She’s crying and clutching at Judge’s shoulders, her head darting back to look over her shoulder.
“Oh, thank God you answered,” she blubbers frenziedly.
“What in the hell happened?” Judge growls, helping her to stand by grabbing her upper arms. When she whimpers, he curses and scoops her up behind her knees and shoulders. Shoving the door closed, I chase after them as he carries her across the living room.
Maisy appears in the doorway to the kitchen, her eyes wide and scared. I call her name and her eyes quickly snap to mine.
“Grab a rag and wet it for me.” When she just stands there, her fearful gaze flickering back to Sierra, I step in her line of sight. “Maisy, I need you to get me a wet rag, sweetie. Can you do that?”
Her small throat bobs and she nods rapidly before dashing off into the kitchen. I turn to Judge and Sierra.
“Who did this to you?” Judge demands once he has her settled on the couch. “Was it Caleb?”
Her chin wobbles, tears streaking down her cheeks, and she nods. “Yes,” she croaks.
“Goddammit to hell,” he seethes darkly. “I fuckin’ told that boy.” His tone and the look in his eyes send a shiver crawling down my spine. “I’ll fuckin’ kill him.”
Sierra scrambles for his hand when he makes a move to stand. “Wait!” she shouts. “There’s more.”
Maisy comes running back in the room with a scrunched-up rag in her hand. I meet her halfway and take the wet cloth. She looks around me to Sierra, but I grab her attention by turning her head so she’s looking at me.
“I need you to do me a favor. Go to your room and stay there, okay? I’ll let you know when you can come out.”
I don’t want her in hearing range, because whatever Sierra’s about to say isn’t going to be for delicate ears.
“What happened to her?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“Is she going to be okay?” Her voice quivers.
I lean closer until my face is directly in hers. “She’s going to be fine. Your dad will find out what happened to her and make it all better.”
Lord help Caleb, because there will be no stopping Judge from hunting him down and taking him out.
“I need you to go to your room now, Maisy, so we can find out what happened. Go turn on one of your shows, and I’ll come get you once everything has calmed down.”
After a moment, she gives a silent nod. I kiss her forehead and turn her toward her room by her shoulders. Her eyes stay glued on Sierra as she passes behind the couch. Once her bedroom door is closed, I rush over with the rag. Sitting beside her on the couch, I gently start dabbing the side of her chin.
“Tell me what happened,” Judge orders in a bristly tone.
Sierra scrunches her eyes closed and more tears squeeze out between her eyelids.
“I-I heard him on the phone. He was t-talking about h-hurting someone. He said payback was a bitch and that they’d regret ever touching him.”
My gaze snaps to Judge. Could what Judge and his brothers did to him be what Caleb was talking about?
“He admitted to shooting Brittney and he also mentioned killing Earl and something about putting snakes in someone’s truck.”
I gasp, the hand with the rag dropping from her face. Holy shit. So Caleb’s the one who’s been terrorizing the town.
Judge’s hands clench into fists and his lips form a straight line. His pulse is beating erratically at his temple.
Sierra’s hands twist in her lap as she continues. “W-when he caught me listening, he went ballistic and started hitting me over and over again.” She hunches over and hugs her stomach. “He promised he’d never hurt me again, but he’s been hurting other people.”
I wrap my arm around her and pull her body against mine. She buries her face in her hands, her head against my shoulder, silently sobbing. I glance at Judge and can tell he’s barely holding on to the rage simmering inside him. He’s livid, with good reason.
The memory of what he did to Billy Collins in that cabin surfaces, and I scarcely hold back my shudder. I never want to see that side of him again. I don’t blame him for what he did, he was fueled by what happened to me and ensuring Billy could never hurt another person again, but watching him literally beat a man to death isn’t something I can witness again.