you.”
She pushes her dirty hair out of her eyes. “Really? She’ll keep me safe from him?”
“I’ll keep you safe from him. I can promise he’ll never return. Okay?”
She studies me for a long time, more tears building in her eyes. I’ve scared the shit out of her now. Damn it.
“You really are an angel,” she says at last, causing my heart to flip.
I don’t say anything else as I drive toward Lindy May’s house. She’s one person who can see a ghost but not flinch.
“What’s your name?” I ask the girl who is relaxing more by the minute.
“He called me Pup. But my name is Laurel,” she says around a yawn, leaning against the window.
My grip tightens on the steering wheel, wishing I’d cut that dick off and sewn it into his mouth.
Lindy May’s house comes into view, and I debate this for a few minutes. She’s a good woman. Just like Diana. Both of whom tried to seek justice for me. Lindy suffered a terrible fate because of that. She was five years older than me the night they robbed me of everything.
“I’ll call the FBI!” Lindy shouts.
“Go ahead, cunt. The FBI didn’t give a damn about their father, did they?” Kyle taunts, smirking.
Dev holds her back, his face grim as she struggles to get to me.
“I’ll teach that bitch a lesson later,” Kyle mutters under his breath.