“How did you get away from Caleb?” he asks Sierra, his tone eerily calm.
She sniffs and peeks up at him. “I pretended I had passed out. When he left the bedroom, I crawled out the window.”
Giving a tight nod, he looks to me. “Take care of her,” he says quietly, decisively.
I straighten my back, preparing to stand, but Sierra’s hold on my shirt gets tighter.
“Where are you going?”
It’s a stupid question and we both know it. He’s going to find Caleb and do what…. I don’t want to know.
He walks the five feet separating us and bends to place a quick kiss against my lips. After, he tips Sierra’s head back by her chin, his expression softening slightly.
&
nbsp; “He won’t ever hurt you again, I promise.”
She nods shakily, biting her lip.
I grab his shirt before he walks away.
“Please call one of your brothers to go with you. I don’t want you going alone. There’s no telling what he’ll do.”
He sweeps my hair back from my face. “I already planned on it. I’ll bring Trouble back with me to check her injuries.”
With a nod, I let him go. My eyes follow him as he stalks across the living room. The click of the door closing sounds too loud, and my heart jumps in my chest, a feeling of foreboding churning in my stomach.
Lord, please let Judge and the others be okay.
After several minutes of silence except for Sierra’s ragged breathing, I run my hand up and down her back. “I’m going to go grabs some peroxide and gauze and let Maisy know it’s okay to come out. Will you be okay for a couple minutes by yourself?”
She wipes her nose with the back of her hand and nods. I feel so terrible for her. To be hurt in such a terrible way by a person you trust explicitly—the pain of betrayal is much worse than any physical pain.
With a tender smile, I get up from the couch and go to the bathroom that’s connected to Judge’s room. Well, I guess our room now, since I’ve been sleeping there since we told Maisy we were together. Grabbing some things from under the sink, I flip off the light switch and go to Maisy’s room. Her TV is on, but her worried eyes are fixed on the door when I open it. She’s sitting cross-legged on the bed, her small hands picking at her nails.
“Is Sierra going to be okay now?”
I go and sit beside her, capturing one of her hands in mine. “She’s going to be fine. She just has some bruises and a couple of small cuts.” I hold up the gauze and peroxide. “I’m going to doctor her up. You want to come out and see her?”
“Yeah.”
Having Maisy there will be a good distraction for Sierra. She’s been by the house a couple times since that first day, and Maisy’s taken a liking to her. The last time they sat in the kitchen and did their nails while I cooked. Sierra may be too old to be a best friend-type of friend to Maisy, but I can tell they both really enjoyed their time together, and I know she’s worried about her.
I follow Maisy out of the room. Her steps are rushed, and it warms my insides that my daughter has such a kind and caring heart. The couch is in view from the hallway and I don’t see Sierra sitting there any longer. As soon as we pass into the living room, I find out why.
A gasp explodes from my lips, and I instinctually reach out for Maisy to pull her behind me.
“Oh, no, no. You leave your hands right where they are,” Sierra says, pointing a gun in our direction.
Ice fills my veins and tremors wrack my body. Maisy is in front of me and I see Sierra over her shoulder, so I’m not sure who she’s pointing the gun at.
“W-what are you doing, Sierra?” I put as much strength into my voice as I can. I can’t see Maisy’s face, but the way her body is trembling in front of me shows her terror.
I take a small step forward, but halt when her eyes narrow on me.
“Don’t you dare fucking move, bitch,” she growls, the cut in her eyebrow trickling blood down the corner of her eye. “Maisy,” she barks, her eyes sliding to my daughter. “Come over here.”
I take another step so I’m standing beside Maisy. There’s no way I’m letting her go near the woman.